People love to find old coins. (I know I do.)
Today I’m going to show you all the best places to find old coins… without spending a penny!
Unless you visit a coin dealer (where you can buy exactly the coins you want), you’ll probably find it pretty difficult to stumble upon very old coins worth money on your own.
But there are a few ways you can increase your chances of finding old coins. You just have to know where to look for them!
Here are 6 proven ways to find old coins without having to buy them from coin dealers…
#1 – Search Your Pocket Change
Let’s start with one of the most common sources of finding old coins: spare change!
Obvious? Maybe.
Profitable? Always!
Yes, spare change is where to start if you want to find valuable coins from circulation.
You probably carry thousands of coins in your pocket over the course of a year!
- No doubt you’ve had in your possession at least half of the 50 State Quarters designs during that time.
- You have likely found a few pre-1960 Jefferson nickels.
- Also, you may have carried around at least one or two wheat pennies.
- Perhaps you have even found a silver dime or silver quarter pass through without even realizing it. (Yes, silver coins still do pop up in change!)
- Maybe you’ve even pocketed a Canadian coin or two, eh?
The best way to find old coins in change is to simply start looking! Every time you receive some coins, save them in a jar. Eventually… when your jar gets full and you have a bit of time on your hands (or you’re bored), look through the coins one by one to see exactly what you have!
Here’s a list of all the U.S. coins you should look for… and keep!
Pocket change is where I found the first coin I ever put in my collection — a 1941 Lincoln penny. (Here’s a little more about my first coin collection.)
I’ve found plenty of old coins in circulation, including other old pennies, Buffalo nickels, and silver coins.
Of course, it’s not always easy to find old valuable coins in your spare change.
For example, based on my own survey of the coins I’ve found in pocket change:
- Less than 1% of the Lincoln cents I handle in day-to-day transactions involve wheat pennies.
- I’ve only found 2 Buffalo nickels (so far) in standard transactions.
- I’ve found a total of 4 silver coins in regular pocket change.
These findings come from nearly 25 years of actively checking my change. Of course, you may have different results — and maybe more luck than I’ve had!
The point is… your loose change may not provide you with a bounty of old coins, but it is one method for finding some old and possibly valuable coins. So don’t overlook the simple act of checking your change! You might be surprised at what coins you’re able to find.
TIP: If the change in your pocket is boring, why not see what coins are in the pocket or purse of a friend? Sure… go ahead and ask! No doubt your friend will let you search through their spare change, if you ask. (Just be sure to have some money ready to give them — in exchange for your fun finds!)
#2 – Look Through Rolls Of Coins
A lot of people don’t think to go to their local bank when they’re trying to find coins to collect. Yet, banks often are one of the best places to visit when looking for circulation coins.
Why?
Because unlike most places of business, banks normally have on hand some coins that other places don’t — like half dollars and dollar coins — in addition to the more common pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters.
So, a bank is a great place to get roll quantities of the “less popular” denominations.
Searching through coin rolls is one of my favorite ways to find old coins! In fact, I’ve made some of my best finds looking through rolls of coins.
In coin rolls, I’ve found:
- Wheat pennies (here are some popular wheat penny errors to look for)
- Buffalo nickels (I haven’t found any dateless Buffalo nickels yet)
- Jefferson wartime nickels
- Silver coins (including 40% and 90% silver Kennedy half dollars)
For a few coin roll searching tips, check out this playlist of coin roll hunting videos I made:
As any seasoned collector knows… looking through rolls of coins, you can find many exciting coins and designs.
#3 – Check ‘Take-A-Penny-Leave-A-Penny’ Trays
I’ve found some great old pennies in the small change bins you find near cash registers.
You know… those little ashtrays or cans that are filled with loose pennies (and the occasional nickel or dime) at some restaurants, gas stations, and mom & pop stores.
They’re designed to help relieve you of your pennies — or help you pay the tab if you’re a few cents short in a cash transaction.
I’ve found lots of valuable pennies in those coin trays over the years. I even found a few 1950s Lincoln wheat pennies that appeared to be uncirculated!
