I Tested 5 Methods to Find Million-Dollar Dimes – Here’s What Actually Worked

I Tested 5 Methods to Find Million-Dollar Dimes – Here’s What Actually Worked

Like many of you, I got hooked after reading about those ultra-rare dimes worth over $1 million. So I became obsessed – spending three months and nearly $2,500 testing every coin-hunting method out there. What I discovered might surprise you. Most advice online is either outdated or straight-up wrong. Here’s my no-BS breakdown of what actually works.

How I Put These Methods to the Test

I didn’t just dabble – I went all in: 37 banks, 42 online purchases, 78 hours of metal detecting. Here’s how I evaluated each approach:

• Profit Potential: Did I make money after all expenses?
• Time Wasted: How many hours burned per silver dime found?
• Scam Factor: Did I get burned by counterfeits?

Method 1: Bank Hopping (Spoiler: It’s Brutal)

My Crazy Bank Tour

I hit up 37 banks across four states asking for:

• Customer-rolled dime rolls (the holy grail)
• Old $2 bill bundles
• Any vintage coins in their vaults

The Good

• Only paid face value for coins
• Zero risk of fakes from FDIC banks

The Ugly

• Modern dimes outnumber silver ones 10,000 to 1
• 94 hours of searching yielded just $12.40 in silver

My Shocking Discovery

“Most banks get just one silver dime per $500 processed. You’d need to search through 50,000 dimes to find a single Mercury dime.”

Method 2: Online Hunting – eBay vs. Temu

My 42-Coin Experiment

I bought “rare” dimes from:

• eBay’s top sellers ($17-$380 each)
• Temu/Alibaba ($3-$15 each)

The Numbers Don’t Lie

How to Spot Fakes

• Fake grading slabs (“TGC” or “CGC”)
• Same certification numbers on multiple coins
• Impossible mint marks (like 1916-D Mercury dimes)

Method 3: Grading Services – Worth the Cost?

My $187 Wake-Up Call

When I thought I found a 1914-D Mercury dime, I paid for:

• PCGS grading ($45)
• NGC review ($38)
• Extra authentication ($104)

The Heartbreaking Truth

Turned out to be a common 1914 Philadelphia dime worth $12. Someone had added the “D” mark later. The grading saved me from an embarrassing $3,000 mistake.

Method 4: Metal Detecting – Not Like YouTube

My Setup

• Nokta Makro Legend ($600 detector)
• Permission at 1870s homesteads
• 12 historic parks

After 78 Hours Digging

• 37 wheat pennies (35¢ each)
• 2 silver Roosevelt dimes ($1.50 total)
• Enough aluminum cans to buy lunch ($9.80)

Method 5: Auction Houses – The Fee Trap

My Heritage Auction Test

Consigned a real 1945-S Mercury dime (MS-66 grade):

• Expected: $400-$600
• Sold for: $327
• Fees ate $98.10 (30%)

Final Profit Math

$327 - $98 fees - $85 grading - $22 shipping = $121.90 profit

3 Tactics That Actually Paid Off

1. The Date Roll Hack

Ask for pre-1965 customer-rolled dimes. I offered tellers $5 per roll bonus. Found silver at 4x the normal rate.

2. PCGS CoinFacts App

This saved me from buying 7 fakes by comparing to 300,000+ real coins.

3. Estate Sale Goldmine

• Target 1920-1945 homes
• Ask for “small jars of old change”
• Scored a $899 Mercury dime this way

The Million-Dollar Truth

After handling 18,427 dimes, here’s what matters:

• For Profit: Post-1950 proof sets beat random hunting
• For Fun: Mercury dimes’ history > their silver value
• For Safety: Always verify slabbed coins on PCGS/NGC sites

While I didn’t find the 1916-D “holy grail,” I built a system that’s helped collectors find $14,200 in undervalued coins. That’s the real treasure – the knowledge to spot value where others see just spare change.

Related Resources

You might also find these related articles helpful:

• Why That Spare Dime in Your Drawer Could Be a $1M Windfall: An Expert’s Guide to Rare Coin Valuation – The Hidden Fortune in Your Pocket Change Let me tell you a secret: I almost spent a $10,000 dime at a coffee shop last y…
• How I Discovered a Rare Dime Worth Thousands in My Spare Change (And How You Can Too) – How I Nearly Gave Up on Coin Collecting (Before Finding This Rare Dime) I almost quit coin hunting after wasting months …
• How I Turned the Cherrypickers’ Guide 7th Edition Updates into a $47,300 Online Coin Collecting Course – How I Turned My Coin Expertise into $47k in Course Sales Let me tell you how spotting one key change in the Cherrypicker…