How to sell a roll of uncirculated 1934-D pennies

About 40 years ago I bought a roll of uncirculated 1934-D pennies in a tube from the local coin shop. It has pretty much sat in the safe deposit box all these years with the exception of the few times I get my coins out to look at them. They all appear to truly be uncirculated and most are red to red-brown in color.

I need to sell this roll now to cover some medical bills. Since it is an open tube. how is the best way to maximize my return on this roll. eBay doesn't seem viable because of the buyer's ability to swap coins and return the tube for a refund. For a red/brown, PCGS Coin prices has the coins at $10 for MS-60, $15 for MS-63, and $55 for MS-65.

Thanks, in advance, for sharing your knowledge!

Dan

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Hi Dan,
take the 5 best coins out of the roll and sell them separately with good pictures.
So nobody can change the coins after the buy and ask for a refund.

 

Ok, so the best way to get the most profit isn't the best way to do it... This is an "evil" way of doing it, but you will get up to double what you would get normally. Buy a twist n crimp crimping device (https://www.amazon.com/String-Son-I...teway&sr=8-1#HLCXComparisonWidget_feature_div) and get some strong grown or red paper with no folds in it. Then, find a plastic tube roll (probably what you have) and fit the paper into it as close to the plastic edge. This will basically act as a mold for your roll. Then, with gloves, put the coins in. They may not all fit, so what I like to do is measure the total width of all 50 coins stacked (should be around 3 inches). Take some push pins and put them in on the end sticking out of the plastic tube to act as a barrier and also to put the pennies in equally. Now take the paper and flip it upside down. None of the pennies should fall out because of your barrier created by the push pins. Then insert the last few coins into it and equal them out (put an equal amount of paper on each side). Take your finger and roll the edges of both ends a bit. Then take your crimper and fit it onto the edge and twist away. When you twist, make sure to push on it, but not too much. When you're done, the edge should be square, so just take your finger and squeeze it to look a bit more round. Both ends should be tight on the coins on the ends, but not too tight. Don't write anything on the paper because it will infiltrate it and ruin the coins. Also, practice this with normal coins beforehand. Make sure that one or both ends show 1934 D. And once you have done that, go on eBay and make a listing without saying it is really old, but just state the obvious facts (a roll of BU 1934 D wheat pennies, etc.) You can make it no returns, and people will still buy it. With this method, you could sell your roll at around $500+. There are some 1938 D rolls that go for about $300, so it is pretty good.

If you don't want to do all that, you can just sell it in the plastic tube for maximum $400... You choose.

 

Evil and very shady I might add.

 

I won't go so far as to say the idea is necessarily evil but I will chime in to say that I don't recommend using a crimping device on these coins. Around 10 years ago I bought a manually hand-turned roll crimper made from a plastic resin for cents and no matter how gently I'd try to use it, it would always leave marks and scrapes on the copper coins at the end of the rolls. Not to mention it wouldn't leave the ends very tight. Suffice to say I didn't use it for very long.

 

Probably the same one I have. Came across the same problems. I even thought I could get a better result by cutting a dowel rod to fit in the tube and really be able to crank down on at least one end of the tube. Still came up looking like junk and loose. I guess you get what you pay for!

 

The one I use for fun sometimes (the one linked) works marvelously. I admit that it is a shady and dishonest way to do it, but it the most rewarding way to do it.

Remember, rich people didn't always get rich in a good way, such as Bill Gates. He basically stole ideas from Apple and made Microsoft. The movie "Jobs" refers to this in one scene. Now, I'm not saying you will get as rich as he is by selling coins, but it will benefit you more than being honest.

 

Thanks to all who have replied. I like the idea of substituting any better-than-MS60 coins for MS60's because that's what people expect and are paying for. As far as the crimping machine is concerned, I've followed the path of honesty all my years... certainly hasn't made me rich except for my self esteem and in my book, that's worth something money can't buy.