My fondness for Wheat Pennies

[maxxkatt]

As like many of you guys, I have more than a few older coins laying around. My favorite is the Wheat Penny and least favorite is the memorial. Most of you understand my lack of fondness for the memorial.

But ah the Wheat. To see that glorious reverse. On most coins the obverse is where all the art of the design is supposed to occur. But since it is the same as on a 14 trillion memorials in circulation, it has no affect on me. It is only when I flip it over it has the possibility of being a great penny.

When I glance down at a penny and see the reverse of a Wheat, it literally make me feel good.

The bold ONE CENT in the center letting you know without a doubt what you have found. The bountiful wheat stalks that frame the ONE CENT letting you know what a great bountiful country we live in.

Then underneath the bold ONE CENT you have in full proudly stated UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. The revere side of the Wheat says it all. of course there also is some tiny writing at the top in a foreign language too small to easily read like they were trying to hide that knowledge from us.

On a personal note, the Wheat penny brings back good memories of growing up in a small town in the USA during a time when growing up was fun without our modern day distractions that keep us apart from true young friends. And I am talking cell phones and video games.

So I imagine for me flipping over a penny and discovering a wheat will always bring a happy response and a promise of just maybe there might be an elusive silver hiding below and I need to keep on hunting.

PS: actual counts on wheat vs memorial mintage:
wheats = 25,792,545,927
memorials = 501,670,893,925
or 475,878,347,998 more memorials than wheats.
from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_cent_mintage_figures
in case anyone wants to check my math.

 

[HaroldILL.]

Yes the older greenie ones are super cool to find too.

 

[Monkeys Uncle]

Can't ignore...usually more good stuff coming from among the "wheat".

 

[ToySoldier]

A wheat penny book is a good way to keep things interesting when silver doesn't turn up much.

I haven't hunted much in the past two months but got away for about three hours the other day. Nothing great, although I snagged some clad quarters by going slowly over a trashy spot. However, when I got home I discovered one of my coins was a wheat I was missing in my book. Yay for me.

I like this wheat book because the pennies fit snug, it's only the wheat penny years, all the mints and VDB variations are covered, and there are a few blank spaces for a reverse example and maybe a variation/error if you're lucky:

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/628847/lincoln-cent-1909-1958-collectors-folder-by-warmans

An early Jefferson nickel book is also a good challenge. There are still plenty of early Jefferson nickels out there to be found, including war nickels. The 12 different mint/year variations of the first four years of the Jefferson nickel (1938-1941) are not easy to dig. I use this book:

https://www.amazon.com/Jefferson-Nickels-Folder-1938-1961-Harris/dp/0937458066/

For me, those two books keep the hope alive when silver or older nickels or good relics aren't showing up. I haven't gotten to the point of keeping a clad dime or quarter book, but I'm also not presumptuous enough to keep any books for Indian Head pennies, buffalo nickels or pre-1965 silver anything! Those eventually go into coin flips.

 

[Beachhunter]

Ah the lowly Wheat Penny. Always makes me happy to find one. Good luck!

 

[AirmetTango]

I still get excited whenever I find a Wheat cent, too. Sure, they’re a sign that you might be in an area that could still yield silver and other older goodies, so they give me an incentive to hunt a little harder. But for me, a big part of it is nostalgia, too. I’m old enough that it was still somewhat common to find Wheaties in your change while I was growing up in the late 70s/early 80s. I guess Wheats weren’t really that old back then, but a coin from the 50s or earlier sure seemed old to me at the time, so there was always a little thrill to find one in my change. My Dad and I would hunt through his change pile together once in a while, too. Their distinctive back always made them stand out from the other pennies, adding to the allure.

Anyway, that’s probably why I still enjoy finding the “lowly” Wheat while detecting so much and why they always make me smile a bit - digging one out of the ground momentarily transports me back in time a little, reliving that same small thrill from when I was a kid and remembering a fun memory with Dad. Plus, whenever I find one, I know I get to continue building memories: my youngest daughter loves helping me clean them up, inspiring another generation to appreciate the lowly Wheat!

 

[diggin4clad]

Finding wheat cents doesn't get me too excited because most of the ones in my area come out of the ground corroded beyond collectability. I do agree however, that the design is far superior to the memorials or the newer shield variety.

 

[diggin4clad]

of course there also is some tiny writing at the top in a foreign language too small to easily read like they were trying to hide that knowledge from us.

