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wiper
Penny Sorter Member
36 Posts |
 Posted - 04/04/2010 : 13:07:10
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stumbled across this website during the upheaval at gim/gim2...
was pretty awesome last night when i told my wife, 'look honey! there's a whole website of people that do the same thing i do!!' lol
anyhow, just started, or at least just started in comparison to most of you all, i think i have about 35lbs of coppers over the last couple weeks.
my question: what is the optimal hand-sorting technique? i'm not ready to get a machine and deal with banks and whatnot, i'm just wondering what is the fastest way to sort by hand.
right now, i have a big bucket and a smaller bucket at my feet. coppers in the big bucket, zincs in the small one, 3-4 large handfuls of unsorted on the table.
then i grab about 20, quickly shuffle them in my hand into a line, and just put 'em up to my face and go.
sound about right?
i've gotten pretty good at immediately recognizing the obvious zinc/coppers, and gotten to the point where if i have to look more than 2-3 seconds, i just toss 'em in the zinc bucket.
anyway, any advice on speed/accuracy?
thanks..you guys got an awesome forum going here. 
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beauanderos
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
2408 Posts |
Posted - 04/04/2010 : 13:25:16
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welcome newbie  The fastest way I ever developed before buying a Ryedale, I could sort about 4000 an hour. Just break a roll of fifty onto your working surface and don't even turn any over. Just sort by nigh-luster (zinc) vs toned coloration - brownish-olive (copper). Your face up cents you can quickly verify the dates to discard the few post 1982's that will have that coloration. You will likely have 95% accuracy in your copper pile and can always go back and inspect more closely for dates and wheaties when you run out of boxes to sort. If you sort this way, it is very fast... but you will lose one or two percent of your high-luster pre-1982's. But would you rather spend hours looking at each date to verify it... or jam through box after box and get most of the copper out? Once you build up a stash, or run low on money... then you can go back and re-examine what you actually have. Make the best use of your time... and if you really get into this consider one of the Ryedale's.  |
Hoard now and hold on!
http://coppermillions.blogspot.com/
http://wherewillyoubein2012.blogspot.com/ |
Edited by - beauanderos on 04/04/2010 13:27:55 |
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HoardCopperByTheTon
Administrator
USA
6807 Posts |
Posted - 04/04/2010 : 16:45:18
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| Welcome to the forum wiper. Glad you found your way over. Fastest and most accurate for me pre-Ryedale.. was to use a small digital scale. I could do about a box an hour that way.. much faster for me than looking at the dates. I sold off a lot of those coppers to pay for my first Ryedale. |
If your percentages are low.. just sort more. If your percentages are high.. just sort more.
Now selling Copper pennies. 1.6x plus shipping. Limited amounts available. |
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HoardCopperByTheTon
Administrator
USA
6807 Posts |
Posted - 04/04/2010 : 17:02:12
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quote:
Originally posted by wiper
my question: what is the optimal hand-sorting technique? i'm not ready to get a machine and deal with banks and whatnot, i'm just wondering what is the fastest way to sort by hand.
right now, i have a big bucket and a smaller bucket at my feet. coppers in the big bucket, zincs in the small one, 3-4 large handfuls of unsorted on the table.
Switch the buckets.. you won't have to empty either one as often. |
If your percentages are low.. just sort more. If your percentages are high.. just sort more.
Now selling Copper pennies. 1.6x plus shipping. Limited amounts available. |
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Zyll
Penny Pincher Member
USA
214 Posts |
Posted - 04/04/2010 : 20:43:50
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I agree with hoard, once I got a digital scale it was much faster to sort than by visual inspection...but the right kind of scale. The fastest was 500g max, 0.1g accuracy. So I would have a handful in one hand, placing them on the scale. The other hand would sweep the 2.5g pennies off the top of the scale, and the 3.1g pennies off the bottom.
quote:
Originally posted by HoardCopperByTheTon
Welcome to the forum wiper. Glad you found your way over. Fastest and most accurate for me pre-Ryedale.. was to use a small digital scale. I could do about a box an hour that way.. much faster for me than looking at the dates. I sold off a lot of those coppers to pay for my first Ryedale.
