NorthShoreMA's Last 20 Posts
| The Coin Collection Dump That Got Away
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NorthShoreMA
Valued Member
United States
92 Posts |
 Posted 04/17/2025 5:55 pm
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One of my best results when I started CRH 18 months ago was the time I acquired three rolls of silver dimes from a teller at the branch of a major bank located in an adjacent town. Since then, I've continued to visit that branch now and then (even though I haven't found any good coins there) because I also visit several other nearby banks where I've had better luck.
Two days ago, I walked in and asked the teller who I usually see if she had any half dollars. "No" she apologized. But then she added "About three weeks ago, a customer cashed his father's coin collection that he had inherited!" "Do you still have any of those coins?" I asked. "No -- I gave them away to other customers."
Of course, she was under no obligation to save any of those coins for me. But a few tellers at other banks have done that as a favor when a customer cashes coins they think will interest me. In fact, later they typically ask if I found anything interesting.
I gave the teller my business card, and I asked her to please call me if anyone cashes coins that might interest me. However, I suppose that opportunities like this don't come along very often. |
| | Forum: Coin Roll Hunting |
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| A Box Of Bank-Wrapped Half Dollar Rolls With Two Proof "Enders". What Else Did It Contain?
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NorthShoreMA
Valued Member
United States
92 Posts |
Posted 04/12/2025 1:26 pm
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I always search rolls of bank-wrapped half dollars to see if any of them have silver "enders". A box I acquired this week didn't have any of those coins. But two rolls had proof enders.
I initially hoped that box contained a collection dump that was a mixture of silver coins and proof coins. But it contained only one 40% Kennedy half dollar that probably wasn't part of the proof collection dump. Eventually I found eight proof coins (most of them dating from 1972 to 1980), plus an attractive 2008 uncirculated commemorative half dollar that has a low mintage (ca. 100,000). Finding this number of proof coins was interesting even though none of them contain silver.
Because proof half dollars are issued in sets with proof quarters, dimes, nickels, and one-cent coins, I suppose that someone removed the coins I found from their original wrapping before cashing them. So the other proof coins in those sets also probably were put into circulation. I hope other coin collectors find them before they become unpleasantly impaired (like the proof 1980 half dollar that I found).
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| | Forum: Coin Roll Hunting |
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| Coinstar Finds! (Including Bank Counters And Other Machines)
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NorthShoreMA
Valued Member
United States
92 Posts |
Posted 04/12/2025 1:11 pm
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CoinStar Karma. I acquired ten rolls of customer-wrapped dimes this morning. I didn't find any silver coins, but was unlucky enough to identify three Canadian dimes (an unavoidable hazard of living in New England). As I always do, I replaced those coins with US dimes.
My next stop was the local Stop & Shop store. To my surprise, I saw several coins in the CoinStar reject cup. None of them were silver. But I replaced the Canuck coins in the rolls with the three dimes I recovered from the CoinStar machine -- and netted a small profit of 81 cents.
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| | Forum: Coin Roll Hunting |
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| JFK Half Dollar Roll Hunters: Silver, Proofs And Other Finds
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NorthShoreMA
Valued Member
United States
92 Posts |
Posted 04/06/2025 10:31 am
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Cabowabo: Quite the score! You probably acquired a mixture of customer-wrapped rolls cashed in by two or more customers.
Did any of the eight "good" rolls contain only silver half dollars? Also, were any of them in old-fashioned mustard-yellow wrappers (like these)? I get excited when a teller hands me rolls in these wrappers because they typically are from a collection dump.
If anyone legitimately acquires someone's coin collection and notices that the coins have different designs -- and that some of them are quite old -- I am astonished they have so little curiosity that they don't try to find out more about them.
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| | Forum: Coin Roll Hunting |
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| Bank-Rolled Half Dollar Boxes Finally Warming Up (Like The Weather In Massachusetts)
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NorthShoreMA
Valued Member
United States
92 Posts |
Posted 04/04/2025 12:20 pm
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Yesterday for the first time since mid-January I acquired bank-rolled half dollars that contain coins from a "collection dump". The two boxes didn't have any silver "enders" -- but it was encouraging to see that most of those coins were minted in the 1970s and 1980s: i.e., the rolls weren't diluted with recently-minted half dollars.
Soon I found my first 40% silver Kennedy half dollar. Then I found a 1965 coin and a 1966 coin with unusual lusters that initially led me to think they had been cleaned. However, now I think they are coins that were removed from the Special Mint Sets issued those years. Near the end of the first box I was pleased to find a 1941 Walking Liberty half dollar in Very Fine condition. They are beautiful coins. That box also contained a 50-cent coin from Ecuador (the second one I have found). A CRH has to take the chaff with the wheat! The second box also had several coins that contain 40% silver -- plus two 1964 Kennedy half dollars (one in uncirculated condition).
