What Is Roll Hunting?

What do you mean, like State Quarter rolls?

But, what are the odds of someone finding like a MS-67 or MS-68 State Quarter or Lincoln Cent?

Halves are definitely the most rewarding if you are looking for silver.

If you are just looking for something to do Pennies are really cheap to use (100 rolls is only $25). Plus you can always just go to a different bank and gain most of your "investment" back.

It isn't the most efficient way to find coins and it is unlikely you'll strike it rich or find a mine of Mercs or Buffalos. It is just a cool and economical way to find coins.

My word of advice, which some may disagree with: start slow. This is how I started. I went to the bank and asked for a few rolls of nickels. I put unsearched nickels in one half of an open shoebox, and threw the returns (searched nickels) in the other half as I went. When I was done, I rolled up the returns and put the "keepers" into a sort of tackle box. (Small plastic box with dividers) I divided by decade. Then after I got more comfortable with it, I asked for some penny rolls, just a few dollars worth. I recommend starting with nickels, because with cents there are so many different things to look for, it takes a while to get used to it. Of course, you can always just look for wheaties, which is still fun. Some folks, like myself, also pull copper cents from rolls, which are any pennies dated 1981 or older, and some 1982's.

Some people here search quarters and dimes too, but those generally are the least rewarding. Then there are halves. Halves are usually searched for silver. 1964 and older are 90% silver, Kennedy half dollars from 1965-1970 are 40% silver. There are a few cool errors though too, like the 1974 D doulbed die obverse.

So...to answer your question, roll hunting is simply getting rolls of coins and going through them looking for "treasures," which could be silver, errors, wierd marks, cool toning, a date you need to fill a hole in a folder/album, or anything else you find interesting.

If you want to start, I recommend you get a couple of Whitman nickel folders (about $3 each). One has holes for each mint from 1938-1961, another is 1962-1995. Then get some rolls and start filling holes!

BTW, nickels dated 1942-1945 are 35% silver and have a larger mintmark on the reverse above the Monticello building. This is one of my favorite coins, and they can still be found in rolls!

Hope this helps, good luck.

Roll hunting is an addiction ! I don't play golf, bowl, bike or go to the movies anymore. When I'm not working I'm roll hunting. I eat with rolls of coins to go thru. My wife doesn't know me. The dogs bark at me because they think I'm a stranger. I want more!More!
They're going to take me away !

Sounds like fun...I'm going to try some rolls of half Dollars. I read in one forum where people found what they were calling "NCIF" coins... what does tis stand for?

Wow... that was bad math. Meant to say 50 rolls is only 25 dollars.

Good catch.