What do you look for in your change?

Since there is a large community on Numista, I was wondering what people look for in their coins or bank notes.

Personally, I look for the following (though I might slim this down in the future):
- Cents before 1982
- 2009 (all coins)
- Foreign coins
- New dates for my collection
- Older nickels
- Silver

I look for any pre-1964 coins.Especially nickels.
State quarters I dont have,W, MM quarters and all errors.
I save em up and go over them when I have time with the kids.
Inexpensive and they love to look w/me.

I’m looking at dates for belgium euro coins (there are so many different types) and any remote country euro coin for swap purpose

I scrutinize every GB 10 pence coin I get, hoping it will be an Alphabet coin I need

​I scrutinize every GB 10 pence coin I get, hoping it will be an Alphabet coin -
​I have none - no 2018 no 2019 so still have yet to find any. 0 down 52 to go.
​ Other than that, I check every coin for errors, mainly rotation.
​
​

Quote: "CoinCollector1243"​Since there is a large community on Numista, I was wondering what people look for in their coins or bank notes.
​
​Personally, I look for the following (though I might slim this down in the future):
​- Cents before 1982
​- 2009 (all coins)
​- Foreign coins
​- New dates for my collection
​- Older nickels
​- Silver

​Serial number (always the serial number & then the prefix)

This was my best find over the past year (although in pretty rough shape). I do look a bit at my change but have never found anything that I would consider collectible.

very dark brown Copper pennies. I got a 1940 just yesterday, and a 1907 Indian head a few months back.

For me, any coins pre-1968 (silver), 12-sided nickels (including tombac), various dates I don't have (all denominations), and any pennies since they were removed from circulation in 2013. For euro coins, any coins I don't have (eg. new mint mark, denomination, year...). Anything foreign I don't have yet is a keeper for me.

As for bills, I always check the serial numbers, signatures and prefix. No spectacular finds as of yet . For euro bills, from any country/printer I don't have. Anything foreign within reason I keep too.

ZacUK,
At least is some ways we are equal. You have found no alphabet coins, and I have found none with rotation errors.
Are they scarce? Just out of interest, as I may add that to my 'watch out for' list.

I have not found any for ages - every coin I get I put it temporarily in a separate pocket,
to check before adding it to my pocket change for spending. Similarly for the new £1 coin,
with apparently the plain/reeded alternating edge in the wrong place ...

Those in my picture are the two normal coins in middle and right, and the 'error' is on the left
- where above ETH lettering is a plain section, unlike the other two that have a reeded part there.
The rotation means it also applies to the date part - should be reeding there not plain.
I have only found that on 2016 coins - none 2017 2018 2019 - yet. I always thought it is random,
like the edge lettering on £2 coins as to which way up it is - but 99% of £1 coins I have seen are
reeded there. So it is fairly certain that is the way they were meant to be.
Also that 2017 coin in my picture has a huge amount of extra metal where the shield is.

The other 2016 error for £1 coins, is that though the large date on the obverse is there, the tiny
dates around the edge of the reverse are 2017 - if you can see them. So the Mint changed the
reverse design but not the obverse, which should also have 2017 date. Never found any.

Here in New Zealand, its very limited given our ultra too modern coinage.

Here is my list,

1. Any 2018 Armistice or 2015 Anzac 50 cent coin (Never seen yet)
2. Any $1 or $2 coin before 2010 in UNC or even AU condition
3. Any 10 cent coin dated before 2014 that is full red/brown.

Limited isn't it?

"Limited isn't it?"
- I think it's the same for most countries when searching for something collectible now a days. Smallest variations (like "ZakUK" describes) are hard to come by.

I spent about 6 years searching for the BSW prefix reported 15 times on the Canadian Paper Money Forum database for the 2012 $20.00 here in Canada and finally found this one:

After searching several thousand I found this one about 2 years ago I just gave up looking for them after that (& its got annotation on the front). It's just too much work. Although 250,000 were reported printed only a few # ranges have been documented (in the database) which has raised speculation that only certain reams were released (like 64,000 notes). And although only a handful of collectors have found a few -the BV on these (in Canada's Charlton catalogue) remains unrealistically low.

I do not even look to my change, because we have only this sour euro.
In the good old days, you could,once in a while, met a silver guilder, or sometimes a German-mark
or some other foreign coin.

