Anyone out there have reliable sources for original, uncirculated, bank rolls of Lincoln cents, Jefferson nickels & Washington quarters? I have been purchasing rolls from eBay with very mixed results. Many look like they were stored in damp basements for decades, and others have been obviously searched before being sent ( especially the quarter rolls). I am not looking for rolls sellers have made up from mint bags. Any info will be appreciated. -Larry G. :loud:
For me it's been pretty much hit or miss. I get lucky sometimes, but most times the rolls I get (even the ones that are "supposedly" OBW rolls) are pretty well picked over.
A couple of years ago, there was an ebay seller who left ebay and opened his own online store. All he sold were OBW rolls and BU rolls. Unfortunately, he is no longer around. Can't remember the name, but he was from Texas. I've never seen anything else equivalent to that. I've always felt that if the rolls are truly OBW and have never been opened, they're worth a lot more than they normally sell for on EBay.
Here is my post from an earlier thread. Many dealers sell OBW rolls, not all OBW rolls are OBW rolls though! Before about 1998 if you bought a OBW roll you had about a 80 to 90% chance of recieving one now about a 30 to 40% chance. Today when I buy an OBW roll it is usally from a dealer at my show or a roll or group of rolls that someone brought to the local dealer friends of mine. Even with that I suspect many have been contrived and without the dealer in question knowing it. I will not buy any of eBay because I suspect 90% of those have been faked esp. the ones of wheat cents showing an Indian on the end - you got to know those are re-rolled and have been searched. There is also big named dealers (some out west) where they all have been searched each and every time. The more possible value any given roll might contain the more likley that roll has been searched. There is probably not one 1969-S or 70-S Lincoln roll availible on todays market anywhere that has not been serrched and re-rolled. Soon to be true for every 1992, 1999 rolls also. My rule of thumb is "every roll has the possibility of having been searched" - "you never know what you are going to find" (even true unsearched OBW rolls may be a BU coin or 2 on each end and the rest circ. cents), "just because it is a true OBW roll does not mean you are going to find anything at all", and finally when you buy any roll of any kind, "you pay your penny and take your ride". There are many ways to tell if your OBW roll is original but you are going to have search a few thousand before you know what that is. The earliest Lincoln OBW roll I have ever seen is 1935 - I have seen many OBW rolls of Jefferson's, Roosevelts, and Washinton Quarters but they were all dated in the late 1950's or early 1960's. I have searched many also - I have never seen an original roll of Franklins, Mecury's or any silver dollars - I have never seen a original roll of Indian's. I have searched approx. 10,000 OBW rolls in the past 15 years. __________________
bhp3rd: Wow! Enquiring minds want to Enquire!!! First - let me say that I enjoy your posts immensely. Please keep it up. I don't care if people don't agree with everything or even anything. My BIG question: I have heard that you can have OBW rolls and when you open them, that not ALL the coins are of that date and mintmark. Is this true. You say you have opened MORE than 10,000. So I can hardly wait.. (Seriously - I really appeciate your experience here - have you found other coins in "obw" rolls?) Please clarify. I will go to the bank and I buy a roll of lincolns. On one side of the roll, I see 2007-D and I asssume I have a "solid" roll of UNC - OBW 2007-D coins. Right or wrong? Or has this changed. If I get a OBW roll where one side is tails and the other side is 1965, can I assume that all are 1965. To close, I want to make it clear - I am talking about "GENUINE" OBW rolls. In its simplest form: Let's just say that my Grandmother was a coin collector and bought a roll back in 1963 - so it's genuine. What are the chances that there is other stuff besides BU 1963 coins in the middle? Once again, I'm talking about a GENUINE roll that you pull out of your attic or buy from a trusted dealer.
Ben can answer, but I'll say this much. Getting all the same date and mint in a OBW roll is a crap shoot. More often than not, you won't. Banks don't buy coins that way and they could care less. They just want coins. One's as good as another. And it used to be they got all their coins in bags - not rolls. They rolled them up themselves. So an OBW would often have not only a mix of dates and mints, but most would be circulated coins. This is especially true with the smaller denominations - quarters and down. Now in the more modern times, let's say the last 30-40 years, some banks would get rolls from their suppliers. But again, same odds apply. About the only coins you're gonna get the same date/mint in OBW, which aren't even OBW to begin with since they are rolled by the armored car companies, are the newest coins. Those being promoted by the mint and specifically sold by date/mint.
PM me and I'll give you my email or phone # - I'm through with CoinTalk. PM me and I'll give you my email or phone # - I'm through with CoinTalk. Thanks for the kind words!
