Introduction and a question about buying rolls
IronHammer
Posts: 33 ✭✭
Hi everybody. I am new here and new to coin collecting. I'll try to stay out of the way but thought I would say hello and introduce myself.
I collect lots of antique things (Gillette razors, fountain pens, hand-operated appliances) because I love nostalgic things. I have recently started gathering a collection of coins. I've always been fascinated with coins since I was a kid but just never spent much time collecting them. I'm interested in starting a collection not only for myself but also to get my 10-year old son interested. So I have begun finding nice examples of interesting coins. I am not really interested in their resale value but for their beauty and history. I like having nice, shiny WL/Franklin/Peace/Ike Halves, Standing Liberty/Barber quarters, Morgan/Anthony/Kennedy dollars to look at and know they are part of our American history and share that with my son. I really love the commemorative 2005 nickels and even the commemorative Lincoln cent series from 2009. I have a fondness for the bicentennial coins. I was 10 years old when we all celebrated 200 years! I made my first purchase from the US Mint last week by buying the Apollo 11 1oz Silver proof and the Half dollar set (big fan of space too). A coin that is curved?? that's too crazy. Couldn't afford the 5oz Silver Proof so I passed on that (and why are they so darn popular??!).
I am also a troop leader for a Trail Life troop and this month is Hobbies month. I hope to get some of our boys into coin collecting if possible by sharing my collection with them. It's also another reason to join this board and learn as much as I can.
I enjoy reading many of the threads on here as I am learning a lot as I go. I've already learned that people collect coins for a wide range of reasons. I think I am what they call a "Type" collector with a bent for history/nostalgia. I am not in this to turn a profit or make a ton of money but just have fun. I just love having coins of "yesteryear" before they are gone or too expensive to obtain.
So my first question for everyone is: Is it worth the time these days to purchase rolls from the bank and sift through them for interesting pieces?
Thanks!
IronHammer
Comments
The age of roll searching with the possibility of actually finding something significant effectively ended about 1963. After that it was just a search for .900 fine silver coins and, more recently, a search for micro-varieties by so-called "cherry-pickers". The problem with the "cherry-picker" market is that most of what they look for are very minor varieties or "errors" that really don't have much of a secondary market.
Modern US Mint products have performed poorly in recent years. There are far too many issues and varieties of the issues. If I were you I wouldn't bother with them at all.
Learn the market before you spend any money. This site can be of great help. Explore what it offers.
Welcome to the forum. Good luck and have fun !!!
Bank rolls can give you significant and valuable education if you are collecting a series. You’ll find some dates and mintmarks difficult to find, leading to education about mintages and key dates. As you try to find better examples to replace your first finds, you develop grading skills. Finding odd damaged coins leads to investigations into the minting process and understanding what is a real error. Rolls are a great low cost way to build an educational foundation in the hobby.
291fifth, I was thinking of picking rolls so me and my son could find coins like 2009 lincoln comm, 2017-P cents and the like. There also seems to be a rumor going around about the mint introducing a "circulating rarity". I am thinking we may be able to stumble across some "S" or even "W" coins by regularly picking through rolls.
Welcome to the forums @IronHammer!
Great to see your interest in the hobby and having your young one involved. If you have not already done so I would recommend reviewing a few books and a good start is the US Coins (also called the red book). In addition to books, in this day, there are many internet sources, too.
The following is a thread that has many options for current and historical books, websites, and general information.
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1006619/sticky-this-book-index-books-to-read-on-numismatic-series-and-varieties
Good luck and always have fun in this hobby!
Roll searching can be fun, especially for a youngster. You mentioned shiny....that can be good and or bad. Whatever you do teach the youngster NOT to clean or enhance his coins. That is a no no to collectors....Get him a Red Book of US coins to read and research what he finds.
Best of luck,
bob
PS: I searched rolls in the bank's lobby when I started collecting (early 1950's).
Hemispherical, thanks! I recently picked up the 2019 "red" book at our local coin shop.
Welcome, enjoy the forum and the hobby.
Roll searching can be a fun way to spend some quality time with your son, while it's unlikely that you'll find anything of great value yo may happen across some fun coins. Older nickels even 1930's, 1940's and on occasion a stray buffalo can be found in rolls and even in circulation. Every now and then I will come across a 70's or 80's qtr in great condition and wonder how it survived that long. Have fun and learn as you go.
My Collection of Old Holders
Never a slave to one plastic brand will I ever be.
@IronHammer "a question about buying rolls"
You can't go wrong with a nice fresh poppy seed. A nice soft onion roll would be fine too.
Cheers
Bob
@AUandAG I can understand why it's not a good idea to clean rare or valuable coins but wouldn't it be okay to clean common, circulating coins?
I think it's a great idea what you stated.
The best thing to do, in my opinion, is to buy your kid some Whitman coin folders, have him enjoy filling in the holes, and praise him for the effort of accomplishment.
While he's doing it, you can mention the value of "grade" and when he finds a "nice one" to replace the lesser one in the album with the nicer one, as the nicer one is more apt to grow in value over the years.