Quote: "yvon"​I do not even look to my change, because we have only this sour euro.
​In the good old days, you could,once in a while, met a silver guilder, or sometimes a German-mark
​ or some other foreign coin.

​But aren't there some low mintage coins from microstates and even countries like Italy?

Quote: "CoinCollector1243"​

Quote: "yvon"​I do not even look to my change, because we have only this sour euro.
​​In the good old days, you could,once in a while, met a silver guilder, or sometimes a German-mark
​​ or some other foreign coin.

​​But aren't there some low mintage coins from microstates and even countries like Italy?

​Yes, there are like Malta, San Marino, Vatican and so on but they are still all the same euros, which I do not like at all, but that is my personal, offcourse..

Anything commemorative (very scarce unless I'm asking for them), any 1999 dated 1 ruble (uncommon) and 2 ruble (scarce to mildly rare) coins, any 1, 2, or 5 ruble coins from 2001-03 (all very rare to extremely rare, never seen any).
I also have a special bucket (about a liter, IIRC) for 10 ruble coins of the Saint-Petersburg mint, which I started back in 2012 or so, and hoped to fill some day. At about 80 coins at the moment, it's less than a quarter full, and as the date in question is ever more uncommon in circulation, it will probably never be filled completely.

Oh, and all foreign coins, obviously.

Quote: "January First-of-May"​Anything commemorative (very scarce unless I'm asking for them), any 1999 dated 1 ruble (uncommon) and 2 ruble (scarce to mildly rare) coins, any 1, 2, or 5 ruble coins from 2001-03 (all very rare to extremely rare, never seen any).
​I also have a special bucket (about a liter, IIRC) for 10 ruble coins of the Saint-Petersburg mint, which I started back in 2012 or so, and hoped to fill some day. At about 80 coins at the moment, it's less than a quarter full, and as the date in question is ever more uncommon in circulation, it will probably never be filled completely.
​
​Oh, and all foreign coins, obviously.

​Are the coins from the St.Petersburg mint special?

Ah yes, forgot anything commemorative.
I have bags full of UK 50 Pence and 2 Pounds coins - every time I get one in change I
never spend it. Must have hundreds of pounds face value.
Just a few of them ...


Must have taken those last three pictures years ago and at night (fluorescent light) as
I have way more than that now.

Quote: "ZacUK"​ Ah yes, forgot anything commemorative.
​I have bags full of UK 50 Pence and 2 Pounds coins - every time I get one in change I
​never spend it. Must have hundreds of pounds face value.
​ Just a few of them ...
​
​
​ Must have taken those last three pictures years ago and at night (fluorescent light) as
​I have way more than that now.

​Do you hoard them, swap them, or something else?

I just hoard them - never put them on my swap list - not that I do
swaps these days anyway. Any you need?

Quote: "ZacUK"​ I just hoard them - never put them on my swap list - not that I do
​swaps these days anyway. Any you need?

​Nope, just curious.

ZacUK,
All of those commemoratives but no Alphabet 10 pence coins, but that's another story I think.

That's what I was thinking - all those 50 Pence and 2 Pounds, but no 10 Pence.
I did also have the different 1 Pound coins, before the new design,
but I do not consider them commemoratives.

Quote: "ZacUK"​ I just hoard them - never put them on my swap list - not that I do
​swaps these days anyway. Any you need?

​Hi Zac,
I don't have quite a few of the 50p and some £2 coins from the photos you posted. Any chance of a swap or sale. I am not sure if there is anything I can offer.
Any suggestions.
regards

Will have a look in daylight in a few hours (it is 1:56am here currently). Thanks

Edit - later on. Eventually found my UK commemorative bags with 50 Pence and 2 Pound
coins in - plus quite a few extras yet to be added to them ...

I looked at your swap list and there is nothing that I would want (as I already have a
huge collection - so finding anything that I do not have is getting harder). Would like
a PM with a list of what coins you would like.

When I receive any change I almost always check for anything odd. Recently I received a 1 Euro coin from San Marino in the supermarket in my village, the other coin I found at the church in my village, the pastor had a German error coin in a bag of foreign coins as it was rejected by the machine at the bank when depositing coins raised at church collections.

