So my wife and I finally got around to opening some of my deceased MIL's boxes of stuff. Lots of interesting items. Two that interest me are the collections of coins. There is a box full of silver dollars, about 50. Some date back to 1900, many, for some odd reason, are minted in 1922. There appear to be 3 different types.

There are also a metric shit ton (several hundred) wheat backed pennies. I think maybe someone was a bit of a hoarder, not that I have stones to throw. About 20 percent are steel.

We are very likely to keep the dollars, and keep a set or two of the pennies (by year) for the grandkids. I'd like to know if any of them are "special." My guess is the silver coins range in value from maybe twenty bucks to fifty, and who knows about the pennies. I'm just wondering if I should sort thru and look for one of the super-dooper rare ones before putting the silver in the safe and playing with the pennies. Also, if anyone can refer me to the history of coins, such as why someone would keep a bunch from 1922, I would be interested. I like to view history from odd perspectives, and this strikes me as a way.

Thanks.

Not an expert but I'm sure some will be along. Collected coins a long, long time ago but am far from current.

RE: prevalence of 1922's in the mix. Possibly birth year of your MIL or someone special in her life?

RE: checking dates and values. Absolutely. There are some pretty valuable pennies (as well as silver dollars) out there. There was one penny back in the day that stands out in my memory, a '1909 S VDB' that was highly regarded. In your place, I might check around for recommendations of knowledgeable and honest local dealers, take the entire collection over for some advice, and wait till hearing from the dealers which to sell, which to keep as investments and which to designate for the grandkids.

Best bet is to find a coin dealer in your area, and have them check them out.
The 1922 Peace Dollar is usually worth a little over Spot-Price, unless its in mint condition.

Any silver dollars Pre-1922 would be Morgan dollars, and value fluctuates a lot.
The 1921 Morgan is usually only worth a little over spot price, as it lacks a lot from the earlier runs of Morgan Dollars.
Price depends on condition, mint quality, eye appeal etc....

I will search for reputable dealer, and research the 1922 issue with family genealogy. I was thinking there was a silver scare maybe, or political turmoil, something like that. Didn't think of birth year, although it doesn't fit.

I would look at some of the COIN magazines which usually have a listing of coins and their present value by condition.

Trust no one and I learned in the beginning by paying too much for some Silver Dollars.

https://www.google.com/search?...0i30k1.0.s82iKRFu1iI

There are great Coin sites on the internet, much more current than magazines and much easier to look up coins. Some Steel coins and some copper coins of 43 and 44 45 can be worth MUCH more... Definitely worth checking out.

Just one site for example regarding the silver dollars:

APMEX 1922 silver dollars

Might want to poke around there for some comparative values of the other coins too.

Printed information is at your finger tips. The North American Coins and Prices is a start while the Coin Magazines will have in depth details of some rare coins.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com...ourceId=PLGoP78860#/

I am no coin expert by any stretch of the imagination but you might want to take the time to go through those wheat pennies looking for 1922. Do a Google search for "1922 No D pennies". These particular pennies could earn you a few bucks.
http://www.lincolncentresource...22Ddievarieties.html

Thanks a bunch! I already learned something. The 1922 "Peace" dollar commemorated the end of WWI.

Determining value is nice, but learning little historical tidbits like that is very cool.

No coin expert here, but it seems you may be able to research more at your local library also.

Best of luck!

Got the 1913 Liberty Head nickel? I'll give you a thousand times its face value.

Hell, make it 10 thousand times.

Believe it or not wheat pennies are not worth a lot, unless they are Key dates. You can do a search on "key" dates for those. I think there is one Key steel penny date that is very rare also, besides the S VDB.

YES, they can be worth a fortune depending on the mint stamp, year and condition. Get a book so you can look up the price and determine value on each one.

sounds like fun on a cold winters night.

You wantto do something rather interesting just take one of those silver dollars and flip it in the air. You will NEVER hear that clear ring from any of todays coinage.