My 6-Month Hunt for Overdates: The Coins I Found, the Mistakes I Made, and What I’d Do Differently

Six months ago, I thought I knew what overdates were. I didn’t. I’d read the books, seen the photos, even handled a few in coin shops. But knowing about something is nothing like *hunting* for it. This is my story – the coins I found, the mistakes that cost me time and money, and the hard-won lessons that actually work. If you’re starting this search, here’s what I wish I’d known on day one.

It started with a question: *Are overdates still out there?* Not just locked away in museums, but hiding in drawers, stashed in old books, maybe even jingling in someone’s pocket change? I assumed the famous ones – the 1942/1 dime, the 1829/7 Bust half – were relics. Then, bam. At a flea market, $20 for a beat-up Whitman folder. Inside? A heavily circulated 1818/7 half dollar. Not pretty. Not worth thousands (not yet). But *real*. The subtle curve of the “7” clearly visible under the “8” when I held it just right under a lamp. That moment? That was the hook. Over the next six months, I found 13 more: a 1942/1 Mercury dime (from my grandfather’s change jar), an 1875 S/CC overmintmark quarter, even a Peruvian 1894/3 dinero. The hunt was real. And messy. And absolutely addictive.

The Hard Truth: “Just Look Closer” is Terrible Advice

My first strategy? “Just look closer.” Seems logical, right? “Check the date. See if there’s a bump. A double line?” Nope. I wasted *three months* doing exactly that. Checking every 1819, 1824, 1829 half dollar I could find. Every 1942 dime. What I found wasn’t overdates. I was spotting doubled dies, a completely different (and far more common) phenomenon. I felt like an idiot.

Overdate vs. Doubled Die: Don’t Get Fooled

• Overdate: This is a *manual* change. The mint worker literally took a punch and hammered the *entire date* over the old one on a die. Look for the **entire digit** being replaced, often with visible metal chips, “filling” from the original digit, or a distinct “ghost” (like that “7” under the “8” in my 1818). It’s surgical.

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• Doubled Die: This happens when the hub (the master die) strikes the working die *twice* at a slightly different angle. The doubling isn’t just on the date – it’s **uniform across *all* design elements**. The “E” in “STATES,” the stars, the date – they’ll all show the same doubling pattern. Very common after 1960, when this error type became more frequent. It’s a printing error, not a date change.

My first “discovery” was a 1992/4 cent. I was so sure! I even tried to sell it online. The response? A polite (but brutal) “Kid, that’s a doubled die. It’s worth exactly 2 cents. Maybe 3 if it’s shiny.” Ouch. That stung. But it taught me the fundamental difference: look *beyond* the date. Check the letters, the stars. Are *all* doubled? Doubled die. Is *only* the date changed or oddly shaped? Overdate.

My First Real Payoff: The 1818/7 Half Dollar

After the doubled die debacle, I got serious. I learned a crucial rule: **Focus pre-1900.** After 1900, the U.S. Mint stopped manually punching dates onto dies. They started using hubs with the date already on them. True overdates? Almost impossible after that. So, I shifted my focus to the 1800s.

My tool? eBay, but smartly. I stopped just searching “overdate.” I used a PNG-based macro to scan listings for “1818 half dollar” with specific filters:


{
"year": "1818",
"category": "Half Dollars",
"keywords": ["/7", "overdate", "die variety"],
"exclude": ["doubled die", "1960", "modern", "error", "misprint"]
}


When I saw the listing, the price was low – too low. Circulated, no pictures of the date. I messaged the seller, asked specifically for a clear, close-up photo of the date, angled to catch the light. They sent it. I grabbed my 10x loupe. **Tip:** Tilt the coin under a bright, directional light (a desk lamp works). The original, underlying digit often casts a distinct shadow. There it was. The faint but undeniable curve of the “7” beneath the “8.” I bought it. My first real overdate. The thrill was worth the flea market $20 and the three months of chasing ghosts.

The Grading Trap: Slabs Aren’t Always the Answer

I had a serious case of slab envy. I thought: “PCGS or NGC slab? That’s the *only* real overdate. Authentic. Valuable.” So, I saved. For months. I bought a beautiful, slabbed 1829/7 Bust half in MS64. Cost me $1,200. Then I went to my first coin show. And it changed everything.

