What is the oldest OBW roll of coins you have ever come in contact with?

NumisOxide · October 27, 2005 6:17AM

I was just thinking about OBW rolls of type coins and silver dollars. I'm wondering if any collectors or dealers ever had a chance to handle some nice original rolls or bags from the old days. Please, do tell!

lordmarcovan · October 27, 2005 6:23AM

I had a nice original roll of Roman denarii from the First National Bank of Pompeii.

The wrapper was a little singed and had some dried lava crusted on it, though.

jacktheknife · October 27, 2005 6:29AM

For me (although I'm not a dealer) it was an original roll of 1919-P Lincolns. I also have a roll of 1920-P.

Jack

TJM965 · October 27, 2005 6:44AM

Back along 1962 or 1963, my dad got a call from the president of a small upstate NY bank. There was a bag of silver dollars in the bank vault , which he wanted to get rid of. My dad took me down there. It was an unopened bag of 1885 S dollars. My dad bought 2 rolls out of it for face. I often wonder what happened to the other 960 pieces. The 2 rolls were sold in the 1980's for about 8K. Oh, by the way, I could have bought some at face, but instead I bought 1957 proof sets for $11 a piece. Another good move on my part.

ss350camaro · October 27, 2005 6:53AM

pharmer · October 27, 2005 6:57AM

I've always wondered if there is any way to know for sure they are OBW? I realize that if a seller says it, it must be so, but the skeptic in me says

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oreville · October 27, 2005 7:52AM

1919 cent obw roll.

oreville · October 27, 2005 7:55AM

Unusual for a Seattle WA bank to have wrapped obw rolls using O mint silver dollars.

Outhaul · October 27, 2005 7:58AM

I had an OBW BTW roll a few years back.

doughmaking · October 27, 2005 8:18AM

Love stories like that

pharmer · October 27, 2005 8:54AM

OBW BTW? OMG! FYI, URA BMOC

JK!

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NumisOxide · October 27, 2005 2:02PM

So far we have some great replies. How about some more?

aknow · October 27, 2005 2:21PM

That was a great story.
Dr. Steve

seanq · October 27, 2005 11:21PM

I didn't handle them personally, but I distinctly remember an auction a few years ago where Bowers & Merena had several OBW rolls of 1909 Indian and 1909-VDB cents. I think the oldest OBW roll I've ever had contained 1956-D cents.

Sean Reynolds

IndianHeadMan · October 27, 2005 11:26PM

I have a brick of 2001 - D pennies.

tradedollarnut · October 27, 2005 11:33PM

Unusual for a Seattle WA bank to have wrapped obw rolls using O mint silver dollars.

Actually, I think not. I'll bet that wrap is from the 1960's and the coins were received from the Treasury where the mintmarked bags were stored in a mixed manner.

291fifth · October 28, 2005 12:08AM

I didn't see them but have been told that two? rolls of 1883 Shield nickels turned up in Philadelphia in the 90's.

bushmaster8 · October 28, 2005 12:29AM

I recall a roll of 1891 dimes surfacing ten -fifteen yrs. ago.

jdimmick · October 28, 2005 5:17AM

One of our board members has several rolls of early date buffalo's. Teens and 20's!!!

RBinTex · October 28, 2005 6:25AM

Almost got our hands on 11 OBW rolls of 1909-VDB Lincolns but the seller decided to use ANR instead

amercoin · October 28, 2005 7:17AM

This was back in the early 60s 3 mint bags of 1903=o morgans found in Chattanooga,tn

BigD5 · October 28, 2005 8:04AM

I recently sold an original roll of BTW commem's.

MacCrimmon · October 28, 2005 11:15AM

1926-S Lincolns, and I'm going to keep them wrapped....right, Oreville!!

claychaser · October 28, 2005 2:49PM

I have 2 rolls of 23P Dollars - wrappers look like original bank wrappers. Any comments if I should open them up and look for choice coins, or just leave them that way?

oreville · October 28, 2005 3:26PM

Tradedollarnut: Your hypothesis of the 1884-O silver dollars being wrapped in the 1960's by that Seattle bank does make sense. I had forgotten about the the 1960's Treasury release of the silver dollars.

I was trying to think of this roll being wrapped many years prior to the 1960's and that is why I couldn't make sense of it. I admit I totally forgot about the early 1960's era.

Which then indicates this is not an old obw roll at all!

oreville · October 28, 2005 3:38PM

MacCrimmon: You know how to kill a friend!

Speaking of which a year ago, Macrimmon agreed to sell me a lovely 1952 US Treasury 1/2 roll of washington quarters. They helped to complete my type set of obw rolls. We had a very pleasant transaction.

Here are some pics:

tradedollarnut · October 28, 2005 3:38PM

I believe that they delivered 1,000,000 silver dollars to Seattle in 1961 for an exhibit at the World's Fair.

oreville · October 28, 2005 3:46PM

Seattle First National Bank building is dedicated on March 28, 1969.

On March 28, 1969, the Seattle First (a.k.a. Sea-First and Seafirst) National Bank dedicates its new 50-story headquarters at 1001 4th Avenue in downtown Seattle. The structure is (in 1969) the largest building in Seattle and the "tallest west of the Mississippi." Seattleites call it "the box the Space Needle came in." It is also known as the Seafirst Building and, later, 1001 4th Avenue Plaza.
Seattle First moved its headquarters to the new building, which provides 660,000 square feet of office space, from the Dexter-Horton Building on 4th Avenue and University Street. The new tower stood as a symbol of Seafirst's growth. It was Seattle's tallest building from 1969 until 1985, when the Columbia Tower bypassed it. It is 630 feet (192.03 meters) high. The architects were NBBJ (Naramore, Bain, Brady, and Johanson).

In 1982, Seafirst, "near collapse," was acquired by Bank of America. On September 30, 1982, the Seafirst Building was sold to JMB Realty of Chicago for $123.37 million. In 1986, the building was renamed 1001 4th Avenue Plaza -- while Seafirst moved into the new Columbia Center. Bank of America later retired the Seafirst name.

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Sources:
Walt Crowley, Rites of Passage: A Memoir of the Sixties in Seattle (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1995), 267; The Seattle Times, September 30, 1983, p. 1; Ibid., May 12, 1986, p. D7; Shelby Scates, Firstbank: The Story of the Seattle First National Bank (Seattle: North Pacific Bank Note Co., 1970); "1001 Fourth Avenue Plaza," (www.skyscrapers.com).
Note: This file was revised on May 15, 2001.

By Alan J. Stein, May 31, 1999

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HistoryLink is a registered U.S. Trademark of History Ink

Architectural rendering of the Seattle First National Bank Building (NBBJ, 1969)
Postcard`

michael · October 28, 2005 4:02PM

partical roll 40 pieces to be exact of 58 flyers

What is the oldest OBW roll of coins you have ever come in contact with?

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