Antique store OBW rolls.

SanctionII

Last weekend I was in the Monterey area and visited some antique stores. In one store in Pacific Grove there were two rolls of Lincoln Cents. The rolls looked to be of the 1950's -1960's vintage colored paper that was tightly wrapped around the coins, with the paper at the ends of the rolls tightly rolled and crimped. Both rolls had printing on them in black ink, with the name of a bank on them.

The two rolls were in a display case. One roll had end coins that were fiery orange. The other roll had end coins that were a dark brown color.

I asked a store employee if I could look at and hold each roll. She said yes and opened the case for me. Each roll was sitting on top of a tag that stated the price of each roll was,................................... $65.00.

I looked at the roll with orange end coins. The date on the coins on both ends was 2004.

The date on the coin at one end was in the 1930's. The coin at the other end was a wheat back.

I was very surprised at the roll with the 2004 coins.

Had the roll with the brown coins been $5.00 instead of $65.00 I would have bought it, just for fun. But at $65.00, no way.

I was also very surprised that each roll had the older paper that looked, at first glance, to be the real deal (original, unopened, OBW rolls from way back in the day). It appears that people have the skills to create, today, rolls that have the appearance of the real deal to sell to the unwary.

Do you have any stories about Antique store OBW rolls?

if so, please regale us.

291fifth

I always found antique stores to be a total waste of time. Everything numismatic was overpriced, often severely overpriced.

tincup

You have to be careful when it comes to 'original' bank rolls. A lot of deception and fakes... bank info can be stamped on a wrapper, or ink jet printer used to do so. And crimping the ends is no problem... a hand tool is easily and cheaply obtainable that will do so.

DocBenjamin

Good story. Glad you didn't get ripped off.

Swampboy

If you can remember the look exactly you could check eBay to see if there are any similar 'OBW' rolls on offer.
They could have a side hustle lol.

jmski52

I've bought OBW rolls on Ebay (not recently, however) with mixed results.

My icon is from a batch of 1959 BU rolls that I bought in 2006. Many of the rolls had nice end roll toners. I bought several rolls of 1958-P Roosies from the same guy in Brooklyn. He was selling them for his girlfriend who had kept them in a safe deposit box and they were getting ready to move to Florida.

I also bought a roll of 1964 Kennedys off of Ebay - most of which were nicely-toned and I had many of them certified by PCGS in addition to having Russ look at them for his opinion, which was positive.

I still have a couple of nice Franklin Half rolls from Ebay that have a couple of very pretty end-roll toners and included copies of the original purchase from F.J. Vollmer in the early 80's.

OTOH, I've bought other rolls off of Ebay - spotted Lincolns, darkly-tarnished Washington Quarters and obviously-picked over rolls of 1940's-era Washington Quarters that were clearly not original rolls.

I've seen some OBW rolls at coin shows from time to time, and they might be good. Antique stores - nah.

Coinscratch

Antique shops can be hit or miss and most of the time miss. Because the coin cabinet guy happens to be a long time coin guy that doesn't let many mistakes happen. But I wouldn't just pass one up w/o giving it a look.

I bought a roll of 74 d cents for around 25.00 and sent the best one in which came back 67 so roughly a break even or maybe in the black 20 or 30 bucks.

oreville

I remember buying a huge boatload of obw wheat reverse cent rolls dated in the 1950’s (over 300 rolls) from Virg Marshall the “Penny Merchant” located in Nebraska back in the 1990’s at $1.75per roll with free shipping. They were tightly wrapped with paper rolls displaying Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and other Federal Reserve Banks. They are fabulous i still have all of them. I might start selling a few of them soon,

telephoto1

@oreville said:
I remember Buying a huge boatload of obw wheat reverse cent rolls dated in the 1950’s (over 300 rolls) from Virg Marshall the “Penny Merchant” located in Nebraska back in the 1990’s at $1.75per roll. They are fabulous i still have all of them. I might start selling a few of them soon,

Old Virg. God love him. The big question is, did you ever buy any fruitcake from him?
IYKYK.