That tiny writing you mention is Latin.....E Pluribus Unum... which translates to "One Composed Of Many". In other words....One country made up of many states. They're definitely NOT trying to hide that "knowledge" from anyone.

 

[Scooterjim]

My wife found a brand new looking wheatie in change this week.

 

[FreeBirdTim]

I have a fondness for pre-1940 Wheaties. Any I find detecting go into a cardboard flip. The Wheaties from the 40's and 50's go into a box.

 

[jimther]

Always happy to see a non-dug Wheatie in my change from the store.

I recently helped my brother weigh and ship over 8000 Wheat cents (about 55 pounds) from Massachusetts to a fellow Forum member in California. He's probably still poring over them, looking for dates and mint marks he didn't have or errors. There were even some '43 Steel Wheaties in the shipment.

I had posted the offer here in the forum at: http://metaldetectingforum.com/showthread.php?p=3073572&highlight=8000+wheat#post3073572

Jim

 

[Lee1968]

When I was a kid in the '70's, my grandma would have me roll her pennies for her sometimes. She would give me a roll as "payment" when I was done. I remember sitting at her kitchen table and rolling what seemed like thousands of pennies, and she would always have me "separate the wheat cents for grandpa". Grandparents are long gone now, but it is a good memory to have.

 

[georgeinsc]

I also like finding a wheat penny. It is the penny of my childhood. I am old enough to have found a indian head penny in change . Have always loved the design of both. Wish I had all the silver coins that passed thru my hands.

 

[Princess]

It's nice to hear from other detectorists who enjoy the wheat pennies! When my brother Wolf-Dog and I were small, our dad (Lost&Recovered) taught us to look for wheat cents in our change; so we, too, have been fond of wheat cents since then. I really haven't found very many detecting, but when I have, there's an excitement that comes with it!

The time that I uncovered my first wheatie is one of my favorite memories of our hobby. My two brothers and I were new to detecting, and so far, we had yet to find any older coin (for that matter, I hadn't uncovered very many clad coins, either). The three of us were detecting our yard, and I had a signal beneath a large maple. I dug down, searched for the find, and was excited just to see that it was a coin at all. I called to my brothers as I discovered and examined the item, "It's a coin... it's a penny... it's a wheat penny!" As I recall, that was my first really good find, and the memory of sharing it with my brothers is something I hope to always remember.

 

[Foragist]

I concur. Cheers to the Wheaties!

 

[amc rulz]

My LCS pays 2c each for wheats. Woo Hoo!

 

[Big Treble]

Well, i hate to be the glass half full guy, but cant say i say the same sentiment.

Most certainly more exciting than clad dimes, zinc or even copper Memorials. I'm not dissapointed really, just not giddy so to speak.

 

[Diabolik]

Being new to this I have not yet found a ton of coins but I have found a few wheats. I love saving any coin from the ground really, but what amazes me is where I am finding them. I swear there is a Wheat Fairy that sprinkles them around for us to find. I found a 44 in the park this last weekend under an old, lone pine tree. I couldn't help wondering how it got there, and how long it had been there waiting to see the light of day again.

 

[bmattioli]

I always Love finding them

 

[GLASSHOPPER1955]

I still get excited whenever I find a Wheat cent, too. Sure, they’re a sign that you might be in an area that could still yield silver and other older goodies, so they give me an incentive to hunt a little harder. But for me, a big part of it is nostalgia, too. I’m old enough that it was still somewhat common to find Wheaties in your change while I was growing up in the late 70s/early 80s. I guess Wheats weren’t really that old back then, but a coin from the 50s or earlier sure seemed old to me at the time, so there was always a little thrill to find one in my change. My Dad and I would hunt through his change pile together once in a while, too. Their distinctive back always made them stand out from the other pennies, adding to the allure.

Anyway, that’s probably why I still enjoy finding the “lowly” Wheat while detecting so much and why they always make me smile a bit - digging one out of the ground momentarily transports me back in time a little, reliving that same small thrill from when I was a kid and remembering a fun memory with Dad. Plus, whenever I find one, I know I get to continue building memories: my youngest daughter loves helping me clean them up, inspiring another generation to appreciate the lowly Wheat!

THIS ^^^ is exactly my feelings about Wheaties too. My first memories of money when I was a tyke (but WAY before the 70s-80s)