Some years ago I won my Fantasy Golf League and used the proceeds to buy a sealed U.S. Mint box of eighty (80) 1962 mint sets (P/D). I paid the exorbitant price (at the time) of $22/set. That's just shy of 1.25 Oz of pure silver per set. I didn't buy them for the silver, though. Prices for the highest grade 1962 quarters and halves are through the roof! NGC lists the MS67 1962-D quarter at $8,750. They list the MS66FBL half at $9,750. I'm not suggesting that any of those coins are in my box. Coins were shipped/moved to the Mint Set packaging facility in mint bags. Mint sets of the early '60s are notorious for beat-up coins. With that said, as time goes by, there will be fewer and fewer sources of TRULY unsearched coins. Since my coins are in their original, sealed U.S. Mint shipping box, there is no doubt these haven't seen the light of day since 1962. Who knows this box could actually hold a lottery ticket or two. This is a case where the packaging may be worth more than the coins.
I'm sorry...I usually try to expand any acronym I use the first time. As @JeffC says, it stands for "Original Bank Wrapped" (OBW) roll. It generally refers to rolls banks create from bulk Mint bags and are "unsearched" for rare varieties or exemplary condition. There seems to be a cottage industry on eBay of searched rolls being rewrapped in old style sleeves to appear as OBW rolls. Since a good deal of the value of these rolls is the "appearance" of being an OBW roll, most people are reluctant to open the rolls to peer inside to see what they actually bought.
I've never really seen and handled a bank roll in real life before. But I've seen cashiers break one open on their cash register drawer. So a person can open up a roll (I guess very carefully) and then re-wrap it back to appear unopened?
I wish we had a CoinTalk Bar & Lounge in my town. I worked in Palo Alto, CA from time to time in the mid-80s and stayed in Menlo Park. There was a bar near the train station there called "The British Banker's Club". The BBC was set up just like an old British bank. They had large group tables like the ones in old banks...with thick green glass on top and cubbie holes all around for the various types of deposit/withdrawl slips. Only now, women used them for their purses. I don't know if it's still there, but it was a great place to meet women returning from a hard day's work in SF...and desperately in need of a back rub.
For a second I was freaking out a little. After thinking these were still the flat pack double mint sets (ended in 1958) I woke up and remembered the Mint packaged these UC sets in the plyofilm, not the flat cardboard holders. Which have the ability to turn coins very dark and ugly. I would say you scored on that one. The proofs are easy to come by for under 20. The mint sets sell today between 35 and 55.
I just don't understand this, it's like buying a VCR on the street sold out of the back of a van. you can't take his word on it that the VCR is in the box, it's just as likely to be a brick. I have no idea how people can blindly trust strangers buy an OBW roll of coins and never look through them to be sure they weren't ripped off.
At the time, I think the going price was about $20/set. I definitely paid a premium for the sealed box.
If these actually are OBW rolls (and that's what every buyer is hoping for), at least some value is destroyed by opening the rolls. I think most people want to trust the seller and don't tamper with the rolls they receive. These rolls sell for hundreds of dollars based on being "untouched" OBW rolls. I decided to take a bullet for the team and open one for everyone to see what's actually inside. The roll's estimated time of arrival (ETA) is March 11th.
As long as I never open the box, it will always contain a Dream! I think this is how most people feel about opening OBW rolls.
