6 Cheap Collectors Coins Found in Circulation Today

I have heard it said that in order to be a coin collector you have to have a lot of money.  I disagree with this; I believe that to be a good coin collector you need only to pay attention to detail and have a somewhat curious, detective type of mindset.  It is very easy to pull out cool collectible coins from circulation if you know what you are looking for.  Here are six coins that I know can be found in circulation today because I have found each type myself.

1. 1.       Wheat cents: Abraham Lincoln has been on our nation’s cents since 1909, and all the way up until 1958 the reverse side of the Lincoln cents had a wheat stalk on the reverse side of the coin; most of these coins today have a minimum resale value of three cents per coin, some are definitely worth more.
2. 2.       Copper Cents (pre 1982): In 1982, cents were struck in a copper alloy and a zinc alloy, thus 1982 serves as a transitional year for the elemental makeup of Lincoln cents.  The primarily zinc coins started in 1982 are what we make cents out of today.
3. 3.       Silver War Nickels: From 1942 until 1945, nickels were made of 35% silver because the nickel was in high demand during World War II.  These coins are worth more than a dollar per coin today.
4. 4.       Silver Dimes: Prior to 1965, dimes were made with 90% silver.
5. 5.       Silver Quarters:  Washington quarters have been struck since 1932 and it wasn’t until 1999 did the reverse image change from the traditional bald eagle design in order to start the statehood quarter series.  From 1932 until 1964 the quarters were made of 90% silver.  In 1965, just like the dimes mentioned above, the United States Mint began to strike the coin in the modern day copper nickel alloy.
6. 6.       Silver Half dollars:  These cool coins are rarely found in circulation anymore for a couple of reasons; one, because hardly anyone ever uses a half dollar as form of payment for anything in this country, and two, because the last half dollar struck in silver for the purpose of circulation was made in 1970. There are two types of silver half dollars. Prior to 1965, silver half dollars were struck in a 90% silver planchet just like the dime and quarters of the time.  From 1965 until 1970, silver half dollars were made in 40% silver.

Knowing the information about these coins can be a fun and inexpensive way to collect coins, or at least start to collect coins. Please let the information provided above be the spark of a numismatic enthusiast in you!