Times are tough. So I have a MASSIVE amount of US coins, that I’m finally rolling up. I’m a bit worried that I wouldn’t have a sharp enough eye to catch any of greater potential value. I noticed some nickels have some different art on them than I’m used to saying. I don’t know a lot about cash. Please tell me I wont have to sift through any quarters with different unique art! Any sites? Are any such coins prominent, (should I bother).
Also, I THINK I’ve managed to keep the rolls Canadian free, but what if one were to wind up in there?
Yeah, I would love to use one…
IMHO a gift certificate isn’t free. In fact I hate the idea of gift certificates and never buy them, (not that I care other people do). My parents, my brother, and I always exchange money on Christmas and Birthdays, and on occasion gifts that were confirmed as useful by the recipient.
But Thanks friedo!!
Sorry about the hate for the certificates… I just lose them, or they expire, or I have $1.50 left on one which means I have to shop at the store again… as ‘impersonal’ as cash is, WalMart gift cards can be used to get milk, a TV, or a wedding ring.
Yeah, I know how you feel about 'em. The reason I like it for the CoinStar situation, though, is because I can get an Amazon cert which just gives me a credit for whatever amount on my Amazon account. Since I do tons of shopping on Amazon anyway, it makes it worthwhile for me. (Compared to the tedium of wrapping coins, anyway.)
I don’t think there is an easy way to sort for “rare” or “unique” coins, except for manually. If you just want to cash them in, try a local credit union. If you are a member, you can use the coin counter, and there isn’t any additional charge like with CoinStar.
Some other questions; How do they know there’s not a coin missing? I would imagine the weigh them, but is that always accurate? Also, if there was a Canadian coin in the roll, does it mater/how do they know? I would assume many would have a coin-sorter as well, but why have you roll them?
I would definitely sort through for the pre-1965 coins (except for pennies and nickels). The last time I sold a roll of silver quarters on eBay, it went for $35. That’s just mixed coins in all different conditions of circulation. The different art on the nickels you’re seeing is most likely the new(er) commemorative nickels which you can see on the US Mint website.
Most wheat pennies are worthless, as are most Jefferson nickels, regardless of age. There are exceptions, of course, but searching through a huge amount of coins for the gems is tedious at best. You could always just roll them up and sell them on eBay as “unsearched rolls”, especially for the wheat pennies or any early dimes/quarters. People love a treasure hunt.
I’d set the wheat pennies, at least, aside. Realistically, they’re probably not worth much, but some friend or relative might get a kick out of them, and it’s not like you’re giving up a lot by not cashing them in.
And I also always check any wheaties to see if they’re 1943 coppers, but that’s just the eternal optimist in me.
My mother used to be a bank teller. Here is what she said:
We count the coins. Some branches have coin counters and they would just break open the rolls and dump them in. We counted by hand. If we knew the customer we would take the rolls, label them, give them their money and count them later. If we didn’t, we would count them there - or if we were busy we would turn them away. (They don’t have to accept them)
I’d set aside any pre-1965 dimes, quarters, and half-dollars. They contained 90 per cent silver until they were changed by the 1965 Coinage act. The dimes and quarters were changed to 75 % copper and 25% nickel. The halves retained a 40% silver composition until 1970, then they also were changed to the 75% copper - 25% nickel combination.
There are a few key dates in wheat pennies (key date=valuable). You can probably google “key date wheat pennies” and find a list. They are worth looking for, particularly if you don’t have thousands to sort through. ALL pre-65 dimes, quarters and halves are worth setting aside, as cochrane mentioned.
I must have AT LEAST six hundred worth. That’s my guess from what I’ve counted so far, which hasn’t been that much since I’ve been looking into it deeper. It’s really helped.
If anyone’s interested, I found this site: http://www.coinflation.com
Any more tips or things to look for, please tell!
I’m going to roll some more in the mean time, with a sharper eye. I always thought collecting loose change was a great way to save for when you’re in a tight spot. It’s not collecting intrest as it would in a bank account, but it’s difficult to spend, and easy to build up over time. I don’t know what Dopers think about that; (What DO you think about that Dopers?). I’m sure there must be a few coins in here that are worth more than what they would be spent as.
Don’t know where you live, but here near the Northern Border when you turn a roll of coins in to the bank they run a magnetic device over the roll. It will detect any stray Canadian coins, which then you will have to remove from the roll to replace with the appropriate US coin. This is officially A Pain In The Butt, but it’s not like they’re going to arrest you on the spot or anything like that.
I must have put in a Canadian coin or two in a roll when I lived in California, but nobody ever noticed.
Some Canadian nickels are actually made from real nickel, which is ferromagnetic (like iron). I don’t think they’ve done that for a few decades, though.
I was a bank teller in a large bank. We didn’t check the rolls, we didn’t have the time to check every one that came through and reroll them. As long as they looked to be the right size, and were the same width throughout, we took them. The potential loss would be minimal, anyway.
