Silver coin roll hunting

tins

After watching a few Youtube videos showing how easy it is to go to a bank and buy a few hundred dollars in coins and find a few silver pieces, I decided to give it a shot.
Took out $250 in half dollar coins. Searched every one and not a single silver coin! Not even a 40%. Re-checked some of those videos, most are a minimum of a year old, a few from 2009.
Do any of you still find silver on occasion or is this the norm now in 2015? Or is silver hunting for complete newbies and experienced numismatics don't waste their time? (If I knew more I'd have searched for errors and varieties, but I have much to learn before that.)
It was actually a fun time and didn't cost anything, since I just deposited them back a few days later.

CuKevin

I haven't had as much luck as others, but I have found a few pieces of silver roll hunting. Never had any luck with half dollars though (which I have also searched the greatest number of). I once settled for some dime rolls at the bank and got lucky with one 1964. I have also bought some quarter boxes throughout the last year and found 1 or 2. So it can still be done, it's just a matter of timing and a bit of luck.

Unknown

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Broadstruck

Don't give up and try different banks... It's still the closest thing to panning for gold without breaking your back or dying due to pneumonia.

Timbuk3

Not as much as before. I need to
step it up !!!

TopographicOceans

Once and awhile I'll get some rolls. I don't bother looking at the dates, just the sides for silver.

I've found a few 64's and some 40% ones so they are out there.

lasvegasteddy

<< <i>You only searched $250.

Couple weeks ago, I hit up some banks and walked away with 15 40% and a '64. It's out there. You just gotta work for it.

I have hit some absolutely monster boxes of halves, though...

Or sometimes just a bunch of customer wrapped rolls somebody cashed in...

Happy hunting... it's out there somewhere. >>


^^^^YOU SUCK^^^^

SaorAlba

Back in 2011 I bought $350 in halves at a credit union and scored 9 90% including three walkers, four bens and 2 '64. There were also 69 40% halves.

These days I stick to dimes.

tins

Alright, nice to see that coin hunting is still alive and well even for the experienced folks. Stories giving me some hope.
I'll give it another shot and order $1000 in half dollars and maybe another $1000 in quarters and dimes in order to say I gave it a true shot.
Plus, my little boy will have fun throwing the coins all over for me to pick up after him! Daddy/son fun day!

lunytune2

Four or 5 years ago I bought $100 worth of mixed rolls ... ended up with a whole roll of 1941-1944 Mercury dimes .... it only takes 1 roll to produce for you . Most likely from an estate cleanout or something.

ebaybuyer

if you are in it for the fun, you may be rewarded, if you "get lucky" and find some silver, don't forget to subtract the time, fuel, costs involved in searching for them, searching through them, then disposing of them. if you figure up what you spend vs what you find, youll see for yourself if its a worthwhile cause

bigjpst

I stopped a couple years ago when I started averaging 1-2 per $1000 face of halves. About 4 years ago I would average 10-12 a box of 40% with a few 90% mixed in here or there. Best box ever was 114 40% 10 90%. Enough to get you hooked for sure. Gave me and my son something to do a couple nights a week, and I used to split the finds with him.

ricko

I have searched so many rolls of halves (lost count, but in the hundreds).. and I have had zero luck...no 40% and no 90%.... however, I am not giving up...much like metal detecting, you have to do it to find something... Cheers, RickO

IrishMikey

Back in the 1980's I had great luck playing the 50 cent slot machines in Vegas -- if I played long enough and didn't get cleaned
out, I would usually find a LOT of 90% and 40% silver halves. This would have been when silver had dropped back below $10
an ounce, so no major score, and since I kept them all this time I probably could have done better with a traditional investment.

No such thing as a slot machine that takes coins anymore, though. That time has passed.

Oh well...

fishcooker

I quit halves when silver went above $6. Kill rate was just too low. And I got the same half 3 different times.

SaorAlba

<< <i>
No such thing as a slot machine that takes coins anymore, though. That time has passed.

Oh well... >>



Actually in some small Native American casinos in otherwise very rural areas you can still find coin slots - I know for a fact because I was out in the middle of absolute nowhere in the E. USA and found such a place just last summer.

mirabela

I have had a few good scores in the past, but I hadn't tried in four or five years until I bought 15 rolls on a whim a few weeks ago. I got only one 40% clad piece, but I found two solid rolls of outstanding gem late 80's and early 90's pieces. These were marked -- clearly somebody had been holding onto them -- and the pile included several very nice 1987 P & D pieces as well as some very high quality 83's. Somewhere out there in Clad Collector Land, someone either gave up, died, or got robbed.

ProofArtworkonCircs

I have found very little silver in years, but I recently got a a roll of BU 1964 quarters. The wrapper was even marked 1964 on the outside.

GritsMan

I also searched rolls from 2006 to 2009. Out of about $600 of nickels, got 7 war nickels and a couple of no-date buffs, but also completed a very nice folder sans 13 dates/mint marks. During the same period, I probably searched $2000 worth of halves and got about a dozen 40%, 1 '64, and 2 Franklins. It was big fun, but the success rate seemed to plummet about the time of the recession.

vplite99

I did $500 in halves 10 years ago. Major waste of time. It would have been a waste even if I had found 1.

mirabela

<< <i> the success rate seemed to plummet about the time of the recession >>



Yeah, I think you're right. For a while there a decade ago when silver was $7 or $10 an ounce there were lots of 40% clad coins around, and I found '64's, Frankies, and even Walking Liberties with enough regularity to be sort of amazed by it. Anymore, though, not so much. I think when the economy tanked and metals went way up there were probably plenty of people with time on their hands who actually needed the money, and there was enough out there to make it worthwhile. I was always sort of surprised that the armored car companies didn't invest in machinery to pull out the silver.

MsMorrisine

I have trouble getting boxes now.

I get silver in singles now

mustangmanbob

It has totally died around here. The 4 banks I use do not accept coins over $5. Above that, the coins are placed in a bag, and shipped out to be counted.

Since I am in the Dallas area, all the rolled coins come from the Fed. My understanding is their counting machines are accurate enough to cull out any silver / 40% coins so nothing but clad is coming to the banks.

I have wondered what happens to the silver that comes into the Fed?

410a

I got $500 of Kennedy halves from my local bank and found them devoid of any silver coins. I did find two (2) gold plated Kennedy halves one well circulated and one just popped out of it's "night time TV coin dealer" limited edition &*^%&(*&^$$# Set.