Six original bank rolls of Kennedy half dollars

anablep

There was a thread a few days ago about OBW rolls. I can’t find that thread, so I thought I’d share mine. I inherited these from my grandparents via my mother. My grandparents bought 24 rolls of these from the bank in 1964 and held onto them until about 2010. My mother received half of the rolls (12), splitting the 24 rolls with my uncle, and they sat in storage until 2021. After she passed, my brother and I split them, so now we each have six rolls. Not sure if they’re worth anything over melt, but they’re kind of neat. I have little to no interest in them, so now they sit in storage in my home… perhaps until my daughter discovers them upon my death… the sisterhood of the traveling halves…

OAKSTAR

Oh, they are worth "WAY" more them melt! Those are GREAT!! Can you see the dates on those enders?

anablep

@OAKSTAR Definitely 1964.

MFeld

@OAKSTAR said:
Oh, they are worth "WAY" more them melt! Those are GREAT!! Can you see the dates on those enders?

How do you define “WAY more than melt”?

OAKSTAR

@MFeld said:

@OAKSTAR said:
Oh, they are worth "WAY" more them melt! Those are GREAT!! Can you see the dates on those enders?

How do you define “WAY more than melt”?

I guess I'm assuming (and maybe I shouldn't be), that there are mint state 64's in there.

Or maybe something like this could be a reason: 2 or 3 x melt?

JJM

Nice!!!

Namvet69

Dontcha know there's some beauties hidden behind the enders! Talk about self control. Peace Roy

jmlanzaf

@OAKSTAR said:

@MFeld said:

@OAKSTAR said:
Oh, they are worth "WAY" more them melt! Those are GREAT!! Can you see the dates on those enders?

How do you define “WAY more than melt”?

I guess I'm assuming (and maybe I shouldn't be), that there are mint state 64's in there.

Or maybe something like this could be a reason: 2 or 3 x melt?

Melt is $170+

Generally. Tolls of 64's don't carry much of a premium. They are almost all mint state and were set aside by the millions.

OAKSTAR

@anablep- This must be the thread you're talking about.

https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1086869/vintage-bank-wrapped-rolls-franklin-halves-quarters-dimes-etc

OAKSTAR

@jmlanzaf said:

@OAKSTAR said:

@MFeld said:

@OAKSTAR said:
Oh, they are worth "WAY" more them melt! Those are GREAT!! Can you see the dates on those enders?

How do you define “WAY more than melt”?

I guess I'm assuming (and maybe I shouldn't be), that there are mint state 64's in there.

Or maybe something like this could be a reason: 2 or 3 x melt?

Melt is $170+

Generally. Tolls of 64's don't carry much of a premium. They are almost all mint state and were set aside by the millions.

Point taken. I guess it's a lot of money to me. Now you know my financial status. 🤣 😂 👍🏻

jmski52

I've had some Standard Johnson rolls that developed nice end roll toning, but these aren't in that category. However, they are unopened, original rolls and should be worth some premium, although probably not double melt. The Treasury Dept, roll probably has a slight edge in desirability over bankwrapped rolls, but it's always intriguing to imagine what's in an unopened BU roll.

I remember buying a souvenir JFK Half for myself at the bank when they first came out, and they truly don't make them like that anymore.

OAKSTAR

@jmski52 said:
but it's always intriguing to imagine what's in an unopened BU roll.

Mint errors?

Jimnight

Nice rolls!

jmski52

Mint errors?

That would be a question for the Cherrypicker's Guide.

Other than mint errors, you might find some high grade specimens, or a nice toner or two (depending on what the end roll coins look like).

Steven59

"Pet Peeve": When sombody justifies their stance on a price of a roll of silver coins by stating "MELT" prices.

jmlanzaf

@jmski52 said:
Mint errors?

That would be a question for the Cherrypicker's Guide.

Other than mint errors, you might find some high grade specimens, or a nice toner or two (depending on what the end roll coins look like).

Cherrypicker's Guide is varieties not errors, isn't it?

MFeld

@Steven59 said:
"Pet Peeve": When sombody justifies their stance on a price of a roll of silver coins by stating "MELT" prices.

“Melt” is a very good starting point for a large percentage of silver coin rolls. It’s then a matter of what premium, if any, the coins justify.

Steven59

But nobody mentions "starting point" when they mention Melt! Be nice if they did.......

MFeld

@Steven59 said:
But nobody mentions "starting point" when they mention Melt! Be nice if they did.......

In this thread, prior to your post, the only reference to “melt” included a comment that rolls “of 64's don't carry much of a premium.”, which I think is accurate.

Were you just speaking in general when you wrote “Pet Peeve": When sombody justifies their stance on a price of a roll of silver coins by stating "MELT" prices.” ?

mark_dak

They don't necessarily look mint state to me. If it were me. I might rip open the one that is already torn and you may have a better idea of exactly what you have. Just thinking out loud...

Mark

anablep

@mark_dak that might be a good idea. If I open that roll, I’ll post some pictures.

