Wheat pennies are good to have. They're worth .02c-.06c each. I mean, you'd have to have a TON of them to make any money but if you happen to have a few, keep them.
I have a buddy who runs larger coin shop in this region. I do not know specifics of what coins are good and bad, but there may be slight differences that make one coin worth large premium versus a ordinary coin which may be marginally worth over face. The best bet is do not clean coins at all. My buddy can sort through coin collections at amazing speeds, so if you want to know just take it larger coin dealer. Now if you have a collection of wheat pennies,( low value common coins) a coin dealer wouldn't sort through those and probably just estimate the value on weight.
My Ex Wife had a small collection. Her Father use to collect coins.
From what I remember. Never clean the coin. If its worth anything you could damage the value. The coins are graded on wear and appearance. Defects from when they are struck are also worth a lot as they are not to be distributed but sometimes they make it out. Older the better.
Side note My grand mother use to save silver coins. Later in life her eyes were not so good and she started saving regular coins. She use to gift her kids with a silver dollar for each birthday and after they moved out she would put the coins in a box. When she passed the vultures took the coins, even the ones that belonged to my mother. Karma gets you, his kids found them and spent them as regular money.