Why Raw Coins Can Be Your Secret Weapon

• Slab Premiums: That plastic holder? It costs money. A lot. A coin in a slab often carries a 30-50% price tag *just for the slab*, not the coin itself. You’re paying for insurance, not rarity.
• Hidden Details: That slab? It can hide things. Tiny die chips, re-engraving marks, specific flow lines – these subtle details that prove authenticity and can increase value are often obscured by the holder. I’ve seen raw coins with *more* diagnostic features than slabbed ones.
• Cherry-Picking: Dealers know this. They buy raw coins, cherry-pick the best ones (the ones with clear overdates), send them to PCGS/NGC for grading, and resell them for 2 or 3 times the price they paid. They’re profiting from the *grading* process, not necessarily the coin’s intrinsic value.

At that coin show, I met an old collector, “Doc,” selling raw coins. He had an 1808/7 dime. $380. Raw. No slab. I used my loupe. Clear “7” under the “8.” And a tiny, unique die chip near the date – a perfect fingerprint. I bought it. Sent it to PCGS. Came back AU58. Market value? $1,100. **Lesson learned:** Stop chasing slabs. Learn to *see*. Slabs are insurance for a reason – they protect, but they also hide. Develop your own eye. The thrill of finding something *raw* and *real*, then having it authenticated? Priceless. And potentially more profitable.

The “Grandfather” Coin & The Emotional Price Tag

Then there was the 1942/1 Mercury dime. My grandfather. Pulled from change in 1951. He wrote it down: “Found this in my change at the diner, 1951.” To me? This wasn’t just a coin. It was a *holy grail*. I was convinced it was worth $10,000. Sent it to PCGS. Grade? VF25. Valuable, yes. But not life-changing. I was crushed. The story *mattered* to me, but the market? It cared about condition. I’d conflated sentiment with value.

My New Pricing Rulebook: Data First, Heart Second

1. Separate Feeling from Fact: I created a simple spreadsheet. Columns: Coin, Date, Variety (Overdate/Overmintmark), My Grade (using the 70-point scale), Recent Auction Price (from Heritage Auctions), Population Report (PCGS/NGC), Notes. I forced myself to *look* at the data before the story.
2. “Apples to Apples” is Key: I found recent sales of 1942/1 dimes graded VF25 on Heritage Auctions. The range was $300-$340. My grandfather’s coin? That was the market value, not $10k. Adjust expectations. Hard, but necessary.
3. Storytelling Adds Value (But Prove It): A coin with a *documented* provenance *can* add 10-20% to the value. But only if it’s *verifiable*. I listed my grandfather’s dime. Included a high-quality scan of his handwritten note: “Found this in my change at the diner, 1951.” The scan was central to the listing. It didn’t sell for $10k. But it sold for $375. That’s $55 *above* the average VF25 market price. The story worked – because I proved it.

The Overmintmark Surprise: It’s Not Just the Date

I thought overdates were about the *date*. Then I found the 1875 S/CC quarter. The mintmark “CC” was clearly punched over an “S”. Same process – a worker manually re-punched the die. But the target? The mintmark, not the year. Mind blown. This opened a whole new hunting ground.

Overmintmarks: The Hidden Relatives of Overdates

Like overdates, overmintmarks happen when a die is reused after the mintmark changes. Key things I look for now:

• Ghost Mintmarks: The original mintmark leaves a clear, often symmetrical “ghost” beneath the new one. On my S/CC, the “S” is perfectly visible under the “CC”, like a shadow.
• Asymmetry & Placement: The overmintmark isn’t always perfectly centered. It’s often slightly offset, pushed to one side of the original hole. Look for the lack of perfect symmetry.
• Still Possible After 1960: Unlike true overdates, overmintmarks *can* and *do* happen after 1960. The mintmark is still punched onto the die, so it can be changed manually. A key difference for modern hunters.

I found the S/CC in an old, inherited collection bought for $150. The “S” under “CC” was so clear, even my loupe didn’t feel necessary. It’s now valued at $650. The thrill? Finding a new type of “hidden” overdate, proving the process wasn’t just limited to the 1800s and the date.