Copperindian

@oreville said:
I remember buying a huge boatload of obw wheat reverse cent rolls dated in the 1950’s (over 300 rolls) from Virg Marshall the “Penny Merchant” located in Nebraska back in the 1990’s at $1.75per roll with free shipping. They were tightly wrapped with paper rolls displaying Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and other Federal Reserve Banks. They are fabulous i still have all of them. I might start selling a few of them soon,

There’s a memory! Bought from him too - wasn’t it Wymore, Nebraska?

oreville

@telephoto1 said:

@oreville said:
I remember Buying a huge boatload of obw wheat reverse cent rolls dated in the 1950’s (over 300 rolls) from Virg Marshall the “Penny Merchant” located in Nebraska back in the 1990’s at $1.75per roll. They are fabulous i still have all of them. I might start selling a few of them soon,

Old Virg. God love him. The big question is, did you ever buy any fruitcake from him?
IYKYK.

I hate fruitcake.

oreville

@Copperindian said:

@oreville said:
I remember buying a huge boatload of obw wheat reverse cent rolls dated in the 1950’s (over 300 rolls) from Virg Marshall the “Penny Merchant” located in Nebraska back in the 1990’s at $1.75per roll with free shipping. They were tightly wrapped with paper rolls displaying Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and other Federal Reserve Banks. They are fabulous i still have all of them. I might start selling a few of them soon,

There’s a memory! Bought from him too - wasn’t it Wymore, Nebraska?

I have not mailed Virg Marshall a check in nearly 30 years so i am not positive about the Wymore address but it does sound familiar.

MarkKelley

@oreville said:

@Copperindian said:

@oreville said:
I remember buying a huge boatload of obw wheat reverse cent rolls dated in the 1950’s (over 300 rolls) from Virg Marshall the “Penny Merchant” located in Nebraska back in the 1990’s at $1.75per roll with free shipping. They were tightly wrapped with paper rolls displaying Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and other Federal Reserve Banks. They are fabulous i still have all of them. I might start selling a few of them soon,

There’s a memory! Bought from him too - wasn’t it Wymore, Nebraska?

I have not mailed Virg Marshall a check in nearly 30 years so i am not positive about the Wymore address but it does sound familiar.

Yes, Wymore. I used to get my yearly Redbook there.

Elcontador

Not quite on topic, but I stopped in a coin shop in downtown Fairbanks, 10 years ago. Friendly guy. Saw a roll of RD 58 P Lincolns. Wanted $7.50 for it. I politely pointed out that he went through it, he might find a coin or two that might be worth grading. Said he gets this stuff all of the time, marks it up slightly, and tries to get it out the door.

I passed, as it's not the sort of thing that fits my collection.

BLUEJAYWAY

I remember the Virg ads in the classified section of Coin World.

jfriedm56

Not intending to hijack this thread, but found these two “original “ silver quarter rolls at an antique shop in the mid-90’s for $35. a piece. I’d never come across them before so I purchased them. End roll coins are heavily tarnished dark blue.

rmpsrpms

I've been buying OBW rolls for 30+ years and have yet to be 100% certain one is original without opening it. There are many telltale signs, and I even published an OBW Roll buying guide 10 or 15 years ago, see it here:

https://www.lincolncentforum.com/original-bank-rolls-obw-buying-guide/

But even if you go by all the "rules" you may still be fooled, as I have been a few times since. Of course it's impossible to be fooled once the roll is opened, but by then it is too late.

That said, I've purchased hundreds of rolls on eBay over the years, and have indeed found truly (99.9%) original rolls that I've socked away. I think my hit rate on eBay is no better or worse than it's been in person, but I'm pretty careful to keep to the rules.

Walkerfan

Very few ‘original’ bank rolls are actually unsearched.

telephoto1

@oreville said:

@telephoto1 said:

@oreville said:
I remember Buying a huge boatload of obw wheat reverse cent rolls dated in the 1950’s (over 300 rolls) from Virg Marshall the “Penny Merchant” located in Nebraska back in the 1990’s at $1.75per roll. They are fabulous i still have all of them. I might start selling a few of them soon,

Old Virg. God love him. The big question is, did you ever buy any fruitcake from him?
IYKYK.

