NorthShoreMA's Last 20 Posts
| Two Benji Enders In A Brinks Box! How Many More Did I Find?
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NorthShoreMA
Valued Member
United States
83 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
83 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
83 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
83 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
83 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
83 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
83 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
83 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
83 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
83 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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| A Modest Mid-January Thaw During A Winter Cold Run
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NorthShoreMA
Valued Member
United States
83 Posts |
Posted 01/16/2025 8:25 pm
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I haven't had much success while CRH since mid-November -- except for one Loomis box of half dollars that yielded 13 silver coins. That changed today when I acquired a Loomis box at my local bank (even though it didn't contain any silver "enders"). I had asked them to order two boxes.
I found a 1964 Kennedy half dollar in the 12th roll, followed by a less common 1964-D coin in the next roll. In the second half of the box, I found two Benjamin Franklin half dollars and two 1967 Kennedy half dollars -- and both of the Franklin half dollars are in better condition than the coins that I already had in my collection. The distribution of these silver coins is unusual: i.e., I typically find five or six half dollars that contain only 40% silver for every one that contains 90% silver. I addition, for some reason I've found more Walking Liberty half dollars than Benjis while CRH.
I wish Loomis had sent the bank two boxes because I think collection dumps generally are distributed in several boxes made from the same cache. I gave the teller a Starbucks gift card, and asked her to order two more boxes next week. Maybe my luck will continue.
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| | Forum: Coin Roll Hunting |
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| What To Do With 40% Silver Half Dollars?
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NorthShoreMA
Valued Member
United States
83 Posts |
Posted 01/04/2025 4:53 pm
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| I think you won't find many dealers who will offer a fair price for only a small amount of those coins because typically they are bought and sold in large quantities. Last month a local coin shop owner who purchases and sells "junk" silver coins (the ones that contain 90% silver) at a fair price offered to pay me $3.25 each for 40% Kennedy half dollars -- but only if I sold him at least several rolls. That is ~75% of their melt value. |
| | Forum: Coin Roll Hunting |
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| A Loomis Christmas Gift With Three Silver Enders
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NorthShoreMA
Valued Member
United States
83 Posts |
Posted 12/21/2024 8:44 pm
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I have described on this forum finding a large number of silver half dollars during a lucky CRH streak that lasted from October 1st to mid November. But the trail ran cold after that for five weeks (as it always does), when I found only one silver quarter, several silver Roosevelt dimes, and a few 40% Kennedy half dollars.
My luck changed today when I found three silver Kennedy "enders" (two 1968-D coins and one 1969-D coin ) in a Loomis box that I ordered from the local bank where I began CRH last year. After finding that many silver enders, I anticipated finding ~30 similar coins in the box.
How did I do? Not nearly that well! I found only 10 more silver half dollars in the box (including one 1964 coin) -- not the 25-30 coins that I had expected. Their distribution is very odd. I generally find about equal numbers of 1967 and 1968 half dollars. But I found nine 1968 coins and only one 1967 coin in this collection dump.
I shouldn't complain too much about finding 2 troy ounces of silver today. And I hope it kicks off another "hot" streak.
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| | Forum: Coin Roll Hunting |
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| Acquired $60 Of Old Currency At A Local Bank
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NorthShoreMA
Valued Member
United States
83 Posts |
Posted 12/09/2024 7:57 pm
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| I appreciate the "attaboys" sent by experienced currency collectors, and the feedback I received concerning the modest value of these old notes. I've never sold any of the ~600 silver dimes and half dollars that I've found while coin-roll hunting because I enjoy the "treasure-hunting" dimension of this hobby. Likewise I don't plan to try to sell any of these old banknotes. Instead, I will give them to the children of my nieces and nephews who I have encouraged to become coin collectors. |
| | Forum: US Paper Money and Banknotes |
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| Acquired $60 Of Old Currency At A Local Bank
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NorthShoreMA
Valued Member
United States
83 Posts |
Posted 12/09/2024 12:02 pm
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Here are photos of the currency I recently acquired. I'm not experienced grading banknotes. However, using a guide I found on the Internet I think:
Most of the silver certificates are in F to VF condition -- although one of the 1957B $1 bills is in XF condition and the other one is in VG condition.
