I received a 1948 wheat penny in my change today. While not all that uncommon, I see fewer and fewer of them as time goes by. This, combined with the recent thread re: the rare copper 1943 1¢ made me wonder - what other old/scarce coins show up in circulation? What are some of your recent pocket finds?

Earlier this week I was thinking about how infrequently I see wheat pennies. It seems not so long ago that they were fairly common.

A few months ago I spotted a 1953 silver dime when I emptied my pockets for the evening.

I also found a wheat penny recently. A 1909 VDB. It's value is not a million bucks. I spent several hours looking for a valuable coin and thats what I found.

I like to watch for bicentennial quarters. Haven't received a wheat penny back in a long time.

I used to get Canadian pennies as change all the time when I was working up in Maine several years ago. Makes sense, considering the proximity.

But I actually got one down here in Arkansas a few weeks ago too.

A few weeks ago there was a 1943 nickel in my change. Thought it was neat with the mint mark on the back. A few wheat pennies (1950 and the other I can't remember) this month. Other than that, I got six Eisenhower dollars from the gas station. A Canadian quarter shows up every now and then. Thats about it.

I have an ashtray full of wheat pennies I saved. Am I rich yet?

In the past couple years since I started lookong I did find a 1961 silver quarter. I do find a few wheat pennies a year. I don’t do a lot of cash transactions at the store anymore so that may be a contributing factor.

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Originally posted by .38supersig:
A few weeks ago there was a 1943 nickel in my change. Thought it was neat with the mint mark on the back. A few wheat pennies (1950 and the other I can't remember) this month. Other than that, I got six Eisenhower dollars from the gas station. A Canadian quarter shows up every now and then. Thats about it.

Is the '43 nickel one of the silver war nickels?

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Originally posted by safespot:

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Originally posted by .38supersig:
A few weeks ago there was a 1943 nickel in my change. Thought it was neat with the mint mark on the back. A few wheat pennies (1950 and the other I can't remember) this month. Other than that, I got six Eisenhower dollars from the gas station. A Canadian quarter shows up every now and then. Thats about it.

Is the '43 nickel one of the silver war nickels?

the 43's are steel. I've got several of those in my collection. My grandpa really liked em and I got his coins after he passed.

I was recently given a 1964 Silver Quarter in the change a store clerk gave me. I instantly knew what it was and was certainly surprised! That clerk was absolutely clueless!

Got a 1943 penny, but it's the steel one, so not worth much. I believe my either 1914 or another early 1900s penny that is the second rarest mint is supposedly worth about $20. The least common mint ones are supposedly in the low thousands of dollars. I saw that story about the rare 1943 wheat pennies and that the guy died with one in his possession, and that's what started me looking at my change. I had actually kept a few pennies from the early 1900s just because I thought it was crazy they have been around so long.

In the house I grew up in (until '76), my brothers and I, for some reason, pulled back the baseboards in our bedroom one day and found a 1913 penny tucked in there.

No idea what ever happened to it or whether it was worth anything, but I thought it was kind of cool.

I do have a number of pre-1910 silver dollars in the safe that my grandfather gave to me along with several 1918 $2 bills. He used to send them on birthdays. They're worth a buck or two these days but will never be sold (by me). The grandkids will get them and hopefully they'll get the historical significance and value (beyond monetary) that they hold.

I always check my pennies for wheat cents and always check my "silver" for silver....and for bicentennial quarters. I collect all those. It's kind of crazy, because it's never going to make a difference in my financial situation, but it's just a thing.

I also have quite a few Kennedy half dollars.

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Originally posted by RogueJSK:
I used to get Canadian pennies as change all the time when I was working up in Maine several years ago. Makes sense, considering the proximity.

But I actually got one down here in Arkansas a few weeks ago too.

Going to be a lot fewer, as Canada stopped minting pennies, and are slowly withdrawing them from circulation.

I got change out of a soda machine. Got a silver quarter.
San Francisco mint silver proof. Not bad for change.

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Originally posted by safespot:
A few months ago I spotted a 1953 silver dime when I emptied my pockets for the evening.

That’s cool. Ever since I learned about the silver content in pre 65s, I’ve never been given any in change and I’ve been looking for years.

My step dad used to collect wheaties and I remember seeing a bunch of them. We had a handful the last time we rolled coins.

Good timing. For about 15 years I started this practice where I save all change and throw into a glass jar for "silver coins" and the other for pennies. About every 8-10 months I have about $125 to $160 or so in change. My wife and both children would roll it up as a family. Both of my kids are in college now...

Anyhow, I just did this last week. I went through all of pennies, $8 worth, and found one wheat penny. That's it. I recall finding more when I checked going back he past 15 years.

About 3-4 years ago I found a really worn out (which makes sense) penny from 1922. I could barely read it. But it was during Boardwalk Empire, and I thought, this penny was around when Al Capone was hanging out in AC.

The last time I got a silver coin in change it was immediately evident by the sound the change made.

That was 4 or 5 years ago.

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Originally posted by PorterN:

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Originally posted by safespot:

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Originally posted by .38supersig:
A few weeks ago there was a 1943 nickel in my change. Thought it was neat with the mint mark on the back. A few wheat pennies (1950 and the other I can't remember) this month. Other than that, I got six Eisenhower dollars from the gas station. A Canadian quarter shows up every now and then. Thats about it.

Is the '43 nickel one of the silver war nickels?

the 43's are steel. I've got several of those in my collection. My grandpa really liked em and I got his coins after he passed.

The wartime nickels, minted from 1942-1945, contain 35% silver, but no steel. You're thinking of the 1943 pennies.

Be aware that in 1942 there were non silver nickels minted at Philadelphia and Denver. The ones containing silver have the mint mark on the reverse, as do all the war time nickels minted through 1945.