I asked the bank manager to order two more boxes for me next week. She also told me that I can't give the tellers gift cards -- but she agreed that I can order a large pizza for them to enjoy at lunch.
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| | Forum: Coin Roll Hunting |
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| Finding A Steady Slow Stream Of Silver Half Dollars - Including A 105-Year Old Walker
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NorthShoreMA
Valued Member
United States
92 Posts |
Posted 03/28/2025 5:19 pm
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I haven't had exceptional luck CRH since I returned to the North Shore from Cape Cod two weeks ago (where I acquired a "collection dump" of 70 40% silver half dollars at a local bank). However, I've been finding more silver coins than I usually do in boxes filled with bank-rolled coins: i.e., six silver coins in six boxes (including two that contain 90% silver). Not a bad outcome...
Today's results were better than usual -- a 1920-S Walking Liberty half dollar in Almost Good condition that I didn't have in my coin collection; a 1968-D Kennedy half dollar; and two nice proof coins. When I unwrapped the roll that coined the Walker, I initially thought that I might have found my first Barber half dollar because its rim was so worn. I missed by only five years -- and it is the oldest silver coin I have found while CRH.
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| | Forum: Coin Roll Hunting |
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| Current Apmex Offer For "Junk" Silver Coins
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NorthShoreMA
Valued Member
United States
92 Posts |
Posted 03/17/2025 6:21 pm
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| I agree with livingwater regarding the relative value of 90% silver coins vs. 40% Kennedy half dollars. 1965-1969 Kennedy half dollars account for about half of the "free" silver I have found while coin-roll hunting because they are more common than coins that contain 90% silver. I have decided to "convert" a large fraction of my 40% silver stash to 90% silver coins by selling them to APMEX, and then using that cash to purchase 90% "junk" silver dimes and quarters from a member of this community who currently is selling them at about their melt value. |
| | Forum: Precious Metals and Bullion - Gold, Silver, Copper, Platinum |
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| Current Apmex Offer For "Junk" Silver Coins
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NorthShoreMA
Valued Member
United States
92 Posts |
Posted 03/17/2025 4:17 pm
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I am going to sell many of the 40% silver Kennedy half dollars that I've found during the past 18 months. I plan to use that money to purchase 90% silver dimes, quarters, and half dollars (including some coins that are missing from my collection).
Local coin dealers offered me only $5.00-$6.00 for $1 face value (which isn't a good price). When I called APMEX today, I was pleased that they offered me $9.03 for two half dollars. It will cost me ~$0.25 per coin to ship the rolls overnight to their location -- but I think that still is a good price to receive for them. APMEX also offered me $22.58 for $1 face value 90% silver coins. |
| | Forum: Precious Metals and Bullion - Gold, Silver, Copper, Platinum |
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| Two Benji Enders In A Brinks Box! How Many More Did I Find?
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NorthShoreMA
Valued Member
United States
92 Posts |
Posted 02/24/2025 11:00 pm
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John77 noted that finding only one more silver coin in a box with two silver "enders" statistically is almost impossible. If the expected outcome is 20 silver coins, the probability of finding >3 silver coins is >99.96%: i.e., the odds of finding three or fewer silver coins in that kind of box is one in 3,400 assuming they are randomly distributed. That's why I wonder if someone may have "salted" the Benjis.
Two months ago I described finding only 13 silver half dollars in a box with three silver "enders" -- another disappointing result that is statistically unlikely. An alternative explanation is that because silver half dollars are slightly heavier than cupro-nickel coins, there may be tendency for silver coins to wind up at one end of a roll. However, I don't know enough about how coin rolls are made to evaluate this explanation. Furthermore, last month I described finding 18 silver half dollars in a Loomis box with no silver "enders". So it seems that silver "enders" are not a good leading indicator of what a box contains.
What is the experience of other CRHs? |
| | Forum: Coin Roll Hunting |
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| Two Benji Enders In A Brinks Box! How Many More Did I Find?
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NorthShoreMA
Valued Member
United States
92 Posts |
Posted 02/24/2025 5:36 pm
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| I agree with cabowabo that finding silver coins is its own reward: i.e., "The thrill of the hunt". Nevertheless, I was sorely disappointed finding only one more valuable coin in this box after I anticipated finding one (or more) Liberty Walking, Benjamin Franklin, or 90% silver Kennedy half dollars in every couple of rolls that I unwrapped. Phooey on statistics based on enders... |
| | Forum: Coin Roll Hunting |
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| Two Benji Enders In A Brinks Box! How Many More Did I Find?
