Do you know what to look for in a coins? My blog readers always ask me the same question about a way to check coins that they have in their piggy bank collections. To make sure you don't lose all the rare coins and valuable rare coins, you need to develop coin checking habits from the very beginning. A good magnifier is a must, at least a 7x magnifier to check for the coins surface for machine doubling error.
For a start, always try to follow these steps if you received a coins in your pocket change, practice make perfect.
A must have coin checking habits for collectors
1. Sort your coins according to their denominations
When you sort your coins according to their denominations, it will be easy for you to scan the coins. You can see the difference from one coin to another when you check them in groups.
2. Always check the years of the coin
Certain years in Malaysia coins denomination are already worth more then their face value because of low mintage. You can check the list of Malaysia rare coins in my article; List of Malaysia valuable coins. If you find them, separate them and check them later for varieties and errors.
3. Look at the coins inscriptions
Look carefully at the coin lettering for something odd or unusual. Turn the coin around and look at it from different angles. Check carefully for missing letters, doubling, and other oddities in the inscriptions.
4. Look at the coins abnormalities
Look for anything abnormal about the coin. Is there anything missing on your coins? Can you see any cracks, cud or missing elements?
5. Check the coin edge
Some coins like the 50 sen 1967, 50 sen 1968 and 50 sen 1969 have two type of edge that give a lot of difference in term of their price. Make sure you check the coin edge for the early 50 sen for Milled Edge type since their price are more expensive then the Security Edge type. You can learn more about it in my article; information about 50 sen 1967, 68 & 69.
6. Check the coin die rotation
Some coin have a die rotation error. You need to practice checking the rotation of any coins that you handle. Slowly inspect the coin turning it from the top to the bottom not from one side to another. If the orientation of the coin is on the right side up at starting point, the orientation after the turn should also be on the right side up. A 180 degree rotation errors is the most valuable die rotation error.
7. Set aside anything that looks odd
If you find any coins that looks odd or suspicious, set them aside. When you have time to check them, make sure you look at the coins under good lighting with strong magnification. If you find anything that you don't understand, try to ask in a numismatic forum/group or try to Google it for answer.
8. Magnet test for 1 sen coins
You don't need to do magnet test for any 1 sen coins that you can find. If you find any 1 sen 1970, 1 sen 1973 or 1 sen 1976, make sure you do the magnet test. Wrong metal coins are worth more then the normal coins. You can learn more about it in my article; what coins need to test with magnet.