NickelMike

I have a soft spot in my heart for silver coins. Thanks for the pictures and the story. I like the rolls!

Steven59

@MFeld said:

Were you just speaking in general when you wrote “Pet Peeve": When sombody justifies their stance on a price of a roll of silver coins by stating "MELT" prices.” ?

Yes, throughout the years putting up with those haunting words: "I'll give you melt"

rmpsrpms

Beautiful rolls! When I pick up a group of the same roll, I usually pick out the worst condition wrapper and open it to see (by proxy) what is likely in the others. Then I write down what I find, and put the rest away for future interest.

jmski52

If you prefer "spot" price, as opposed to "melt" you are only splitting hairs when melt is probably more accurate anyway when speaking of 90% silver coinage.

Elcontador

I like the idea of treating these as family heirlooms. I had something similar happen.
When I was 13 years old, my father knew I saved some coins I found in change. He took me to the safe deposit box. He told me that my grandmother saved $75 face in gold coins. She thought if they'd confiscate gold coins, sooner or later they'd confiscate silver coins as well, and saved about 60 of them as well.

Before Dad died, I asked him about the coins. He said they should go to my brother, sister and me. They stayed in the safe deposit box until the bank was closed; at which time I removed them.

I put the gold coins, three of the nicest Morgan and three of the nicest Peace $s (AU-Unc) into air tites, and 1/3 went to me, 1/3 went to my brother and 1/3 to my sister. Sold the other dollars and divided the proceeds accordingly.

The gold was fairly generic; the 04 S Double Eagle was AU-Unc, and there is a small premium for the 1914 S Quarter Eagle. But these are heirlooms, and aren't going anywhere.

dhikewhitney

@OAKSTAR said:
Oh, they are worth "WAY" more them melt! Those are GREAT!! Can you see the dates on those enders?

Only for sentimental and historical reasons are they worth more than melt. They are very common silver coins. As an investment, imagine if the grandparents had purchased something akin to shares in the SP500 in 1964. I'm sure there were rarer coins that could have been purchased in 1964 that would have done better sitting in storage all these years. Yet, President Kennedy was popular and the sentiment has not changed. The coins were saved en masse.

https://www.officialdata.org/us/stocks/s-p-500/1964

S&P 500 from 1964 to 2022
Start Value
Average monthly close $76.45
End Value
Average monthly close $4,573.82
Change in price +5,882.75%
+7.31% / yr
Change incl. dividends +25,874.34%
+9.91% / yr
Change incl. dividends, inflation-adjusted +2,651.37%
+5.80% / yr
Final amount, nominal
($100 base) $25,974.34
Final amount, inflation-adjusted
($100 base) $2,751.37

jmlanzaf

I was born in 1964. My grandfather got a roll of 64 Kennedys for me at the bank. I still have it.

ricko

Nice back story on the Kennedy rolls in the OP....I have some rolls of halves, still languishing in a drawer from my days of roll hunting. Actually, those have not been searched yet... should do that. I did not get rolls back in 1964, was a young parent just out of the service...Money went to food and lodging... Cheers, RickO

johnny9434

@OAKSTAR said:
Oh, they are worth "WAY" more them melt! Those are GREAT!! Can you see the dates on those enders?

Some good memories to go with them rolls as well

OAKSTAR

@dhikewhitney said:

@OAKSTAR said:
Oh, they are worth "WAY" more them melt! Those are GREAT!! Can you see the dates on those enders?

Only for sentimental and historical reasons are they worth more than melt. They are very common silver coins. As an investment, imagine if the grandparents had purchased something akin to shares in the SP500 in 1964. I'm sure there were rarer coins that could have been purchased in 1964 that would have done better sitting in storage all these years. Yet, President Kennedy was popular and the sentiment has not changed. The coins were saved en masse.

https://www.officialdata.org/us/stocks/s-p-500/1964

S&P 500 from 1964 to 2022
Start Value
Average monthly close $76.45
End Value
Average monthly close $4,573.82
Change in price +5,882.75%
+7.31% / yr
Change incl. dividends +25,874.34%
+9.91% / yr
Change incl. dividends, inflation-adjusted +2,651.37%
+5.80% / yr
Final amount, nominal
($100 base) $25,974.34
Final amount, inflation-adjusted
($100 base) $2,751.37

I'm not smart enough to use the words coins and investment in the same sentence.

291fifth

Sell them now. They are ultra-common coins that were massively hoarded at the time of issue. If you can get a premium over melt take the money and run!

rec78

IF you decide to open them. There are double dies, triple dies and even quadruple dies to search for. You will get more if you keep them as if when you go to sell them. However, don't expect much more then melt from a local coin dealer. eBay "as is", is most likely the most profitable.

joeykoins

"Way More Then Melt"

Varieties Baby!