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NorthShoreMA
Valued Member
United States
92 Posts |
Posted 02/24/2025 3:05 pm
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Not 20 (a statistically-reasonably outcome). Not even 10...
One -- a 1964 Kennedy half dollar!
This outcome is so unlikely if the kind of coins in that box were randomly distributed that it I wonder if the Benjamin Franklin half dollars were "salted" in those positions. Perhaps I am being paranoid about the intentions of the employees where the coins were rolled. But can someone purposely place an interesting coin at the end of a Brinks roll?
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| | Forum: Coin Roll Hunting |
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| Please Help Looking For Help With Half Dollar Coin Roll Hunting
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NorthShoreMA
Valued Member
United States
92 Posts |
Posted 02/22/2025 2:04 pm
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I can't help you regarding error coins. But you can easily identify half dollars that contain silver by peeling off the wrapper and examining the coin edges. Cupro-nickel coins will exhibit a red line on the edge (that's the copper showing through). Coins that contain 90% silver (including 1964 Kennedy half dollars) have a solid silver edge (which might be worn down in very old Walking Liberty half dollars). Kennedy half dollars that contain 40% silver (which were minted from 1965-1970) have a different edge -- they are half silver and half dark grey. It takes a while to become familiar with them, so it always is a good idea to quickly check the dates and look for a coin minted before 1971. In addition, 40% silver half dollars have a luster that is different than coins made from cupro-nickel.
Finally, it is possible to find "impaired" proof coins in rolls. They have a thicker edge than regular coins -- and a distinct mirror-surface. In addition, the raised features commonly have a frosted appearance.
Good luck CRH. Don't get discouraged if it takes you time to find interesting coins. Also, establish a good rapport with bank tellers who sometimes have loose silver coins in their trays, or who will help you order half-dollar boxes. |
| | Forum: US Modern Variety and Error Coins |
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| More Silver Half Dollars (Finally)
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NorthShoreMA
Valued Member
United States
92 Posts |
Posted 02/21/2025 6:08 pm
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I've been "skunked" the last four weeks searching bank-wrapped or customer-wrapped rolls of half dollars, and the modest number of loose half dollars that I've been able to purchase from local bank tellers. This included a $500 Brinks box I purchased last week from a local branch of a regional bank that I have started visiting.
I acquired another box from that bank this afternoon. It didn't have any silver "enders" -- and the first 25 rolls contained nothing interesting. But then I found nine 40% silver Kennedy half dollars in the second half of the box. Before the bank closed, I ordered two more boxes for delivery next week. I am keeping my fingers crossed that I will find more silver coins from this collection "dump".
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| | Forum: Coin Roll Hunting |
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| How Common Are Silver Half Dollars In "Ordinary" Boxes Of Bank-Rolled Coins?
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NorthShoreMA
Valued Member
United States
92 Posts |
Posted 02/09/2025 1:45 pm
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Last month I described finding 50 silver half dollars in three Loomis boxes that I acquired during a two-week period at two local banks. I think they contained coins from the same collection "dump" because I found more Franklin half dollars (10) plus 90% silver Kennedy half dollars (18) than coins that contain 40% silver in each box. Since then I purchased six more Loomis boxes from the same banks (hoping to find more coins from that "dump") -- but I found only one 40% silver half dollar in them: i.e., one silver coin out of 6,000.
I have been fortunate enough to acquire a box of bank-rolled half dollars that contains 10 more more silver coins from a collection dump every three months or so. I haven't monitored how many silver half dollars I've found in lean ("ordinary") Loomis boxes between those lucky breaks - but I estimate that I find one silver half dollar (a coin that typically contains 40% silver) after searching through 5-10 boxes: i.e., only one silver coin in 5,000-10,000.
