Entry Level Cherrypicking - Re-punched Mint Marks & Over Mint Marks

Understanding re-punched mintmarks and how it happened.

The 1950's were a strong decade of dominance for
the re-punched mintmark.  They can be found
pretty regularly and most circulated examples sell
in the $1.00-2.00 range.

Going back into the 1800's when the established mints were experimenting with adding mintmarks to the coins, the tiny letters were hand punched into the working dies.  How it worked was the mint employee took a thin steel punch with the letter on the tip, he/she then sets it on a designated area on the die face and then taps the punch with a small hammer to leave behind the impression of the mark.  In some instances, the marks had to be reset and re-punched into the working die for several reasons.  One is the mint employee inadvertently punches the incorrect mintmark on the coins, therefore causing a secondary punch to correct the mistake.  Second, if a mint employee punches a mintmark weakly or out of place, he/she would have to re-punch the mark.  In turn making a permanent impression of the repunch on a planchet when it's struck through the minting process.  There are cases where the mintmark would be punched up to 5-6 times in one go, making for a very dramatic minting variety.  

Over mint marks were created much the same way.  In this case, a D (Denver) mintmark can be punched over an S (San Francisco) mintmark and vice versa.  These mintmark varieties are not nearly as common as the same mint re-punch and are generally more tougher to find in circulation.  For example, the 1944 D/S Lincoln Cent and the 1954 S/D Jefferson Nickel are some of the well known and most sought after over mint marks in existence.  And therefore these possess a much more robust secondary market.

Here's a great example of an earlier 1930's
RPM.  As you can see, there is a well
defined separation in the serifs of the "S".

Where's a good place to find them?

Typically I'll tell any novice cherrypicker to start with your pocket change, specifically anything before 1982 and focus on the Lincoln cent series.  There is a large population of RPM's in the 60's and 70's Lincoln Memorial cents than any other denomination for that time period.  A good condition RPM in any date in this range is an outstanding find, as these are an easy sell in the $.50-1.00 price range.  It may not seem like a whole lot, but where else can you get 50x-100x your face value?  I've personally had the pleasure of finding several dozen examples out of a $25.00 bank box of cents.  

Once you've recognized and experimented with the 60's-70's coinage, the wheat cent series of the 40's and 50's are another great jumping up point.  These are the magical years for RPM's.  And finally, once you've established a great wealth of knowledge of the subject, try your hand at cherrypicking in dealer stock boxes. Where you can dive into the more pricier series like the seated liberty's and Buffalo nickels.  Every RPM and OMM is worth many times over face, so why not exhaust all of your resources?

For as long as I've been in numismatics, i'm still very fond of this date range and to this day I still search for RPM's and OMM's.  Searching 10,000 wheaties in a month for 12 months, generated over $5k in profit for the 2012 year.  Again while not a huge profit per piece initially, a total collection is worth near a king's ransom.  So why not give it a try?

Good luck hunting!

Cherrypicking 101

What is Cherrypicking?

Cherrypicking is a growing hobby that is a sublet of Numismatics or Coin Collecting.  Primarily cherrypicking involves finding rare varieties, errors, and oddities within coin dealer stock, perusing eBay, classified ads and so on. You would typically buy these at the market price based off of a regular dated coin that is marked without a variety.  I think the number one trait any cherrypicker should embrace is their ability to read up about series of coins to know exactly what to look for.  Books and internet resources are widely available for any beginning cherrypicker.  And finally, starting the practice of learning about coins, especially errors and varieties, is the key to success.  The big draw to cherrypicking, is the potential winfall that can be made by the simple art of buying cheap and selling high for big profits.

Where do I cherrypick?

Real easy question actually.  There are wide range of dealers and retail outlets to consider when your cherrypicking for varieties and errors.  Let's list several hot spots and outline some of the key points whether good or bad.

*Coin Dealers- Choosing a good dealer is tough, some charge too much, some prefer that you don't cherrypick through their inventory.  Importantly, using a discreet picking manner is key to keeping a friend at a dealer and will ensure more pleasurable visits to come.  Try not to bring any reference books with you on your search for varieties, dealers don't take kindly to obvious cherrypicking activities.  Especially if you come away without purchasing anything because you didn't find anything.  A good glass like a 6x or 10x power is preferred, and if you have one, a great smart phone that displays a great picture from reference websites.  You can bookmark well known cherrypicker's havens like lincolncentresource.com, varietyvista.com, and vamworld.com.  You can always refer to them to compare diagnostics to the coins for sale.  Try and concentrate on dealer's back stock boxes, usually these have lots of material that seldomly gets picked through and will be a breeding ground for some remarkable finds.  Negative:  dealers are very knowledgeable and probably have already found all the varieties, try shopping different dealers to see who is more lax in their research over the other.  You'll find that out pretty quick!

*Auction sites (eBay-Teletrade)- A super hot community for cherrypickers abound, auction sites carry huge merit in terms of finding some marquee varieties and errors.  Most folks that sell on these sites, rarely know all the information about their coins other than it's old and that it's from their late grandparent's estate.  The not so great thing about websites is that some people regard/price their coins too high because of the emotional attachment, don't buy into this.  You may come out on the losing end if you pay too much for a coin that really isn't anything special.  And finally, be wary of bad photos and bad sellers.  One of each or both can be a real deterrent for finding something amazing.  Bad photos=bad product!

*Pawn shops/Antique outlets- Both good resources for cherrypicking material but you have to keep in mind lots of people cherrypick these retailers on a regular basis.  There's always the diamond in the rough and in some cases the prices are negotiable.  Try not to spend lots of valuable time and resources scouring through pawn/antique store inventory.

*Check your pocket change- Great cherrypicks don't necessarily have to cost you anything but face value.  While the chances are low that you'll come across a cool older variety is slim, there are tons of modern series that possess some show stopping lottery pieces.  I've heard lots of real accounts of these monumental finds:  2004 Wisconsin Leaf Variety Quarters, 1972 Doubled Die Lincoln Cents, 1955 Doubled Die Lincoln Cent, Mule quarters and dollars, pre-1965 silver coinage, and more.

Some notable Cherrypicks I have scored in the last 12 months (2012-13):

*Picked up several 1981 proof sets that had uncommon "clear S" mintmarks in the Susan B. Anthony dollars among other coins in the set.  Original purchase price- $7.25  Flipped online for- $135.00 ea. Susan B. Anthony coin

*Found a raw fine graded 1857 Flying Eagle Cent that possesses a rare die clash from a seated liberty half dollar in dealer overstock box.  Original purchase price- $30.00  Still own but sells for - $125.00 in current condition

*Picked up $50 face in Lincoln Wheat Cents from local dealer, found 3x 1936 Doubled Dies (F-VF) and 29 RPM variety cents.  Original purchase price - $250.00 (.05 cents per coin)  Flipped online for- $470.00 total

*Sourced an 1894 Victoria Canada Large cent on eBay with the Large 4 variety, in AU condition.  Item was listed as a regular 1894 with bad photos. Original purchase price- $10.00 (buy it now price)  Flipped online for- $223

Good luck hunting!