The 1928F $5 US Notes are in VG-F condition.
The 1928B $10 FRN is in G condition (and furthermore is marred by inked circles). The 1934A and 1934B $10 FRNs are in VG condition, and the 1934D $10 FRN is in VF condition.
Can anyone estimate the value of these banknotes? I don't intend to sell them -- but I'm curious if any of them have more value than the other ones. Thanks!
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| | Forum: US Paper Money and Banknotes |
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| Acquired $60 Of Old Currency At A Local Bank
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NorthShoreMA
Valued Member
United States
83 Posts |
Posted 12/08/2024 10:33 pm
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I am a coin-roll hunter who focuses on finding silver dimes or silver half dollars. This week a friendly teller asked me if I was interested in "old currency" that a customer recently had cashed. I purchased all of the currency he showed me. None of these circulated notes are particularly valuable, but it was interesting to acquire them:
Silver Certificates
One Series 1934D $5 bill
One Series 1953A $5 bill
One Series 1935F $1 bill
One Series 1957 $1 bill
One Series 1957A $1 bill
Two Series 1957B $1 bills
United States Notes
Two Series 1928F $5 bills
Federal Reserve Notes
One Series 1928B $10 bill
One Series 1934A $10 bill
One Series 1934B $10 bill
One Series 1934D $10 bill
A legend on the 1928 $10 bill states it is "redeemable in gold on demand at the US Treasury or at any Federal Reserve Bank". I wish! |
| | Forum: US Paper Money and Banknotes |
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| What Is The Value Of Original Rolls Of Uncirculated 1978-1982 Lincoln Cents?
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NorthShoreMA
Valued Member
United States
83 Posts |
Posted 11/23/2024 12:27 pm
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Yesterday I visited a different branch of the bank I use and asked if they had any half dollars. The friendly teller told me he didn't have any -- but then he volunteered that a customer recently cashed in a large number of rolls that contain uncirculated Lincoln cents. That customer explained that her brother used to melt them before the government made it illegal to melt cents or nickels. The teller showed me several rolls. They appeared to be in original bank wrappers, and were labelled 1978 to 1982. I told him I would purchase the entire lot (116 rolls).
I looked on eBay and some sellers describe the wrappers as "shotgun" wrappers. I plan to try to sell these rolls to local coin dealers at a modest profit: e.g., each coin contains ~2.5 cents worth of copper, and they probably have a small amount of additional numismatic value. I can't offer to sell them on this forum -- but I'm interested in getting feedback on what you think is a fair price to obtain for each roll: e.g., perhaps $3.50-$4.00? |
| | Forum: Coin Roll Hunting |
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| Four Enders In A Loomis Box. How Many More Silver Coins Did I Find?
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NorthShoreMA
Valued Member
United States
83 Posts |
Posted 11/15/2024 09:40 am
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howell1018: I use a "dump bank" to cash half dollars with no intrinsic value. Three branches of this bank located in adjacent towns have coin-counting machines that don't charge a fee to customers. (I opened a small savings account to qualify.) I have established and maintain a good relationship with the tellers at these branches by showing them how to identify silver coins, and by offering to lift onto a dolly the heavy bags filled with 2,000 coins if I've inserted so many half dollars that I finish filling a bag. Most of the tellers are bemused by my CRH hobby. One of them even gave me the rejected coins, tokens, and paper clips present in the "junk bin" inside the machine. None of those coins contained silver.
I have asked a few tellers if I can purchase one of the half dollar bags so I can search for silver coins cashed by other customers. Unfortunately, none of the branches allow me to do that. |
| | Forum: Coin Roll Hunting |
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