I hate fruitcake.

LOL so do I but he used to sell it every year. And yes...Wymore, Nebraska

rmpsrpms

I used to run a thread analyzing OBW rolls. Folks would post a roll and we'd try to decide what was wrong with it. I seem to remember the hit rate was pretty low, maybe 10% of the rolls looked legit.

giantsfan20

Does the paper in those OBW rolls contain sulphur or something else that stain the coins?

rmpsrpms

Yes I believe it does. OBW rolls stored in a cool, dry environment can maintain the coins like they were minted yesterday, but heat and/or moisture will cause the paper to outgas and tone the coins. Some rolls I've opened were absolutely beautifully toned, while others were disasters. What seems to matter most is how humid the environment is.

air4mdc

@jfriedm56 said:
Not intending to hijack this thread, but found these two “original “ silver quarter rolls at an antique shop in the mid-90’s for $35. a piece. I’d never come across them before so I purchased them. End roll coins are heavily tarnished dark blue.

The rolls look tampered to me. The ends of the rolls appear lightly roughed up with fine grit sandpaper.

jfriedm56

@air4mdc said:

@jfriedm56 said:
Not intending to hijack this thread, but found these two “original “ silver quarter rolls at an antique shop in the mid-90’s for $35. a piece. I’d never come across them before so I purchased them. End roll coins are heavily tarnished dark blue.

The rolls look tampered to me. The ends of the rolls appear lightly roughed up with fine grit sandpaper.

WHAT? That makes no sense. Who would take fine grit sandpaper to the ends? Are you nuts? These rolls are in 65+ year old paper. What would you look like at 65+?

oreville

@air4mdc said:

@jfriedm56 said:
Not intending to hijack this thread, but found these two “original “ silver quarter rolls at an antique shop in the mid-90’s for $35. a piece. I’d never come across them before so I purchased them. End roll coins are heavily tarnished dark blue.

The rolls look tampered to me. The ends of the rolls appear lightly roughed up with fine grit sandpaper.

The 1957 roll looks to be previously opened for a peek as you can see that one of the ends (at the top) shows a flattening/crushing of the protruding paper edge . The 1958 roll looks to be unopened and not peeked at as the ends are fully rounded. It takes time to learn what has been unopened or opened.

air4mdc

@jfriedm56 said:

@air4mdc said:

@jfriedm56 said:
Not intending to hijack this thread, but found these two “original “ silver quarter rolls at an antique shop in the mid-90’s for $35. a piece. I’d never come across them before so I purchased them. End roll coins are heavily tarnished dark blue.

The rolls look tampered to me. The ends of the rolls appear lightly roughed up with fine grit sandpaper.

WHAT? That makes no sense. Who would take fine grit sandpaper to the ends? Are you nuts? These rolls are in 65+ year old paper. What would you look like at 65+?

Someone that wanted the rolls to appear older? Without a doubt those coins have been loaded or searched/ repacked. When you have looked at thousands, and I mean thousands of rolls over the years you can tell original rolls. Which BTW are rare.

jfriedm56

@air4mdc said:

@jfriedm56 said:

@air4mdc said:

@jfriedm56 said:
Not intending to hijack this thread, but found these two “original “ silver quarter rolls at an antique shop in the mid-90’s for $35. a piece. I’d never come across them before so I purchased them. End roll coins are heavily tarnished dark blue.

The rolls look tampered to me. The ends of the rolls appear lightly roughed up with fine grit sandpaper.

WHAT? That makes no sense. Who would take fine grit sandpaper to the ends? Are you nuts? These rolls are in 65+ year old paper. What would you look like at 65+?

Someone that wanted the rolls to appear older? Without a doubt those coins have been loaded or searched/ repacked. When you have looked at thousands, and I mean thousands of rolls over the years you can tell original rolls. Which BTW are rare.