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lewbo
Penny Pincher Member
USA
221 Posts |
Posted - 04/04/2010 : 22:08:56
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| I agree digital scale is the best hand sort method. I got mine from Harbor Freight for about $10. I did move up to the Ryedale Ace and it was liking getting warp drive. |
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wiper
Penny Sorter Member
36 Posts |
Posted - 04/05/2010 : 00:16:41
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thanks for all the responses...i guess i was more asking the fastest/most accurate way to literally hand sort. i'm not at the point where i'm really doing this to fill multiple buckets and have hundreds of pounds of copper pennies in my basement.
it's like my dad putting together puzzles in his spare time. i'll throw 2 hours or so a couple days a week towards sorting. i'm starting to run out, but my dad has 3 huge glass jugs full of unsorteds, and i can drop off zincs anytime and take the same weight back.
i just got done with about 2 hours' worth, and now i'm ready to play video games. :) i honestly don't even want to get into dealing with banks/machine sorters/etc. yet. i'm just doing it because it's relaxing as i'm drinking a beer or 3, and it makes me feel like i'm satisfying my metals fix w/o actually tossing money at my local shop or ebay.. |
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NotABigDeal
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
3890 Posts |
Posted - 04/05/2010 : 06:05:09
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quote:
Originally posted by wiper
thanks for all the responses...i guess i was more asking the fastest/most accurate way to literally hand sort. i'm not at the point where i'm really doing this to fill multiple buckets and have hundreds of pounds of copper pennies in my basement.
it's like my dad putting together puzzles in his spare time. i'll throw 2 hours or so a couple days a week towards sorting. i'm starting to run out, but my dad has 3 huge glass jugs full of unsorteds, and i can drop off zincs anytime and take the same weight back.
i just got done with about 2 hours' worth, and now i'm ready to play video games. :) i honestly don't even want to get into dealing with banks/machine sorters/etc. yet. i'm just doing it because it's relaxing as i'm drinking a beer or 3, and it makes me feel like i'm satisfying my metals fix w/o actually tossing money at my local shop or ebay..
Warning:
Alcohol may effect the quality of your sort, hehe.
Have fun and welcome. You are not alone in your sickness.
Deal |
Live free or die.
Plain and simple.
"If you love wealth more than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, depart from us in peace. We ask not your council or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you. May your chains rest lightly upon you and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen."
- Samuel Adams |
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motos
Penny Sorter Member
41 Posts |
Posted - 04/05/2010 : 08:59:54
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| Not trying to hijack but what would be a recommendation for a scale. I assume you wouldn't need a super one maybe a 1/100th gram scale? Any suggestions? |
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AGgressive Metal
Administrator
USA
1937 Posts |
Posted - 04/05/2010 : 09:33:16
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| I just dump about 100 out at a time and pick out the obvious date-up coppers, then pick out the obvious date-up zincs, then go through the remaining 50% by hand. I would rather be 100% accurate the first time through. |
And he that hath lyberte ought to kepe hit wel / For nothyng is better than lyberte / For lyberte shold not be wel sold for alle the gold and syluer of all the world.
-Caxton's edition of Aesop's Fables, 1484 |
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Zyll
Penny Pincher Member
USA
214 Posts |
Posted - 04/05/2010 : 15:43:19
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quote:
Originally posted by motos
Not trying to hijack but what would be a recommendation for a scale. I assume you wouldn't need a super one maybe a 1/100th gram scale? Any suggestions?
You must be logged in to see this link.
Fast Weigh M-500 Digital Pocket Scale 500g X 0.1 gram accuracy
This is the one I got...price point and accuracy were right. I have a 1/100th gram scale, and it takes an additional half second to finalize the weight after you drop the coin on it. Also the 500g max weight limit enables you to spot check a full roll of pennies where my 100gx0.01g scale max's out.
EDIT: I also have access to a food scale that is 5kgx1g, and it's not sensitive enough to quickly discern zincs from coppers. |
Edited by - Zyll on 04/05/2010 15:48:50 |
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motos
Penny Sorter Member
41 Posts |
Posted - 04/05/2010 : 18:24:05
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wow thats a cool little scale. i was looking more for an AC powered scale with a flat top to easily swipe pennies off.
