Unopened mint sewn bag of 1972 P pennies

Here's the story - in 1972, while my mother-in-law was pregnant, my father-in-law made a $50 bet with someone that the baby would be a boy. When this person lost the bet, he jokingly paid my father-in-law in pennies - specifically, a mint sewn bag of 1972 pennies from Philadelphia (this person was on the board of the local bank). Fast forward 49 years... while cleaning out my in-laws' basement, I discovered the untouched bag of pennies stored in the back of a metal cabinet. I soon found myself sucked into the joys of penny hunting, and I am now totally obsessed with learning everything I can about pennies (not to mention I love my super cool coin microscope). I have been practicing with pocket change, as I have yet to decide what to do with the unopened 1972 bag. I'm most likely going to dive into it, but I'm curious to get outside opinions...what would you do? Thanks in advance!

PS - There was a similar conversation in the forum archives, but it was from 2010.

 

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That would be so fun to look through!
There are some really great doubled dies for 1972.

 

Treat them gentle. The mint bag may have pennies that were struck at about the same time. You may find variations that show some progress from a starting point. Treat them with care and ask a lot of questions from the friends here. Good luck and welcome to CT.

 

Wow! How lucky. Congrats!

 

You may find them badly toned if that basement had a lot of humidity. For your sake I hope not.

 

Great story! (...waiting for the first "They're not pennies; they're cents!" post)

Here are some options that come to mind...

1) You can open the bag and search for varieties. The Doubled-Die Obverse (DDO) lists for $600 in MS65RD. You can then roll up the remainder and sell them on eBay.

2) You can keep the bag sealed and sell the "dream". I imagine folks will pay up for an unopened Mint Bag.

3) The hybrid model... List the unopened bag on eBay for something silly like $10,000. If it doesn't sell, then go ahead and search it yourself.

 

First, welcome to the neighborhood, Molly!

I'm for opening the bag to see what is in it. You'll never know what sort of errors may be inside. My only caution is that you be very careful removing the stitching. If you cut into it, you don't want to cut into the bag. Even the bags are worth money.

Manny, I was thinking the same thing. Basements are notorious for being damp.

 

Wow! I would love to have an unopened bag of cents! I am one for not opening the bag. For me, I collect orginal bank wrapped rolls of coins with bank names on them. I know other people open them up to hunt for errors or get high grade coins, me, I love to keep them the way they are. That bag would be a GEM for me! My vote, keep it closed!
Thanks for sharing!

 

My first thought was to open the bag. Just out of curiosity, I checked eBay and found another 1972 "Mint sewn" bag that sold for $1800. Now, I don't know if I'd open it or take a chance selling it on eBay.

1972 Mint Sewn $50. Bag of (5000) B.U. LINCOLN CENTS COPPER | eBay

 

Keep it closed! Keep it preserved in the collection!

 

What a great year to have to search! If you decide to open the bag may you find something really good.

Welcome to CT.

 

5000 DDOs!

 

I am so thankful for the CT resource - no way I would attempt this without you!

 

I hadn't thought of the hybrid model - very intriguing. Great idea! I'll keep y'all posted when I decide what to do.

 

Good golly Miss Molly! Sorry, I couldn't resist, welcome to Cointalk!

 

I’d still open it.

 

I would open and search for doubled die ones....

 

Study this site and if you open the bag be aware that there were 10 DDO's for the year, know what you are looking for.
http://varietyvista.com/01b LC Doubled Dies Vol 2/DDO 1972.htm
Condition is the key, Get yourself acquainted with the grading standards, IE what does a gem (ms65) coin look like, and what is considered BU (ms64) and lower.
I am jealous.
Very cool find.
I have been going thru a few of mint bags. 68D, 63, and 72D.


Good luck and if you have any question post them here.
We would be glad to help.

 

Could this mint bag contain older cents, or do we think they're all 72s?

 

Now that’s funny!!!