100 Rolls of 1982 Lincoln Cents from Bank

nesvt

My father-in-law just told me that he had a bag of Lincoln Cents. He knew they were changing the copper content in 1982, so he went to the bank and picked up a 100 rolls. He was asking me what to do with them.

What are they worth?
What are the chances of finding higher grades?
Is there a grey sheet value of modern stuff like this?
Should they be sold in the original rolls or should they be searched?

nwcs

I'd leave them as is. They won't fetch much per roll and the quality will generally be typical (62-65) with the occassional 66.

jonathanb

Greysheet for BU rolls of 1982-P lincolns is 0.60 bid/0.65 ask. For 1982-D it's 0.70/0.80.

I actually spent some time looking into this just yesterday. It seems that the prices on eBay are much higher (like 2x) for original bank-wrapped rolls with the bank's name stamped on them than they are for any other type of rolls. That doesn't help me, but it might help you.

I'm going to be listing a bag of (unrolled) 1982-D cents later today to take advantage of the almost-free listing day. If you're not in a hurry, you can wait a week and see what happens. It's not a perfect test (not exactly what you have, and a lousy week to list anything), but it should give you a lower end to the range.

FWIW, the best-case scenario seems to be about 4x face value for common-date memorial cent bags such as these. Mostly they seem to be going for a bit over 1x face, if they sell at all. For me, my other choice is turning them into the bank, so it's worth 10 cents to take a shot at finding a buyer today.

jonathan

ellewood

I would PM "LincolnsRule" and ask him what his experience has been in searching these rolls. My guess is that he has gone thru several hundred rolls himself.

ellewood

I would PM "LincolnsRule" and ask him what his experience has been in searching these rolls. My guess is that he has gone thru several hundred rolls himself.

nesvt

Thanks for the quick replies. He's already retired, not in a hurry, and just came across these in his closet.

I know the PCGS online price guide tends to be a bit high, but what's up with the values listed? Am I reading it wrong?
MS64/65/66 at 10/15/30 ???

My heart was racing when my mother-in-law announced she had a box of about 100 small gold coins. Turned out to be Sacagawea dollars.

cladking

There are several varieties and some have larger premiums. Some are especially scarce in gem.

AgMe

<< <i>Thanks for the quick replies. He's already retired, not in a hurry, and just came across these in his closet.

I know the PCGS online price guide tends to be a bit high, but what's up with the values listed? Am I reading it wrong?
MS64/65/66 at 10/15/30 ???

My heart was racing when my mother-in-law announced she had a box of about 100 small gold coins. Turned out to be Sacagawea dollars. >>



Those are for slabbed examples, you have to remember there are "some grading fees" in those prices; a MS 64 raw cent will set a retail buyer back 20 cents, but ~17 cents of that is material (the 2x2) & labor...

Your best best is probably to sell to a roll collector, but you might as well as hold on to them till 2009 when the new cent hopla kicks-off.

~g

OffMetal

If they are in a mint sewn bag, they might have errors in them