Quote: "CoinCollector1243"​

Quote: "January First-of-May"​Anything commemorative (very scarce unless I'm asking for them), any 1999 dated 1 ruble (uncommon) and 2 ruble (scarce to mildly rare) coins, any 1, 2, or 5 ruble coins from 2001-03 (all very rare to extremely rare, never seen any).
​​I also have a special bucket (about a liter, IIRC) for 10 ruble coins of the Saint-Petersburg mint, which I started back in 2012 or so, and hoped to fill some day. At about 80 coins at the moment, it's less than a quarter full, and as the date in question is ever more uncommon in circulation, it will probably never be filled completely.
​​
​​Oh, and all foreign coins, obviously.

​​Are the coins from the St.Petersburg mint special?

​Not really, they're just scarcer in Moscow. I think they might have a slightly lower mintage, but I'm not very sure. Just think they're neat.

Zac - love your philosophy and January 1st of May, love your concept.

My original reply was lackadaisical, but there is a method to my madness.
A limited number of types still means I seek them out.


Here is my 10 cent (Bronze Colours) coins 2006 to 2016, the 2012 onwards are perfect, but the 2007 is a bit worn (2nd coin) as its a scarce date and I only started looking in 2013. The 20 cents (Scalloped) include the 2 dates for 2014).

Here you see the wide and narrow date 20 cent pieces (Wide date coins are 5x rarer and minted style of 2006/09 coins)

As you can see above, nice shiny Dollars (Gold colour) are hard to get after 2 or 3 years.


Reverse shows plain designs, the page includes all the 50 cents except Armistice and Gallipoli (In separate albums and bags).

Main way I get these is through buying coin rolls at a smart ATM and hence why I have 5 each of UNC 2015 50 cents and 10 cents from 2 years ago! And under those ditto for 2016 which I found earlier this year.

The eagle eyed of you should see the 2019 dollar I found too!

This craze began in 2006 before the changeover, here I have a pair each of the 2005 50 cents and 20 cents (Last year of the large size coins and in the image you can see how much bigger they are than the current coins).



Also shown is 2 x $2 coins (Have not really bothered with these yet, including the 2019). Also shown is a worn one side 20 cent coin and a 2006 reduced 5o cent with a fattened rim edge.

An UNC 1990 20 cent piece with new obverse (Minted 1990, but released in about 2004) and later 20 cent coins. The 2005 dated pieces are scarce and date from my 2006 job at a $2 shop as manager and a day in which everyone bought in their old coins (Sept 30 2006) before they became illegal.

As supervisor I closed up at 5pm, sent my staff home and had 20 minutes alone doing the reconciliation and picked out coins I wanted (Paying for them with common stuff!). Those 4 coins are now worth $25 each and are scarce!

Quote: "ZacUK"​ Will have a look in daylight in a few hours (it is 1:56am here currently). Thanks
​
​Edit - later on. Eventually found my UK commemorative bags with 50 Pence and 2 Pound
​coins in - plus quite a few extras yet to be added to them ...
​
​ I looked at your swap list and there is nothing that I would want (as I already have a
​huge collection - so finding anything that I do not have is getting harder). Would like
​a PM with a list of what coins you would like.

Hi Zac,
Please check your PM.
regards​

In Hong Kong, the change isn't really all that interesting, there isn't a lot of varieties of cool stuff you might find, especially coins. Banknotes are a bit more interesting.

Some coins I look out for:
- Coins bearing QEII's head. These are from before the Handover to China, and while the lower denomination cent coins are quite common, the larger denomination dollar coins are a bit rarer. While they're still legal tender, I believe they get replaced with newer coinage if they ever find their way to the bank.
- 1997 Handover commemorative coinage. These are fairly rare and I don't see then very often. They were minted in 97 to commemorate the Handover. Usually our coinage is fairly bland but these have got nice designs on them.

Some banknotes I look out for:
- Anything old, basically. Our banknotes get replaced with new designs much more often than the coins, and the older banknote designs get replaced quite quickly. I find these guys about as often as the QEII coins. So if a design looks unfamiliar, that probably means it's an old design that'll find its way into a special corner in my wallet. The lower denomination banknotes from these old designs are much more common, anything beyond $50 is fairly rare, I've only seen a 1997 $100 once in the wild.

I used to look for circulating euro coins I didn't have yet and €2 commemoratives for myself or for swap. But since we hardly use cash anymore in the Netherlands, and after COVID probably even less than before, this source of additions to my collection largely dried up.

Last week, I spent a few days in the North of France and to my utmost surprise I found this one in my change:

Not just a coin I didn't have yet, but a completely new country in my collection!

Circulation finds are one of the things that thrills me about coin/currency. Great find!