And if he likes it, he likes it, and if he doesn't then he doesn't.
As far as collecting potential goes from getting rolls at the bank, look at the glass as half full. Just with Lincoln cents alone, there is almost sixty years of coins freely circulating to find, and sometimes occasionally you'll find a wheat cent in there as well. With Jefferson nickels it's even longer than that. With dimes and quarters almost as long since 1965. That's lots of good fun to collect, fill those holes, and become active in enjoying the hobby. Then eventually branching out to type coins, slabbed coins, etc.
And who knows...nobody can say with absolute certainty that the next roll you get from the bank, may not have a valuable coin in there. As the old song goes, you never can tell.
@stevek Thanks for the encouragement! I have the State Quarters folder and the America the Great folder. it's been fun filling them with nice specimen's I've found in pocket change. I think I'll pick up some more of those to give to boys in my troop and hopefully they will fill them up!
If you are going to spend them then clean away. If you are going to save them then don't. You will regret it if you do.
bob
Wrong site to ask the question about searching rolls...May I suggest you try here. These folks know far more about roll searching and will support your efforts.
Good Luck.
WS
lincolncentforum.com
Getting rolls to search from the bank is a very fun and addicting activity. I wouldn't have an expectation of finding anything rare or valuable. One of the most important things if you decide you want to search 'quantity' is having good relationships with the tellers and other bank staff. Have one or more 'pick up' bank and use a different bank for dumping...very important to not return your dumps to your pick up bank. Doing that usually results in game over pretty quick.
My brother and I heavily searched half dollar boxes from 2009-2013 and found a lot of 40% and 90% silver. The first couple of years were actually awesome and then the finds really slowed down in the final years. At some point we hung it up as it was no longer worth the effort. Roll hunting is what brought me back to numismatics as an adult.
Enjoy yourself, have fun.
Jeff
@IronHammer....Welcome aboard. Great introduction. Roll searching can be fun, but finding error coins is a long shot... you could still find some silver, though not common anymore. Do not clean any coins... it destroys value and interest by knowledgeable collectors. I look forward to your posts and stories with the kids. Cheers, RickO
@IronHammer ... you have some great advice here already. FYI I started as a roll searcher in the 60's. Lots of wheaties still in circulation then and had great fun filling my Whitman albums. Nowdays, the wheats are scarcer, but occasionally show up. Get yourself some "Cherry Pickers..." guides for the more modern collectables. There are quite a few actually! The 2009 Formative Years Lincolns have many cool die varieties too! PM me and I'll send you a sealed Mint box of these 2-roll sets with varieties at no cost. Consider it a "pay forward" sharing of our love for coinage! Just do the same for another collector -- it's how it works around here.
AND of course ... a HEARTY WELCOME to the CU Forums!
Check your change!
Nationwide ‘coin hunt’ in April
"Between 250 and 300 dealers have agreed to deliberately release thousands of pieces from their own U.S. inventory into circulation at restaurants, retail and convenience stores, and in higher-traffic area such as airports, train stations, malls, and town squares..."
https://www.coinworld.com/news/us-coins/2019/01/dealer-group-plans-coin-hunt-in-april.all.html
Successful BST transactions with forum members thebigeng, SPalladino, Zoidmeister, coin22lover, coinsarefun, jwitten, CommemKing.
Check your change, Part 2: U.S. Mint announces plans for circulating rarity
Successful BST transactions with forum members thebigeng, SPalladino, Zoidmeister, coin22lover, coinsarefun, jwitten, CommemKing.
Cleaning a coin with any cloth or instrument, while maybe seeming to make the coin look "cleaner",actually creates tiny scratches and changes to a coin which are visible through magnification and detract from both value and eye-appeal.
Great! Since you are interested in CRH then another reference book might be the Cherrypickers’ Guide.
Wonderful introduction , friend. Yours is the heartbeat and core of the hobby and a refreshing read. It's worth it (to me) to go in search of coins through rolls from the bank, for two reasons. 1) it's only cost being face value , but primarily 2) it's fun. Have it (fun) and have at it. (Search).
Welcome! You have come to the right place to ask questions.
See if there is a coin club near you that you can attend. You can contact the American Numismatic Association (www.money.org) for help finding a club. Coin clubs love new members and many encourage younger folks to attend.
Lots of people hunt through rolls and occasionally find silver war nickels (1942-1945) or other silver coinage. Finding rare coins with numismatic value is ... well ... rare.
Most importantly ... have fun!
See http://www.doubledimes.com for a free online reference for US twenty-cent pieces
Wow! Nice to get up and read all these wonderful responses from everybody! I especially want to thank @Akbeez for his generous offer of the PIF. I've done a LOT of PIFs myself giving away user-grade vintage razors over on badgerandblade.com too. Karma digs PIFs!
I see what you mean now. Even the most common coins will someday (decades or centuries down the road) become desirable and worth more than just face value. Hopefully my great grandkids will appreciate the collection I am putting together for them. They will probably appreciate that I didn't clean or scratch them LOL!
Welcome IronHammer !
Love that name BTW.