Is it literally or theoretically possible to get a BU unopened roll from the mint and all the coins in that roll have the same exact variety or error? That would be quite a find
It is of course theoretically possible. I bought a $20 mint bag of 1945-S Cents, and all the coins were from the same die pair. All 40 rolls. Unfortunately, the die die not show an RPM or DDO...
Do you mean variety as in a coin minted from a specific obverse and reverse die combination? I would guess in that case it's possible.
Yes. I won't go as far as saying it's more likely than not, but a fresh roll from the mint will probably have at most 3 die pairs. I have a roll of 2002 Sac dollars sitting here collecting dust. I'll open it and take a look sometime today, unless it seems a better idea to sell the roll as is. I should probably find out what these are going for.
Somewhere around here I still have a few rolls of 09 EC Lincolns that contain at least three different "varieties" (Wexler) as well as nons and have ranged from just a few examples per roll to being almost entirely filled with said three. The point is that not only is it possible with a single variety, but is with multiples as well. Unlikely, yes, but not outside the realm of possibility.
Yes, it is quite likely to get a roll that will be largely made up of the same variety. I once opened a roll of Alabama state quarters, and half of them all had the same large rim break around k7 on the reverse.
It depends on definitions of terms. If by "variety" you mean an unusual die variety of a given year then I'd probably have to say "no", it is not possible. Of course some strange confluence of factors at the mint could produce such a roll but it would probably require intention. Certainly a vey common variety such as a '60-D sm dt is quite possible to be the only coins in a roll because so many dies produced them. Also it could possibly occur if there is an intentional design change early in the year; the first coins would all be the scarce variety. But, in cases where fewer than five or ten dies struck the variety there's no real chance because the production of all dies are mixed together. Think of it this way; you very rarely get more than 8 or 10 coins in the same roll from the same die pair and these will be spread over a significant portion of the dies' lives (10- 30% or so). So what combination of factors could create a solid roll of the same scarce variety? There really aren't any. Absent intention the random walk of coins starts as soon as they are ejected from the press. A solid roll of varieties was put together.
