I ran across a small unopened boxed from when we moved, and in it was an OBW roll of what I assume are all 1954 P Jefferson nickels. One end is heads up, and the other is tails up. I have no idea where these came from, but I am curious as to what others would do. Part of me is tempted to break it open and see if there are any hidden gems, but the other part of me wants to keep it intact. If this were you, what would you do with the roll? For background, I have no interest in collecting Jefferson nickels, but I wouldn't shy away from learning more about them if I were to crack open the roll. Who knows, maybe that would entice a bug if I found some stunners. Edit: I just noticed we have an actual forum for roll hunting so it seems as though I posted this in the incorrect place. Sorry about that!
I would keep it in tact. Chances of having a mega gem are really slim. An original roll will always be cooler than a single 1954 Jefferson nickel.
I (gently) cracked open an OBW 1964 quarter roll. No gems and a little regret opening them. Personally, I'd probably open the roll you have, simply because I'm too curious to not. But, props to you if you're able to withstand the temptation.
I'd hold it intact until I decided to part with it, then sell it intact to the dreamers with visions of undiscovered treasure in their eyes for a silly price. The odds of finding a "treasure" in any random roll is pretty much zero, but there are always people willing to buy these unopened rolls for more then the individual coins are worth (which is all you will get, or less, once you open the roll), sometimes much more.
The 1954 Jefferson Nickel is usually of very poor quality and mushy strike. Gems are generally pretty rare and I consider this date/mm to be one of the toughest to locate in certified premium gem condition. However, even in premium gem (MS66), they are only $50. I paid only $15 for my registry 1954-P (shown below). The only real way to make money on a 1954-P is to find a Full Step nickel which are exceedingly rare. Personally, I would break it open because I'm a Jefferson Nickel collector and I would want the chance to possibly upgrade my registry coin with a "homeade" coin, but if you aren't a Jefferson collector, you probably would end up with an entire roll of uncirculated coins that are extremely difficult to sell individually.
As a Jefferson collector I would pop them..... as Lehigh stated...but If I wasn't a nickel collector I keep them in tac and sell them to a person who would want them to cherry pick... now if these were D or S mint mark as oh they be popped open in a NY second!
I just wanted to thank everyone for the replies. I have decided to resist the temptation and keep them as is. Should I ever decide to crack it open, I will be sure to update this thread. On a side note, I tried taking pictures and let me just say it didn't go well. I think part of the issue is the old plastic wrapping reflects so much light. Here's a photo of the roll and some super blurry images of the ends. I'll try for better pictures tomorrow.
The inner ones should be in better shape than the ends which took the brunt of the toning. If it is a new roll from the bank from 1954 there could be some awesome quality grades in there. And, even if it is not, then there will be some older ones in there, silver war nicks and some buffaloes. The fun is in the opening and going through them one by one to see what you have.
Yeah i’d Want to see what’s in there. Plus how would you describe it if you were to sell it intact? Old roll? OBW? All 1954’s?
I have not given much thought to that point. Although, it has probably been tucked away in that box for the better portion of 5 years without me having the desire to sell it. To be fair, I also was not entirely aware of its existence. I had a few other rolls from the 60s that I sold to an aspiring collector on the NGC boards last year. I suspect this roll was separated from the rest, and it is likely the only reason I still have it.
The end of the roll does look like it was opened and someone tried to redo it to originality. They came to the distribution company who then supplied them to the banks in bags who then rolled some usually with their names on them. So hope for the best, but be cautious, IMO, Jim