Triple Die Obverse, In a ms 66

$800, PCGS Price guide



https://youtu.be/s7Le1WNTx24

OAKSTAR

@joeykoins- That's what I've been trying to tell them but they don't want to listen! 🤣 😂 👍🏻

joeykoins

@OAKSTAR said:
@joeykoins- That's what I've been trying to tell them but they don't want to listen! 🤣 😂 👍🏻

We hope the OP is listening?

telephoto1

@OAKSTAR said:

@MFeld said:

@OAKSTAR said:
Oh, they are worth "WAY" more them melt! Those are GREAT!! Can you see the dates on those enders?

How do you define “WAY more than melt”?

I guess I'm assuming (and maybe I shouldn't be), that there are mint state 64's in there.

Or maybe something like this could be a reason: 2 or 3 x melt?

That roll might have brought what it did due to being an original US Treasury wrapped roll. As opposed to just bank wrapped.

coastaljerseyguy

Nice to have but these may or may not be OBW rolls as Standard Johnson was not a bank and made the coin counters used by banks, department stores, etc. Woolworth's may have wrapped these coins from circulation for depositing to their bank using the Standard machine and their wraps.

joeykoins

@coastaljerseyguy said:
Nice to have but these may or may not be OBW rolls as Standard Johnson was not a bank and made the coin counters used by banks, department stores, etc. Woolworth's may have wrapped these coins from circulation for depositing to their bank using the Standard machine and their wraps.

Very interesting.

anablep

I’ll be opening one roll tonight.

I’ll post pictures from the partially torn roll.

There’s no way I’m looking that closely for a quadrupled obverse, even with my stereoscope handy…

jmlanzaf

@joeykoins said:

@OAKSTAR said:
@joeykoins- That's what I've been trying to tell them but they don't want to listen! 🤣 😂 👍🏻

We hope the OP is listening?

It's one thing to look for varieties. It is quite another to pay a premium for the privilege.

OAKSTAR

@anablep said:
I’ll be opening one roll tonight.

I’ll post pictures from the partially torn roll.

There’s no way I’m looking that closely for a quadrupled obverse, even with my stereoscope handy…

You don't have to look. Just post the pictures. We'll look for you. 🤣 😂 👍🏻

anablep

Okay, I’ve opened the torn roll. Interestingly, this roll is from Marine Midland Trust Company, unlike the other one from Standard Johnson, as mentioned by @coastaljerseyguy in an earlier post. Five of the six rolls are from MMTCo.

The roll is as I expected, all mint state Kennedy halves, mostly in the 63 to 64 range. A couple of nicer examples, too. I even looked at a few under the stereoscope and saw no evidence of doubling or more on the obverse.

I’m not planning to open the remaining rolls. They are tightly sealed and will remain that way.

joeykoins

@anablep said:
Okay, I’ve opened the torn roll. Interestingly, this roll is from Marine Midland Trust Company, unlike the other one from Standard Johnson, as mentioned by @coastaljerseyguy in an earlier post. Five of the six rolls are from MMTCo.

The roll is as I expected, all mint state Kennedy halves, mostly in the 63 to 64 range. A couple of nicer examples, too. I even looked at a few under the stereoscope and saw no evidence of doubling or more on the obverse.

I’m not planning to open the remaining rolls. They are tightly sealed and will remain that way.

From what I can tell. Yeah, no doubling.
At least on the ones I can see. Still, quite nice BU condition.
Ezest, would make those pop even more.
Your choice?

Steven59

@anablep said:
The roll is as I expected, all mint state Kennedy halves, mostly in the 63 to 64 range.
I’m not planning to open the remaining rolls.

Nice, and keeping the remaining rolls unopened is a great decision!

MFeld

@joeykoins said:

@anablep said:
Okay, I’ve opened the torn roll. Interestingly, this roll is from Marine Midland Trust Company, unlike the other one from Standard Johnson, as mentioned by @coastaljerseyguy in an earlier post. Five of the six rolls are from MMTCo.

The roll is as I expected, all mint state Kennedy halves, mostly in the 63 to 64 range. A couple of nicer examples, too. I even looked at a few under the stereoscope and saw no evidence of doubling or more on the obverse.

I’m not planning to open the remaining rolls. They are tightly sealed and will remain that way.

From what I can tell. Yeah, no doubling.
At least on the ones I can see. Still, quite nice BU condition.
Ezest, would make those pop even more.
Your choice?

It would also unnecessarily do away with their originality.

OAKSTAR

Thanks for the unveiling @anablep

Can you tell what's happening here?

Steven59

@OAKSTAR said:
Thanks for the unveiling @anablep

Can you tell what's happening here?

Good eye OAKSTAR!

jedm

I gotta admit I always click on Kennedy half threads. I started collecting as a kid with a paper route and getting half dollars (Franklins or Kennedys) always gave me a little thrill. So of course when I got to where I had more than a couple nickels to rub together (about 40 years later) I'd start buying rolls from the bank with my paychecks and roll hunting. I still buy 'em from the mint every year (crazy, but true) and keep my Dansco collection current.

johnny9434

That's nice to see an old roll getting opened for the first time hang onto the other rolls

joeykoins

@OAKSTAR said:

Ragged Clip?