If you’re going to use this method to find old coins, I would suggest that you carry a few pennies along for trading — in case you happen to find some coins you want in one of those penny trays. It’s nice to at least give the store an even exchange for whatever coins you take out of there. (Sometimes I even leave a couple extra pennies or nickels for the favor.)
#4 – Search Through Old Coin Jars
When I was young, I used to look through my mom’s and dad’s coin jars.
I found some valuable old coins that way — including plenty of wheat pennies and nickels from the 1930s, ’40s, and ’50s.
Chances are you’ve got some old coins in your coin jar, too.
If you don’t have a coin jar, maybe some of your friends will let you look through theirs!
Just don’t forget to bring along some coins to exchange — and maybe offer to do a friendly favor for the opportunity to look through their coin jars for old coins that you’d like to have.
#5 – Check Vending Machines (You Can Trade Coins There!)
Vending machines (snack machines, beverage machines, candy machines) are great places to look for old coins!
Well… at least old coins that aren’t pennies, right?
The idea is to simply watch for interesting coins that come out of the change slot. These might be coins that were left behind by others, or coins you receive after inserting a dollar bill into the machine and then purchasing an item that costs less than $1.
Since vending machines are receptacles of a large amount of coins, there is always a shot that a couple of nice finds could be made from the large reserve of coins inside.
And here’s a fun tip…
Do you know how to trade coins in a vending machine?
If you put change into a vending machine coin slot and then hit the “change return” button before selecting an item, you will get all different coins back in change!
I’ve been trading coins in vending machines for years now. It’s a great way to obtain coins without spending anything extra above face value for them.
#6 – Use A Metal Detector
While I don’t own or use a metal detector myself, I happen to know a few people who do — and they’ve found some neat old coins scanning the ground with a metal detector looking for buried treasure!
You can search for old coins in all kinds of places, including:
- Beaches
- Vacant land
- Parks
- Old homes and buildings
- Schoolyards
However, I don’t recommend walking onto private property that isn’t yours to look for old coins — that’s trespassing. I certainly don’t think breaking the law is the best way to go about looking for valuable coin treasures.
You shouldn’t go metal detecting on private property under the cloak of night, either. You will eventually get caught, and any bundles of money you may have found will just be used to cover your attorney’s fees or criminal fines!
To look for old coins using a metal detector, I suggest doing so on public property or getting written permission from the property owner first.
TIP: Check out these
If you decide to do some metal detecting on private property, it might be nice of you to offer to split the value of any old coins (or other buried treasure that you find) with the landowner.
Good luck!
BONUS: #7 – If RARE old coins are what you’re after, I’ve got a few extra tips for finding old rare coins in circulation.
Find The Value Of Your Old Coins
Now, it’s time to see how much your coins are worth.
In these next few articles, we’ve cut to the chase and listed the values for some of the most sought after coins that budget coin collectors are typically looking for:
- A List Of All U.S. Coins Worth More Than Face Value
- 8 Fun Ways To Find Coins When You’re On A Budget
- A List Of Valuable Old Coins By Denomination
- 5 Old Coins Worth Money That You Can Find In Circulation
- Find The Value Of Any U.S. Coin Here
- Our Collection Of Individual U.S. Coin Values
These coin magnifiers make it easy to see all of the tiny details on your coins.
If you have an old coin that you’d like to know the value of, search for that coin in the search box above (look for the little magnifying glass). Or just ask in the comments below!
Like this post? Save it to read again later… or share with others on Pinterest!
I’m the Coin Editor here at TheFunTimesGuide. My love for coins began when I was 11 years old. I primarily collect and study U.S. coins produced during the 20th century.
I’m a member of the American Numismatic Association (ANA) and the Numismatic Literary Guild (NLG) and have won multiple awards from the NLG for my work as a coin journalist. I’m also the editor at the Florida United Numismatists Club (FUN Topics magazine), and author of Images of America: The United States Mint in Philadelphia (a book that explores the colorful history of the Philadelphia Mint). I’ve contributed hundreds of articles for various coin publications including COINage, The Numismatist, Numismatic News, Coin Dealer Newsletter, Coin Values, and CoinWeek.
I’ve authored nearly 1,000 articles here at The Fun Times Guide to Coins (many of them with over 50K shares), and I welcome your coin questions in the comments below!
