BofA OBW Cent roll markings question
rmpsrpms
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At least in 1950's, Bank of America marked its roll tubes with a date code. The code was put on when the tubes were ordered/printed. Usually the date code is consistent with the coins within, but occasionally there is a small discrepancy in the date on the tube vs the coins. I've seen 1956 coins in a 1955 date code tube for instance, but I've only rarely seen more than 1 year discrepancy, and have never seen more than 2 years in an original roll. This makes BofA OBW rolls very easy to debunk, especially if the tube is later date than the coins!
I'm trying to determine when BofA started marking with the date code. The oldest tube I can find in my collection has date code 5-50, meaning the tube was manufactured and printed in May of 1950. It contained 1951-S Cents. The latest I have is 8-58 I believe, though I think I've seen some with 1960 codes. I'm hoping folks could look at their rolls, or search notes and memories, and let me know their latest and earliest date-coded BofA rolls.
Reason for this, other than curiosity, is that a netizen wrote to me with a question about a mid-40's OBW roll he had from BofA. It did not have the date code, and was marked Bank of America California, which I had not seen before. I also have an OBW 1943-S that is printed in all Gothic lettering, very beautiful, and also no date code.
This info is useful in authenticating / debunkingg OBW rolls so I appreciate any assistance and input.
Comments
I'm bumping this since I got no replies and would really like to hear from folks with BofA OBW Cent rolls (or just wrappers/tubes) from the 60's and 40's to see how they are marked. Hopefully they haven't all been opened and the wrappers tossed!
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I did some searching and answered the less important half of my own question...it seems BofA continued to apply date codes to their wrappers (in a consistent manner) into the late 60's at least.
Also figured this thread might be useless without pictures, so here are some pics I grabbed from the internet search:
This roll was listed as a 1968-S. This is plausible since the tube has date code 6-68:
Here is another roll listed as 1968-S. Also plausible, with date codes 3-68:
Here is a roll listed as a 1960-D, plausible since the date code is 2-60:
This one is listed as a 1954-S, and has date code 11-54. This is very typical marking for mid to late 50's that I own, though this is not my roll:
And finally, here is a roll listed as 1943-P. The roll marking is completely different, but I don't have enough info to say it is not correct. I've seen a few different markings on 1943 "OBW" Cent rolls, all different. I have a few in my collection, and the only one I've ever opened had "gothic" lettering. It was for sure original, FWIW.
I think I put my question about 60's marking to bed, but would still appreciate input on marking of BofA rolls from the 40's.
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It appears that you are the authority on this here. Maybe you have a short article in your future.
If I come up with info on the 40's markings I'll certainly publish here. Something as mundane as this requires piecing together a plausible story from direct physical evidence, but there are just not that many 40's OBW rolls out there any more.
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I see a 1941-S roll in BofA wrapper for sale on eBay with the "Gothic" font similar to some I own. This is no proof since the roll was obviously searched, but it's something. Here's a pic from that auction:
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It's interesting that they even had such codes added to the rolls when they were produced. The fact that it's a month and year suggests that they ordered frequently to meet their needs.
Also, I'm assuming the "P.O." and number represents the Purchase Order for that lot of wrappers. US military equipment often had things like manufacturer name, date code, and/or contract number marked on the items. I wonder if BoA was influenced at all by that practice.
There is no obvious reason why these codes were necessary on coin wrappers, so it's interesting that they felt compelled to include them. In any case, it is apparently a fringe benefit for collectors.
I wonder if b of a could provide extra help say from there history dept? Help with more info on it
Great comments and interesting angles. BofA is the only company that did the date codes, and I don't think it happened until after the war. Maybe a wartime beancounter took over the purchasing dept and thought it would be good to track roll tube production (and probably everything else as well) with better accountability. Also I had not considered contacting BofA directly about this. 20 years ago it would probably have been easy. I wonder if I can find a human working there these days.
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I didn't realize that BoA rolls had bank codes. I may have one or two. I'll have to take a look.
I knew it would happen.
Interesting. This may be kind of like a FIFO (first in first out) system. I don't know if coin collecting by date was popular in earlier decades, but this could be beneficial to collectors if it was.
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Yes, probably FIFO as that is what's practical. I've seen coins from one year earlier put into wrappers from early the next year, ie 1953-S coins in a 4-54 wrapper. Those 1953-S were probably still sitting in bags when the new wrappers came in. I've also seen one year later coins in previous year wrappers, ie 1954-S coins in a 11-53 wrapper. Probably those wrappers were left over at the end of 1953.
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I own a large number of obw cent rolls from the 1930’s through the 1950’s. However, most of them are FRB and Eastern bank wrappers.
I wonder if the numeric digit(s) preceding the year represent the month in which the cents were wrapped by B of A?
I don't think so. I think they are the month the wrapper was printed.
If you are ever interested in trading OBW rolls I'd be very interested. I have a large number as well, but mostly from Western banks and FRBs. I'm especially interested in trading 55-S and 56-D.
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That was my speculation, as well. Either a military vet, or even the supplier itself, replicating the process they used during wartime.
I love collecting FRB wrappers in which among them state FRB San Francisco - Los Angeles Branch and FRB Cleveland - Pittsburgh branch.
I am frightened in shipping obw rolls through the mail these days. I am on the East Coast.
Common FRB rolls out here are:
FRB San Francisco
FRB San Francisco, Los Angeles Branch
FRB San Francisco, Seattle Branch
I've never seen a FRB SF, Portland, FRB SF, Salt Lake City, or FRB SF, Spokane roll.
Most of the FRB Cleveland and Branch rolls I've seen have been re-wraps using early 60's tubes. I'm usually skeptical of them unless I find several identical where I can verify one as being truly original.
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