Three Hard-Earned Lessons: What I Wish I Knew Day One

1. Build Your “Die Variety” Arsenal

Stop chasing every coin that looks “weird.” Build a library. I did. Now I have:
– *The Cherrypickers’ Guide to Rare Die Varieties* (my bible)
– Back issues of *Die Variety News* (goldmine for obscure references)
– A personal GIF-based library: short animations showing the specific overdate/overmintmark details for coins like the 1817/3 CBH, the 1942/1, the 1875 S/CC. I made them myself.

**Pro Tip:** Use Photoshop or even free software. Open a photo of a *confirmed* overdate (from reliable sources). Then, open a photo of a coin *you* think might be one. Use layers. Reduce opacity. Slide the layers together. Can you align the ghost digits? The die chips? The flow lines? It’s like overlaying a template. This saved me from countless mistakes.

2. Think Like a Mint Worker: The “Reverse Engineering” Mindset

Overdates and overmintmarks aren’t random. They’re *errors*. Understanding *why* they happened helps you predict *where* to find them. I study mint records and die usage patterns now. Overdates are more likely in:
– **Transition Years:** When the mint was switching years (1819 → 1820, 1941 → 1942). Dies with old dates were being used for new coins, requiring the date change.
– **Dated Dies:** Dies that were used for multiple years (e.g., a die made in 1941, used for 1942 coins). The 1942/1 dime is a classic example.
– **Mint Transitions:** When a mint facility closed or production shifted (e.g., 1875 S/CC quarter, when San Francisco production was moving to Carson City). The mintmark change created the need for overmintmarks.

I even made a simple Python script to analyze PCGS population reports. It searches for coins described as “overdate” and groups them by year:


import pandas as pd
df = pd.read_csv('pcgs_population.csv')
overdates = df[df['description'].str.contains('overdate', case=False, na=False)]
print(overdates.groupby('year').size().sort_values(ascending=False))


The results? 1818, 1829, 1942, and 1875 are the clear hotspots. Data doesn’t lie. Focus your search on these years. It saves time.

3. The “Bum Luck” Strategy: Find the Hidden Gems

My best finds? They came from the most unlikely places. “Junk” boxes. Estate sales. Inherited collections. People who don’t know what they have, or don’t care. I call it “rescue hunting.”
– Found an 1814/3 half dollar in a dealer’s $10 “junk box” at a coin show. Circulated, but the overdate was clear.
– Won a 50-coin lot on eBay for $28. Buried in it? An 1894/3 Peruvian dinero. The seller listed it as “assorted world coins.”
– Got a 1960 small/large date combo (an overmintmark variant) for free from a friend cleaning out their late father’s drawer. They thought it was just a regular coin.

The key? People undervalue coins they don’t understand. They see “old coin” or “foreign coin,” not “rare die variety.” I now spend about 20% of my time specifically looking for these raw, ungraded coins from non-collectors, estate sales, or “junk” sources. The margins are often huge. The thrill is finding something *before* it gets slabbed and marked up.

The Overdate Mindset: It’s More Than Just the Coin

Six months in, I’m not just a collector. I’m a hunter. An observer. A detective. Overdate hunting isn’t just about finding rare coins. It’s about:

Seeing the Unseen: Training your eye to spot the *imperfections* – the metal displacement, the ghost digits, the slight asymmetry – not just the obvious numbers. It’s about looking *through* the surface.
Trusting Your Eye, Not Just the Slab: A raw coin, studied carefully, can be more revealing than a slabbed one. Slabs are protection, not proof of your knowledge. When you’ve done your homework, trust what you see.
Respecting the Story, But Valuing the Coin: A coin’s history can add real value, but only if it’s verifiable and presented well. Never let nostalgia override the market data. Know the difference.

I still don’t have that elusive 1817/3 CBH half dollar. (Maybe next month.) But I’ve got something better: a system. A network of sources. A sharpened eye. And the satisfaction of knowing that the next time someone asks, “Any overdates still out there?” I can smile, hold up a coin, and say, “Found this one yesterday. In a box of ‘junk’ for $15. And I know exactly where to find more.” The hunt is the real treasure.

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