Now I'll answer your questions as I'm back on CoinTalk but Now I'll answer your questions as I'm back on CoinTalk but only to help people - that's all I will comment on. Banks get coin from third party private sorting companies (Loomas, Brinks etc.) and from customers and other banks. If you get a roll from a bank it could contain all BU coins of one year, all different circulated coins from many years or anything in between and I mean anything. If you are lucky enough to buy a brick, or $25 sealed box and every roll is the same year on top and BU you are likely to get all one year BU coins. Even in thoses you may run across circ. cents mixed in or not, it just depends. In the sorting rooms they dump what they have into the hopper and start rolling. The banks do not buy coin from the mint - they do not even buy them from the Fed for the most part even the Fed outsources all it's coin to private sorting companies - this was not always the case. Back in the day the Fed got them in $50 bags and often sent the bags to the banks and the banks had their own rolling equipment - now bags of coin are shipped from the mint in multi-ton bags and probably bypass the Fed first and go to third party sorters then to the Fed. (I'm not positive about this step but it would only make since). The way it works is 1 of the 12 Fed banks in the country order new coin from the Mint and pay for it. By the way it's not actually a coin until then, it has to be monitized by this step. Then this Fed sells coin to their banks they service and so on down the line till you are getting change or buying rolls from your bank. There is still original bags, boxes and rolls from the 40's, 50's and early sixties to date around. Whether they are original or re-rolled (or even a re-sewn bag) is another matter. When a little old man or lady brings me a box or 6, 7 rolls of say 1963-P and they are bank rolls and look original chances are they all will be 1963-P but even then they may contain a few (or many) circ. cents of the day because they did the same thing sorting companies do now they mix what they have, simple as that. Key or semi-key date coins for varieties must be suspected to be tampered with the most often - in other words when I see a 1975-P Bag and it looks originally sewn then it probably is - but a 1969-S, that a completly different animal as the motive to have searched it would be much greater than for the 1975-P bag. A single 1969-S DDO-001 (doubled die) is worth upward of $100,000. There is nothing much in a 1975-P bag (that we know of) even worth someones time to go through it. I have search mint sewn bags of 1972-P, 1961-P, 1968-P, 1964-P, 1963-P, 1980-P and 1988-P - I have searched rolls of every date since 1940 to date and generally found them to be original, but not all. In closing if your grandmother bought a bank wrapped roll of BU 1963 coins they were probably were all BU 1963 but you never know. Also we still refere to these rolls as Bank wrapped rolls but they are all (as far as I know) really "third party sorting company" rolls - the last bank wrapped rolls with the name of the bank on them I remember seeing is around the late 1970's maybe early 1980's. With all this if you still want to pursue these the only way I know to learn is to buy them and crack them open - they can be found at shows and in dealers shops - look for things holding back doors and things. Most dealers I know pay very little if nothing for this type stuff because they would rather spend a night in jail then have to search 5000 1975-P Lincolns but they are around. They often show up at estate sales and auctions. Many people collected these rolls and bags before the 1980's so take your time some will show up.
Hi everyone thought id share with you think OBW Community will appriciate Rolls i just bought 1960 D-Small date Chase Manhattan Bank 24 Rolls.i bought all rolls from woman's brother passed away purchased between 85-100 rolls of above i spent at most 270.00. That included shipping aswell. I bought around 90 rolls of 1959 D. Bank Of Chicago. Again similar price as above another individual And local guy still has over lincoln 400- 1964. OBW aswell 30- 1960..just dont have the capital to buy all or i would Aswell as 200+ rolls of Jefferson nickels $2.50 a roll. I will share some you have to put in a lot of time establishing a relationship ask questions. Dont hesitate what can it hurt nothing.be polite and respectful when writing a message.one might want to dump all cheaper then you think. Im open to selling. Handful message me TD bank i belong to establish a relationship with bank manager sitting down i will call ahead of truck comes on a Tuesday at 1 PM so by 2:30 ill go up to the bank and she will bring out 50 rolls in box she put together heads tails older you find gems errors i have been fortunate 1918-D. And Mercury Dime in Roosevelt roll no BS im being honest anyways .tell them what you want.people bring in there own coins in rolls alaways as when you go in if they have rolls .people pay no mind wrapping up jars..& TD customers bring in Ike's or Kennedy halves and dollars then do not give to the truck that comes they do not take them. I know manager told me. 68.Kennedy beautiful AU coin. TD aswell currency ask give 200.00 up front the next week you will have $ 2.00 bills 100. With consecutive numbers .ask ask ask and i will take some pics of rolls that i have in Real OBW Rolls. And some i look of course tube em. Attach paper to plastic tube. Roll wise in paper i have more then 300 tubed. 9 out of 10 tubes are OBW tranfers by me i have 1954 S Bank of San Fransico paid less then 24.00. Bought 2. My best find was original buffalo nickel roll stamper bank of San Fransico 1925 under $ 20.00 I find deals where ever i may roam ask ask ask you will find i will post my rolls next few days Hope that helps some Thanks Kevin
