Coin collectors often bring the joy of their hobby to children. My own father was a collector. During my childhood, I remember sitting at the kitchen table going through what seemed like buckets of pennies. The pennies didn’t just come from saved pocket change… My dad would often make trips to the bank and buy rolls and rolls of coins. The pennies would end up in a large container and we kids would go through them all, separating out the “chosen ones”.

I’m sure we snagged interesting specimens but the ones I remember most were Wheat Cents. Those were automatically added to the good pile. I was firmly set upon finding more Wheat nuggets before anyone else. While in my competive haze, I expect my dad went through the good pile, finding key dates and quality grades to complete his penny collection. After the nightly treasure hunt, we all became “coin counters”, getting pennies into roles for their return to the bank and Wheat Cents into pickling jars for storage.

Coming forward to present day, I’m now curious about the value of those non-key, Wheat Cent filled jars. How many pennies DO fit into a 32 oz jar?

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A coin planchet is a metal, rounded disk containing the blended alloys that makeup a coin.

When I think of a planchet, I’m reminded of medieval movies where a smith pulls a long piece of metal from a fiery pit and then pounds away on it, forming a sword. Prior to the final strikings, the raw metal is somewhat similar to a coin planchet - it has the proper metallic content and general shape but it’s clearly just a piece of unfinished metal.

In the case of coins, the metal planchet has a rounded shape and raised rim. (Before the rim is raised, the metal disc is usually referred to as a “blank”.) Planchets are struck and pressed at US Mints, creating the final coin image.

If a coin planchet is just a piece of unfinished metal, how can it be worth anything? Certainly there’s inherent value to the metal itself. Generally speaking, however, unless it’s a larger planchet containing a high percentage of platinum, gold or silver, very little value will be due to its content. Instead, the value comes from the fact that the coin planchet was involved in the US Minting process. More notably, the planchet was an ERROR that escaped US Mint quality assurance eyes and made it to public circulation. There’s an attraction with many coin collectors for this type of historical error or uniqueness.

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I was literally dusting off an old coin book, The Official Red Book®—A Guide Book of United States Coins, when I was reminded how it’s been a mainstay series book for me and others for years. It’s not surprising that this year it celebrates its 61st Edition. But still…Wow.

What is the Red Book?
It’s THE STANDARD guide book for coin collectors, dealers and coin enthusiasts. Taking a partial description from its publisher, Whitman Publishing:

The Red Book covers the history and values of colonial and early American coins, half cents through silver dollars and gold, commemoratives, Proof and Mint sets, errors, Civil War tokens, territorial gold, state quarters, presidential dollars, and other U.S. coins, with essays on Counterfeits, grading, investing, auctions, and more.

Okay, that’s part of the official representation. What’s it mean to those of us who’ve made it so popular over the years and have relied on it? A few words come to mind when thinking about Red Book: insightful, dependable, impartial, and convenient. I could go on…

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The month of June flew by and may very well have been the busiest month of the year for many collector expectations of “new coins”. You don’t need to look too much further for confirmation than the U.S. Mint. Their June release schedule promised a very active month:

But wait… Interestingly, the Bronze First Spouse medals and the uncirculated American Silver Eagles are now set for July 15th; not June. How busy was the U.S. Mint in June? Well, that’s always hard to gauge until official numbers are released detailing what really went out the door. And to be fair, the US Mint doesn’t guarantee hitting the dates of previously posted schedules. Yet, it’s noteworthy that the One-Half ounce Gold variations of the First Spouse (Martha and Abigail) or no longer available. They sold out on opening day.

What’s the bottom line? As always with any new U.S. Mint coin you’re interested in buying and at your expected price: keep your desires somewhat guarded, check often for availability and buy quickly when the opportunity arises so you’re not having to pay more later.