“Have you ever knowingly spent $100 on a candy bar or $50 on a soft-drink? As ludicrous as the concept sounds, there is no doubt that you have unintentionally done this numerous time without knowing it,” is how authors Brian Allen and Ken Potter begin the new edition of Strike It Rich with Pocket Change, now available from Krause Publications. As more collectors and general coin enthusiasts are drawn to the treasure-hunt appeal of error and variety coins, interest in everyday coins is increasing as people take a closer look at the change in their pocket.

The U.S. Mint’s popular state quarter program and introduction of new nickels and a new dollar coin series has produced new discoveries, while demand for changes in U.S. coinage has generated greater attention and interest from the public. Thus the need for an updated version of this book, which helps make sense of it all and gives greater meaning to phrases including “double die,” “double edge-lettering”, trails,” “clashed die” and “die dents.”

In this new edition of Strike It Rich with Pocket Change readers learn about the different types of errors and how to spot them in varying types of coins, using the unique and useful combination of more than 350 close-up photos comparing properly minted coins with their error counterparts and identifying details featured. In addition, the authors’ insights help dispel common myths about error and variety coins.

Among the coins included in the listings are Lincoln Memorial cents, Jefferson nickels, Roosevelt dimes, Washington quarters, John F. Kennedy half dollars, and state quarters. While the listings focus on the more valuable rare coins, the principles discussed throughout this book can be applied when researching and inspecting any coin for possible errors.

According to a UK newspaper the boss of a well known financial firm reckons that the last time things were this bad (in the 70s) he and his colleagues took to hoarding krugerrands

“Warming to his theme, Winterflood regales me with tales of hoarding food in the attic and burying krugerrands – solid gold coins – in his garden, so fearful was he that Britain’s financial centre was about to implode.

So it is chilling when Winterflood, chairman of the City dealing firm that bears his name, declares the current financial crisis the worst he has witnessed.”

Time to bury gold coins in the garden?