I see a ebayer selling penny roles and labeled with old printing, FNB National Bank FRB Federal Reserve Bank BOA Bank of America I understand that there are different branches of government and banking but if these are to be true rolls, "which" believe me I know the odds are nil to none. Would any of these branches potentially have better coins if they were really leftovers from the 40's and 50's?
Some collectors save old original intact bank rolls with no interest in opening the roll to examine the coins inside.
And others save the papers themselves in order to re roll and re sell after the roll has been searched.
Is anything really unsearched these days? Does the name on the paper roll really mean anything? I think not.
Research will tell you when or if these banks ceased to exist. If it was 1959 they darn sure weren't rolling coins in them five years later. If the seller is honest maybe you will find better coins from older rolls. Generally you can learn that with a small quantity test order. If they are legit you can quickly reorder a larger quantity.
Very good thought and point to do some research.. Iv'e bought 3 rolls total. 2 BOA from SanFran labeled BU rolls. All were BU but 70% of them from 50 to 58 and 30% from 43 to 49. Lots of S mints and were truly really nice BU penny's. Other was claimed and printed from a FRB from Denver. Very nice nice shape, probably VF on 95% but most in the 30's to 39. I found a few 20's and maby 2 or 3 semi key dates. The BU rolls were $50 each and the last one mentioned was $30. Yes I might of over paid a bit but not really bad I think. Like I said they were nice pennys just no big score LOL! The seller sells other rolls that I'm skeptical of but I do believe these rolls just might be original from the day claimed. He obviously though knows by experience to what these rolls are about and knows he will make a profit.
Yes, you over paid. The first rolls you described is costing you $1.00 a coin while the Denver is at $.60 a coin. Both are on the high side. Sounds like you learned from this and that's good. I'd pass on buying from him and put what was learned to good use.
eBay is full of old coin wrappers for sale - old wrappers with old bank names are often tricks to sell unremarkable coins at remarkable premiums
I bought some "unsearched" wheat rolls a few times and only a few actually seemed unsearched. Got one from one seller that was all 1955 D BU pennies, so that one seemed rather legit. You can get unsearched BU year rolls that are memorial cents or nickels sometimes that are legitimate. Otherwise, it's really unreliable and expensive for what it is. I did get some actually unsearched rolls from my bank several months back. They had old rolls of customer wrapped pennies and two plastic wrapped, so I bought some one day and went back for more after I realized what they were. The customer wraps were mixed with little of interest, but they had a good number of 1993 BU's and not a single penny newer!!! Possibly 27 year old hand rolls? Heck yeah, I'll take that to search! The plastic rolls were the best! It looks like they were both 1973 BU rolls! The older rolls I have found that are legit often are mixed with a few prior year coins, and this one was! I got a few really nice '73 P's out of it and even upgraded my penny album! Here is an imgur link with pictures of some of the rolls and the second plastic roll. I hope I come across something like that again, but it was super fun and a great memory in itself!
That being said, I did buy some more rolls from the seller who sold me that 55d roll, and ended up getting an EF 1922 D 1c, a few 1909 VDB's, and numerous others that I has having trouble finding for my album. Never got enough out of it to break even on cost, but I always got a decent amount I felt was worth rebuying for in those rolls.
I like the clear roll.. I have a feeling you bought the 55 all BU's from the same seller. I believe at least 1/2 of the rolls he sells are truly unsearched although he claims all are. Another thing that makes me think it's him is I also got a 22 D but it was a weak D Could just be a coincidence?? but I also got semi key 26 S from a roll which another seller claimed also from the same lot of rolls.
There are unsearched rolls out there, but none of them are likely to be cents. Of all things, it's rolls of gold coins that tend to have the biggest surprises. When they are released from European banks, no one over there gives a hoot about the date or mint mark, hence there are Carson City coins mixed-in with all the 1904 and 1907 Double Eagles. I've never had the good fortune to search rolls like that, but I have heard about them and I have no doubt that they exist.