My final point is, who cares if they’re original unopened rolls. At this point I don’t. All I wanted to show are rolls I purchased 30 some years ago containing 40 silver quarters for only .875 cents a piece. That’s all . If you all believe they’ve been opened at sometime in this history, so be it. When silver goes back up to $50. an ounce, I’ll open them up, look for type B reverses, and sell the rest off for unc. silver. No big deal, thanks.

tincup

Those quarter rolls look original enough for me, given the colors on the ends. And, with around the same amount of aging as the rolls, my edges look a little roughened up also! But, like I am always fond of saying..... I'm no expert!

Do the rolls have a bank identified?

air4mdc

@jfriedm56 said:

@air4mdc said:

@jfriedm56 said:

@air4mdc said:

@jfriedm56 said:
Not intending to hijack this thread, but found these two “original “ silver quarter rolls at an antique shop in the mid-90’s for $35. a piece. I’d never come across them before so I purchased them. End roll coins are heavily tarnished dark blue.

The rolls look tampered to me. The ends of the rolls appear lightly roughed up with fine grit sandpaper.

WHAT? That makes no sense. Who would take fine grit sandpaper to the ends? Are you nuts? These rolls are in 65+ year old paper. What would you look like at 65+?

Someone that wanted the rolls to appear older? Without a doubt those coins have been loaded or searched/ repacked. When you have looked at thousands, and I mean thousands of rolls over the years you can tell original rolls. Which BTW are rare.

My final point is, who cares if they’re original unopened rolls. At this point I don’t. All I wanted to show are rolls I purchased 30 some years ago containing 40 silver quarters for only .875 cents a piece. That’s all . If you all believe they’ve been opened at sometime in this history, so be it. When silver goes back up to $50. an ounce, I’ll open them up, look for type B reverses, and sell the rest off for unc. silver. No big deal, thanks.

Don't get me wrong, you did well! Let's all wish for $50 dollar silver!!! I wouldn't mind even seeing $40. When I see the word "original" referencing a roll of coins, I think, "never opened."

Coinscratch

@oreville said:

@air4mdc said:

@jfriedm56 said:
Not intending to hijack this thread, but found these two “original “ silver quarter rolls at an antique shop in the mid-90’s for $35. a piece. I’d never come across them before so I purchased them. End roll coins are heavily tarnished dark blue.

The rolls look tampered to me. The ends of the rolls appear lightly roughed up with fine grit sandpaper.

The 1957 roll looks to be previously opened for a peek as you can see that one of the ends (at the top) shows a flattening/crushing of the protruding paper edge . The 1958 roll looks to be unopened and not peeked at as the ends are fully rounded. It takes time to learn what has been unopened or opened.

The first red flag for me is the black magic marker though it may be normal for a collector to write on them but he was a collector so your odds may have just went down some regardless. And I don't think the bank would do this.

jfriedm56

@Coinscratch said:

@oreville said:

@air4mdc said:

@jfriedm56 said:
Not intending to hijack this thread, but found these two “original “ silver quarter rolls at an antique shop in the mid-90’s for $35. a piece. I’d never come across them before so I purchased them. End roll coins are heavily tarnished dark blue.

The rolls look tampered to me. The ends of the rolls appear lightly roughed up with fine grit sandpaper.

The 1957 roll looks to be previously opened for a peek as you can see that one of the ends (at the top) shows a flattening/crushing of the protruding paper edge . The 1958 roll looks to be unopened and not peeked at as the ends are fully rounded. It takes time to learn what has been unopened or opened.

The first red flag for me is the black magic marker though it may be normal for a collector to write on them but he was a collector so your odds may have just went down some regardless. And I don't think the bank would do this.

I’m sure this was done by a collector or previous owner sometime in the past. No bank would do this.

rmpsrpms

I place no premium on paper rolls that are not from a bank that was in business in the year the coins were minted. No bank name, no premium, just whatever a standard BU roll would bring or maybe even less since they can't be checked.