I went to a different bank than I did last time, and asked for a box of pennies. The lady was sweet as can be and had no problem, and I took the box home. When I opened it, the glare from the light was blinding. I had been given an entire box of uncirculated 2010 pennies. I don't know if there's somebody somewhere who would be giddy over the thought of that, but since I do it to find wheaties and copper, I was deeply saddened over it. It completely killed my day, as pitiful as that sounds. Is there any value besides the $25 I spent on it, or should I just switch it out and try another bank?
Ah, I've had that happen before. It's disappointing to say the least.N Now, is there some value to be had in a box of uncirculated zinc cents? Yes, but not much. The truth is that you do have something that is not easy to find. Maybe you could sell it on ebay? Or you could keep it for years on speculation that an uncirculated 2010 cent will be worth a premium some day. Of course the downside is that you have to hold onto the box, which is heavy. You could also search it for errors.
After doing a quick google search, I get the impression that checking them for errors would be a massive waste of time.
if they were 2009s, maybe I'd search them for errors. You didn't get robbed, finding full boxes of brand new coins is just part of the game. Cash them in and get another box, or try to sell the rolls at a premium. The good news is you don't really get that many new rolls in the first few months of the year. I didn't start seeing shiny new rolls until at least April or May.
When I get a solid box of new coins, I like to go around to the smaller banks that never have enough coin to sell me rolls. I can easily trade the machine wrapped rolls straight up for customer wrapped or other circulated rolls. It's a nice way to get some coin from a bank that isn't typically a source and the tellers are usually thrilled to get rid of the ugly customer rolls for the nice and tight machine rolls.
I would weight the rolls. It's very likely that you have a box of almost completely uncirculated 2010 pennies. But I'm willing to bet there are some old pennies in there too. I sold a bunch of these 'salted' boxes on ebay at 1.5 - 2 times face after fees. If you're willing to sit with them and relist a couple times I'd do that. If you need the money to turn over more copper, just trade them to another bank. I've done both.
I think Job has it right. ebay may make you a couple of bucks. 2010, while not as low as 2009, was fairly low mintage. There may be someone who would pick up the box for a small premium. Be sure you start your price at 10% over face and shipping, as Ebay charges 9% on both. It will ship in a USPS flat rate box for $5.20 just fine. I'll bet you'll get $30 plus shipping or better. and that will save you a drop at your drop bank.
For what it's worth... A quick look at Ebay, there are 2012 boxes going for $40 - $89 So, $10 or $15 is still better than face at a deposit bank. and it takes just a much gas to go to the bank. True, but not much more that going to the bank and $10 is $10.
