JFK Half Dollar Roll Hunters: Silver, Proofs And Other Finds

I'm over the 10k mark... Found 1 silver coin in $1610 worth of coins. But it was my first walking liberty. It looks strange though as if it was colored. I want to try cleaning it but I know I shouldn't. I also found a gold looking 1976. Maybe gold plated? Maybe valuable, maybe worth 50 cents? My new totals:

coins searched: 10,043
1964: 6
40%ers: 133
NIFC: 30
Proofs: 1
Walking Lib.: 1

Nice find, I have not found a walking liberty yet, but I am always hopeful

Nice find, silverng2009!

To answer some of the previous questions. You are right in saying that is a lot of cash but I am using the bank's money to leverage what I have, which is enough to get 3 boxes at a time. I have a very comfortable seat in my vehicle to sort from while in town and a tray system to lay everything flat. I have special tools to speed up opening the rolls too. It is very helpful to have my handy carrying cart. There are no raised steps here at my southern banks so the cart is the perfect tool. Plus, I will have other human muscles to help me.

It is 57 boxes spread over a 3 day span picking up 3 boxes at a time and working from several branches for dump banks. The teller who does the ordering at one of my branches called and we are working out the logistics. She promised to call me once she has verified with their delivery company how many they are willing to bring.

Just got off the phone with a different branch and have a verified order of 12 bank boxes of halves ready for me Thurs March 1st. I explained to him that I can pick up 3 at a time to search and bring cash (NO halves!) to pick up each batch until all have been picked up that day. He agreed. Yay!

There are lots of different banks here in the Wilmington area to work with so that I can spread out where I dump my halves into coin counting machines. I have no intention of making any of my banks upset. I already know many of the tellers (some I know personally from places other than the bank). The career I retired from is how I met many of them over the years. Just never knew how handy it would be until now. I go into several different branches and they always call me by name.

Still looking into opening more accounts at additional banks so that wherever I am, here around Wilmington or back in Clayton/Garner/Cary/Raleigh area, I can spread the buys and dumps.

This high amount of halves is not going to be my normal order, just a jump start. After that I will get smaller regular orders in place with my various banks and their branches.

From what I have read, it is a numbers game. The more you sort, the better your odds of finding anything. It also helps that I have several places to sell any silver bullion and coin dealers for the numismatically valued coins. Am also a collector at heart. So there will be some that I will not part with when I find them. My godson is still asking me when I'm getting the coins in. He is very careful about not touching the faces of the coins and is an avid learner. I am training him as I learn. It gives me valuable time with him in something we both enjoy.

If you are kind and personable with the tellers it really does go a long way in getting what you want. A warm smile, kind words of appreciation, the gift cards, showing interest in them as a person (how's little Sara....etc.), picking less busy times so they don't get flustered, bringing in a few finds like my 1976s proof penny (I rescued from a penny bank box search) so they can share in the joy of my hunt, and their all time favorite CHOCOLATE! Chocolate is usually a very good incentive. Especially so in the afternoon when they may be a bit hungry (while past lunch) and tired from the hustle and bustle of the day.

By taking the time to get to know them better I find out what they like and what makes their day better and go from there. After all, the tellers are people too. People with lives and interests beyond just a job to bring home money to feed their families. Always starting with a smile sets a good tone to the conversation. After all, it isn't just about the job. Bringing some sunshine and joy into their day makes for a pleasant banking relationship.

My four boxes for the week

A near skunk-a-thon

1 40% (67)
5 NIFC
1 87D ( nicest one I have found to date ( my fifth ))

@ jizer1

when you said your bank hit the motherload, I wonder if it can be determined that it was the halves from YOUR bank or from somewhere in the AREA that the halves were let through the tellers then on to be boxed... either way, keep geting string n sons....

all I know is about a year ago, CHASE stopped giving me string and sons and all they had were what ever the armored truck that said GARDA had in it.. mostly un named wrappers, for halves and plastic for everything else..

Thank you bbradford71.

Have had a very productive day today. The first branch I have been in contact with has confirmed that they placed my order for the 57 boxes of halves. Estimated arrival date is March 6th or 7th. My other branch confirmed an order of 12 boxes with an estimated arrival date of March 1st. 57+12= 69 total boxes.

Both branches are aware that I will be picking them up 3 at a time throughout the day until the entire supply has been picked up. Cash only deal but it must be run through my account so that they can prove they received the funds for the halves. No fee for ordering the halves. Just keep my word on picking up all of them and not returning them to any of their branches. Have found out today that I will get paid the rent due for my old place so I may be able to pick up 5 boxes at a time instead of the 3. That will give my tellers a chance to rest in between transactions.

I made sure to let the branch for the 57 boxes know that this size order is only a 1 time deal. After this it will be lower quantities on a weekly basis... say 5-10 boxes a week. I also reminded her that I would not be bringing ANY of the halves back to any of their bank's branches. She thanked me and said that she will definitely contact me when my shipment has arrived. We are already on a first name basis...lol. Will definitely bring her a gift card and some nice chocolate for the rest of those helping me there. If they say they like pizza too, then pizza it is. Whatever food makes them happy and keeps them in a good mood.

It is a small marathon to go through that many boxes of coins but I will be happy to post stats on all of my silvers, proofs, NIFC's, DDR's etc. The load will be light too because I do have some help lined up. If the help gets sidetracked I will still have enough time to get it all done.

If anyone else wants to learn how to accomplish a task this size in the future then they can always come back here to read how it was done. I enjoy sharing what I learn and also learning new things. What others have been sharing on this thread is what inspired me to take on this project.


I have learned through many years of experience that many things can be accomplished if you just keep believing you can, set goals and have strong willpower when everyone else is saying it can't be done. That's how I survived out in some very harsh conditions delivering mail for 14 years. I have met people from all walks of life and learned to adapt to what is in front of me. People say many things but look at what others have accomplished over the years because they listened to their gut instinct and got it done, whatever the odds stacked against them.