I keep seeing all these posts of people that have searched through HUGE amounts of half dollars, like $2,000 worth, and only finding 3 40% and 1 1964 kennedy.....Last week, I purchased a total of about $400 worth of halves and I found 17 40% halves, although I didn't find any 90%....So, Is it just luck, or location?
In my opinion it is all about location, small towns small banks big city big banks there is no difference. You just have to be in the right place at the right time, sometimes I hit it big most times not. Im my area of A Z it is even hard to get Kennedys and when you do most are bank rolls of 2001-d. The fun is in the search thats why I do it just like panning for gold and looking for that mother load. Your were lucky this time but there will be a day when you will hit a big nothing thats my opinion.
It is pretty much just luck. I went to the bank, asked for some rolls of halves, and got 2. I looked at the rolls, and they were solid 1964 and before, I got kennedies, franklins, and walkers. I went in the next day and asked the teller who brought those in. She said that it was ome kid whose grandpa gave him the halves and he just cashed them in, I feel sorry for his grandpa, but....."kids these days"
And last week, I went to another bank and got $200 in halves, I got 5 solid rolls of 1965-1970, and the 1970 was a proof. And on wednesday I went to another bank, and bought all their halves (all one roll of it) and they ended up being a BU roll of 1964's!! I just hope that my luck doesn't run out.
wow...looks like you're luckier than me....But I got the 400 in halves at Liberty Bank, 8 Pope Avenue, Hilton Head Island, SC =p.....They said someone brought them in....Oh, and a bunch of the rolls they had were all one date and were marked with the date and "BU," But I looked and the only one that was actually uncirculated-looking was the 1996-d roll, which I kept=p Also, I live in Jacksonville, Florida, and I usually do pretty well here...I just call around the banks untill I find one with over 100 in halves...Then I get my dad to drive me there and I'm all set....=)
I have a good friend who lives in a smallish town of 40,000 near Fresno, and he cultivates the tellers, remembering their names and birthdays, and when I was there, he went to Denny's and bought some small food coupons and handed them out at the bank. That one trip, they gave him 5-10 star notes and some older $50 and $100 bills that had passed through. They had a few IKEs which neither of us wanted, and several bills they said looked "odd" to them. He goes in 2 or 3 times a week and they are disappointed when they have nothing for him. They also watch for customer rolls that have things written on them other than just account numbers like "older dimes". He had a stack of several hundred notes of greater value than face that he has collected with just a small amount of "social engineering" and coupons.
Hey Bruce - I'm in Mesa, AZ too! Perhaps I've seen you once or twice - I hang out at Xavier Coins on Power Road on my days off. You're spot on about those halves here in the city. Most of the banks have zip. I've had some luck at the Bank of Americas - it seems they don't cash their halves in as often as other banks here. If you ever go to Xavier Coins Saturday afternoons, you'll probably find me there! Good luck! AJM
Hi AJM, I hang out at Action Coins down the street from Xavier I know the owner so I do all my business there.
