I was at a shop recently where the dealer was offering me a nice BU roll of 1925 Lincoln cents. They looked to be spot free and MS64 or above average. Problem here is that he wants $1200 cash. He said a dealer out West offered him $1700 for the roll if he would ship, and understandably, he doesn't want to do so. What is the upside on this vs. the downside? I checked out HA's auction records on 65s. They were around $80 per gem, red. So you get 50 coins. Let's say you get them graded, the high end ones. A few actually grade over MS65 red. That should be a win, right? Or you buy and hold and look for the roll buyer at Baltimore who will pay the most. Another consideration: Taking coins out of rolls to examine them; what is the liklihood of them getting marks that will lessen their grades? Thanks.
Maybe this will make up you mind. Certified (NGC & PCGS) 64 reds are going $40 to $75 and 65 reds are going $100 to $200 on Heritage for the past couple years. I have no idea where your $80 figure came from. Even if they are all 64's @ say $50 each (very low side) you should be able to certify all and profit. However, I would really question that they would grade that high.
