Home Buy, Sell, & Trade - U.S. Coins

FSH: Original Sealed 1959-1962 BU Lincoln Rolls (And A Meghrig & Sons Challenge)

These are now SOLD.

We buy and sell a lot of Lincoln Rolls. Most come in and go right back out. However, one thing I'm careful not to do is send customers the old shrunken Meghrig & Sons tubed rolls. For those who are not familiar with these tubes, they where made in the late 1950s to early 1960s. They end up shrinking and causing the coins to be tightly stuck inside them. This was not an intended consequence and a few years after the tubes were introduced they were discontinued due to this problem. Occasionally, I still get in groups of rolls that include a few that are stuck in these old tubes.

On the positive side, these tubes offer original coins tubed 40+ years ago and unsearched since then for either high grade pieces or varities. Moreover, given the tightness of the tube one can expect minimal, if any roll friction since the coins can not move inside the tub and rub against one another. The late 1950s and early 1960s are tough years to find high grade coins so the fact that these are well preserved in their original condition is a plus (and one that's nice enough to overcome the negative about to be described).

On the negative side, the coins are a real booger to remove from the tubes without damaging the coins. Over the years, I've tried just above everything to open the tubes and remove the coins. I've tried boiling them to soften the plastic and then gently pulling it off piece by piece with a pair of pliers. I've tried freezing the tubes and then shattering the plastic with hammer or hard impact. I've banged on the bottom of the tubes until reluctantly the tube gave up the prized pieces one at a time. Here is an entertaining thread on others' experiences with trying to open these rolls. To date, my most successful strategy has been to tilt the tube at a 45 degree angle and lightly tap it on a hard surface (a concrete floor covered with a thin, soft cloth is ideal) until the coins come out. This process seems to cause the coins to angle slightly reducing the amount of rim surface constricted by the tube. (The boiling option is my second favorite but takes more time and risks burning).

I'm careful not to send these to customers without prior disclosure due to the difficulty in removing them from the tubes. Also, knowing they are purely original, tightly sealed rolls, I typically like to save them for my own review. I now have 30 of these rolls saved up that I had planned on searching for high end pieces. Instead, I've decided to save myself the investment in time that would be required to safely remove the coins. I'll offer them here and let some one else do the work and enjoy any resulting rewards.

Most of the rolls are either labeled or have a heads side visible so that I can determine the date. There is one that is unlabeled and tails on both ends. The dates on the other 29 rolls (per their labels or my visual of an end coin): 6-1959, 3-1959-D, 3-1960, 2-1960-D, 12-1961, 1-1961-D, 2-1962-D. All are nice bright red BU coins as can be easily seen through the translucent tubes.

The group of 30 rolls (1500 coins) is available for $100 delivered. If you're interested, send me a PM to reserve the lot. For everyone else, thanks for looking and letting me entertain you with the history of Meghrig & Sons tubes!
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