Does that ratio sound about right to other experienced CRHs? This kind of information hopefully will encourage new CRHs to be patient as they search for "treasure". |
| | Forum: Coin Roll Hunting |
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| Karma While Searching Customer-Wrapped Dime Rolls
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NorthShoreMA
Valued Member
United States
92 Posts |
Posted 02/04/2025 8:21 pm
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| Today I traded 10 rolls of dimes that I already had searched for nine customer-wrapped rolls and one Loomis roll at a local BoA branch. Eight of those customer-wrapped rolls contained three Canadian dimes, one UK 5-pence piece, and one Lincoln cent: i.e., more duffers than I usually find in that many rolls. As I always do, I replaced them with US dimes. Hah! I found a 1952 Roosevelt dime in the ninth customer-wrapped roll. |
| | Forum: Coin Roll Hunting |
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| Two More Benjis (From The Bank Teller's Coin Tray)
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NorthShoreMA
Valued Member
United States
92 Posts |
Posted 01/29/2025 5:04 pm
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It seems that I can't swing around a dead cat the past week without finding Benjamin Franklin half dollars: i.e., 10 since last Friday. I stopped at a bank branch located across the street from the hospital where I had a routine medical appointment. I don't visit that branch too often because it's not close to where I live. The young teller told me that she had five half dollar coins. When she turned around and opened the drawer where her coin tray was located, I saw one Benjamin Franklin half dollar lying there and the solid silver edge of another coin -- which turned out to be another old Benji. After I purchased the five coins, I asked her how long they had been in her tray. "About three months", she replied nonchalantly
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| | Forum: Coin Roll Hunting |
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| Another Loomis Box Loaded With 90% Silver Half Dollars (From The Same Collection Dump?)
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NorthShoreMA
Valued Member
United States
92 Posts |
Posted 01/27/2025 5:19 pm
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Today I acquired two more boxes of half dollars that a bank in a nearby town ordered from Loomis. No silver enders were present in either box. One box contained nothing interesting -- and too many 2021 half dollars. But while opening the first 25 rolls in the second box, I found one "unattractive" Benjamin Franklin half dollar, one uncirculated 1964 Kennedy half dollar, and one circulated 40% silver Kennedy half dollar. I kept my fingers crossed that this box also contained coins from the same collection dump that I found on Friday (in a box I acquired from my local bank), since both banks order boxes from the same Loomis facility. Indeed - in the second half of the second box I found two more Benjis, seven more 90% silver Kennedy half dollars (including three minted in Denver), and six more 40% silver coins. Three rolls each contained two silver coins -- and one had three keepers.
This is quite a "hot" streak during two consecutive CRH days: i.e., 11.6+ troy ounces of silver. Because the number of 90% silver coins was equal to or greater than the number of 40% silver coins in both of the "rich" boxes that I recently acquired, I think each box contained coins from the same collection dump. Regardless, I'm quite pleased to have found eight Benjis and 16 90% silver Kennedy half dollars so quickly.
As a bonus, the reject tray of the CoinStar machine at this bank was quite full. I found one Mercury dime, a silver Roosevelt dime, several common US and Canadian coins, and a large number of Euro coins.
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| | Forum: Coin Roll Hunting |
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| A Fabulous Loomis Box With 26 Silver Half Dollars (Including Five Benjis)
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NorthShoreMA
Valued Member
United States
92 Posts |
Posted 01/25/2025 12:36 pm
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Last week I described finding six silver half dollars (including two Benjis) in a Loomis box of half dollars I acquired from my local bank. I concluded by saying that I asked the teller to order two more boxes this week (hoping to find more coins from the same collection "dump"). They arrived yesterday.
The first box was a stinker: i.e., 20-25% of the coins were minted in 2021, and it didn't contain any silver half dollars. But when I found a 1964 Kennedy half dollar in the first roll that I opened from the second box and a 40% silver half dollar in the second roll, I knew that this box would be a good one (even though it didn't contain any "enders"). I found nine silver coins in the first 25 rolls, and 17 more in the second half of the box. As the number of unopened rolls in this box grew smaller, my excitement at expecting to find one or two silver coins in every second or third of the remaining rolls was balanced by knowing that soon this successful treasure hunt would end.
The final haul was five Benjamin Franklin half dollars minted in 1951 or 1952; six 1964-P Kennedy half dollars; two 1964-D Kennedy half dollars; and 13 coins that contain 40% silver. That's 6.6+ troy ounces of silver -- the second largest amount of silver I have found in a Loomis box. I typically find uncirculated Kennedy half dollars while CRH. But these Franklin half dollars are discolored -- and an ugly one has a damaged rim (poor thing). Most of the 40% silver coins and a few of the 1964-P half dollars also are in circulated condition. Unfortunately, this collection apparently did not include a significant number of Walking Liberty half dollars.
I'm convinced the second box contained additional coins from the same collection "dump" I caught last week. So I will ask the friendly teller to order two more boxes next week (after she receives her gift cards). I hope I can acquire more silver coins from this collection in additional Loomis boxes.
A month ago, I described finding only 13 silver coins in a Loomis box of half dollars that had three silver "enders". The 32 silver half dollars that I've recently found in two boxes with no enders "correct" that statistical anomaly.
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| | Forum: Coin Roll Hunting |
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