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wheeler_dealer
Penny Collector Member
USA
402 Posts |
 Posted - 03/11/2008 : 23:13:46
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Can someone explain how they are using a digital scale to sort pennies.
I have one and use it to weigh out rolls that come in the box that appear to be all zinc. This saves a lot of time and headache. I am not ready to make the leap for the ryedale yet. I am working on building up my collection of boxes and when I run out of room or cash then I might charge one. Any help is appreciated. Thanks
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CoinHunter53562
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1805 Posts |
Posted - 03/11/2008 : 23:31:09
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| I use mine to help me sort the 1982's into copper vs zinc. You could use it to sort copper vs zinc for all years but for me it's faster to hand sort by sight instead of weighing all 2500 coins in a box one by one. |
My hobby: collecting real money 1 copper cent or nickel at a time.
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HoardCopperByTheTon
Administrator
USA
6807 Posts |
Posted - 03/12/2008 : 00:06:51
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I used to do some serious sorting using a digital scale. Actually paid for my Ryedale with the profits from selling coppers I sorted that way. It is actually faster than hand sorting. You don't have to flip any pennies over and orient them so you can read the date.
You can start off just doing one coin at a time. It either weighs 2.5 grams and is zinc or 3.1 grams and is copper. You get pretty quick at it with practice. After a while you get to where you can do 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 coins at a time. Since the majority of the coins you are sorting will be zinc you just see if your stack on the scale is multiples of 2.5 grams. You pour a roll into one hand and use that hand to drop however many at a time you want on the scale. You kick with the other hand. When you get big enough piles on both sides of the scale you slide them off the table into the proper bin. When you set things up try to conserve motion whenever possible to speed up production.
I have a seperate larger digital scale that I use to weigh an entire box at a time. This will tell me if the box is a dud without even having to break the seal. |
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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wolvesdad
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
2164 Posts |
Posted - 03/12/2008 : 06:07:34
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...yeah, I don't know. HCBTT what size digital scale did you use? Mine is a tiny pocket size one. About 2.5 inch by 4 or 5 inches. The scale surface is only 2 by 2 or so. Even in doing the 1982's, even doing the 2-4 at a time method...it doesn't seem to go as fast as visual sorting?
Maybe I'm just slow? OR maybe I haven't given it a shot with the right enthusiasm! ?? |
"May your percentages ever increase!" |
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CoinHunter53562
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1805 Posts |
Posted - 03/12/2008 : 07:51:41
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quote:
...yeah, I don't know. HCBTT what size digital scale did you use? Mine is a tiny pocket size one. About 2.5 inch by 4 or 5 inches. The scale surface is only 2 by 2 or so. Even in doing the 1982's, even doing the 2-4 at a time method...it doesn't seem to go as fast as visual sorting?
Maybe I'm just slow? OR maybe I haven't given it a shot with the right enthusiasm! ??
My digital scale is about the same size and I dont see how it's possibly faster than hand sorting. It takes a moment to get the weight, and then after the coins are removed it takes a moment to reset back to zero before the next coins can go on. I guess I am lucky that my eyesight is still decent and with the proper table set up and lighting, I can fly through a box of pennies in a couple of hours. That's with checking for some of the more major variations (1972 DD, 1983 DDR, 1984 DDO, 1998/1999/2000 wide AM, etc). With some music in the background it works out great. |
My hobby: collecting real money 1 copper cent or nickel at a time.
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HoardCopperByTheTon
Administrator
USA
6807 Posts |
Posted - 03/12/2008 : 09:53:51
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| I use a little higher end scale. So maybe the settlement rate is a little faster (the time it takes to reset to zero or to give you the weight) I use an Ohaus Emerald scale. It is a pocket size scale but the scale surface is probably 3 inches by 3.5 inches. I can only report what worked for me. I am not as fast as Coinhunter on eyeballing them.. my sort rate for eyeballing them was about 2 hours for a box without checking for varieties. My sort rate using the scale was 1 hour per box. Of course neither of these methods is nearly as fast or easy as using a Ryedale. Now I can sort them almost as fast as I can get them out of the rolls! If you are doing any kind of volume at all and speed is important to you then the Ryedale machine is the only way to go. If speed is not important then it doesn't really matter how long it takes.. just sort the way that you enjoy the most. I realized early in the game that there was no way I could do any serious hoarding without automation. I probably waited longer than I should have to get my machine.. I was 100 boxes behind on my sorting when I ordered it. |
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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wheeler_dealer
Penny Collector Member
USA
402 Posts |
Posted - 03/12/2008 : 10:26:52
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THANK YOU all for your help. I hand sort for now and hope to improve my methods. Want to consider a
ryedale just not at that point yet. I will try the scale method and let you know how it works.
Thanks again! |
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HoardCopperByTheTon
Administrator
USA
6807 Posts |
Posted - 03/12/2008 : 11:26:19
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| Glad I could help a little. This site is all about sharing ideas and experiences. Many of us have been at this a while and have gone through similar processes. Best test would be to do 2 boxes.. one each way.. and time the results. Another consideration is to plan your work area out and think about how to save motion. At first I was tossing each penny in a bin. |
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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CoinHunter53562
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1805 Posts |
Posted - 03/12/2008 : 11:35:45
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quote:
THANK YOU all for your help. I hand sort for now and hope to improve my methods. Want to consider a
ryedale just not at that point yet. I will try the scale method and let you know how it works.
Thanks again!p
You bet...the main thing is to find what works best for you. For hand sorting, I use a table I bought at IKEA that I have in my office. The edge works nicely for cracking open the rolls, and then I spread them out directly in front of me. With my left hand, coppers go to the left, and with the right hand the zincs go to the right. Any wheaties, canadians or 82's go straight ahead. I also put aside any coins that I want to check for varities like I mention earlier and check through those every few rolls. It breaks up the monotony of straight sorting, and I also break things up by weighing the 1982's every 10 or 20 rolls. Every once in awhile I will slide the zincs into a bucket, and slide the coppers into a different bucket. This method works for me, but the method that Hoard mentions sounds quite effective too. I guess my advice is to do a little trial and error.
Also if you are going to look for varieties, I would recommend doing them before sliding them into mass containers. I made the mistake of not doing that and having to go back through a few thousand pennies to look for these. If you're not sure of the varities, the Redbook is a good resource for that. |
My hobby: collecting real money 1 copper cent or nickel at a time.
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Digital Scale
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