you sure were right though zyll that price is right! |
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thatgeorge
New Member
15 Posts |
Posted - 04/05/2010 : 23:03:06
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| Here I what I do. I break open 5 rolls of pennies and put then in the middle of the table in one big pile. Then I take a decent size hand full in my right hand and then rapidly bounce each one on the table. Meanwhile, I use my left hand to push the zinc-sounding ones left and the copper-sounding ones right. Then after I have bounced all the copper pennies in my hand I sweep all the zincs into the reject bin. Then I spot check the copper pennies for wheats and to confirm that all the face up pennies are from before 1983, and then sweep the non-wheat copper pennies into the copper bin. Then I grab another handful and do it all again. I can 99.5% accurately (about once every 4 or 5 boxes I find a mistake in my face-up spot check so I'm assuming there is probably about one face-down penny that I miss every 4 or 5 boxes) sort 2500 pennies (one box) in just under one hour while sorting out all the wheat pennies and Canadian pennies this way. If I didn't sort for wheat/Canadian pennies and could get bags instead of boxes I'm pretty confident that I could sort up to 3200 to 3500 pennies per hour this way. |
Edited by - thatgeorge on 04/05/2010 23:07:53 |
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wiper
Penny Sorter Member
36 Posts |
Posted - 04/06/2010 : 13:20:08
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why are people looking for canadian pennies? i just toss 'em in either bucket as if they're 'normal'.
also, should i be bothering myself with the '09 lincoln cents? i put them in a little baggie with the wheats. |
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fasteddy
Penny Collector Member
USA
298 Posts |
Posted - 04/06/2010 : 13:40:49
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hey Motos
forget the ac powered...use batteries they last a long time and the tray on the scale in the link above is actually the cover of the scale used as a tray...as in you don't have to use the tray...it was what i used to use to weigh cents. I have three scales and I use the 500 gram capacity one the most and it was the least cost. 1/10 gram is good...1/100 gram is better if you are weighing dope otherwise you only need the 1/10 gram scale...as in 3.1 grams...Good weighing to all |
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Zyll
Penny Pincher Member
USA
214 Posts |
Posted - 04/06/2010 : 15:07:18
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Yup the tray is the cover and it's easy to swipe the pennies off. LOL re: weighing dope. I actually use the .01g scale to weigh bullion coins and gold nuggets.
quote:
Originally posted by fasteddy
hey Motos
forget the ac powered...use batteries they last a long time and the tray on the scale in the link above is actually the cover of the scale used as a tray...as in you don't have to use the tray...it was what i used to use to weigh cents. I have three scales and I use the 500 gram capacity one the most and it was the least cost. 1/10 gram is good...1/100 gram is better if you are weighing dope otherwise you only need the 1/10 gram scale...as in 3.1 grams...Good weighing to all
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motos
Penny Sorter Member
41 Posts |
Posted - 04/06/2010 : 16:53:01
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| if the batteries truly last a while as you say. its good to know thats the cover too. thanks for the information guys. |
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thatgeorge
New Member
15 Posts |
Posted - 04/06/2010 : 17:42:00
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quote:
Originally posted by wiper
why are people looking for canadian pennies? i just toss 'em in either bucket as if they're 'normal'.
also, should i be bothering myself with the '09 lincoln cents? i put them in a little baggie with the wheats.
I only look for Canadian pennies because I'm already taking the time to look at each penny to determine if it is a wheat penny. Checking for Canadian pennies costs me no extra time and is just an extra thing to do for fun. I only keep the '09 copper cents that I find (only one so far) and throw the zincs away. |
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fb101
Administrator
USA
2856 Posts |
Posted - 04/06/2010 : 18:03:58
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Every one is taking good care of you I see.
I have only one comment for the interim;
3 seconds is too long. At that rate you could only do about 24 rolls an hour.
My problem is my addiction to error coins.
I feed from my left hand, keep copper in the right, drop zinc into a "cup" on my lap,
and pull aside the ones that require further inspection for errors.
I can do a roll in about 1-1/2 minutes including the unwrapping.
Better if you can get bags, saves unwrapping and frankly, I think the percentages are better, especially of wheats.
Well, welcome to the forum. |
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biglouddrunk
Penny Pincher Member
138 Posts |
Posted - 04/06/2010 : 18:22:46
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| The fastest way to sort them is to find elderly relatives with good eyes. LOL When I hand sort I get ten in a straight line in my hand I though coppers in the bucket and make stacks of ten with the zincs this way you can sort and count at the same time. I can go through a 50 bag in a touch longer than the length of a baseball game. |
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Common Cents
Penny Sorter Member
82 Posts |
Posted - 04/07/2010 : 17:53:42
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| I bounce mine off a granite tile on my coffee table and the sound of zinc vs. copper is unmistakable. I can sort out the zincs really quickly this way. I check the dates of all the 'keepers' before putting them in the jar so as to sort out the wheaties from the common coppers. Speed is important to me, but being thorough and accurate is too. I try to strike a balance between the two. |
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optimal hand-sorting technique?
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