Coin roll hunting means buying rolls or boxes of coins from a bank at face value, searching them for anything valuable and returning the rest. You never lose money (the worst case is spending some time) and it is one of the cheapest ways into collecting.
Getting started
- Ask your bank whether they sell coin rolls or boxes to customers. Some only order for business accounts; others are happy to help.
- "Customer-wrapped" rolls, brought in by the public, are more likely to contain old or unusual coins than machine-wrapped rolls from the Federal Reserve.
- Equipment: a 10x loupe, a small digital scale, a magnet and a tray or towel to work on.
- Be courteous: return searched coins in a way your bank accepts.
What to look for in each roll
Pennies (50 per roll)
Wheat cents (1958 and earlier), Indian Head cents, copper cents dated 1982 and earlier (weigh 1982 cents: 3.11 g is copper) and doubled dies on 1955, 1969-S, 1972, 1983 and 1995. The 2017-P is also worth setting aside.
Nickels (40 per roll)
1942 to 1945 war nickels with a large mint mark above Monticello (35% silver), Buffalo nickels and low-mintage dates such as the 1950-D. 2009-P and 2009-D nickels had unusually low mintages for modern coins.
Dimes (50 per roll)
Anything dated 1964 or earlier is 90% silver. Look at the edge for a solid silver stripe. Also check for the 1982 "No P" dime.
Quarters (40 per roll)
Silver quarters (1964 and earlier) and the 2019 to 2020 "W" mint mark America the Beautiful quarters, of which only two million of each design were released.
Half dollars (20 per roll)
The best odds for silver: 1964 halves are 90% silver and 1965 to 1970 Kennedy halves are 40% silver. Franklin and Walking Liberty halves still turn up occasionally.
Tips from experienced hunters
Search by edge first: stack coins and look for solid-silver edges. Sort by date before looking for varieties. Keep a record of what you searched and what you found. After a few boxes you'll know which banks and roll types are worth your time. And check the key dates list before you return anything you're unsure about.
How to search a box efficiently
Experienced hunters search in passes rather than looking for everything at once. Open a few rolls at a time onto a tray. On the first pass, look only at edges and dates to pull silver, older coins and key years. On the second pass, check the mint marks on anything you pulled. Only then look closely for varieties and errors on the coins that justify it, such as 1955, 1972 and 1995 cents. Searching everything under a loupe is slow and tiring, so most hunters look for varieties on specific dates only.
Keep your finds in labeled envelopes or 2x2 holders as you go, so you know which box each one came from. Rewrap the coins you return in fresh wrappers of the right color.
Errors you can realistically find
Most error finds in rolls are minor but collectible. Look for off-center strikes, where part of the design is missing and a blank crescent shows on one side. Clipped planchets have a curved bite out of the edge. Die cracks appear as raised lines running across the design and a cud is a raised blob of metal joined to the rim, where part of the die broke away. On Lincoln cents, a die crack joining the B and E of LIBERTY is a popular minor variety. On clad coins, look for a coin that is copper-colored on one face, which may be missing its outer clad layer.
Why half dollars are the best for silver
Kennedy halves have not been struck for circulation since 2002. Any halves a bank orders come from coins returned by the public, often from drawers, jars and estates where they have been sitting for decades. That makes half dollar rolls far more likely to contain silver than rolls of dimes or quarters. Besides 1964 and 1965 to 1970 halves, hunters occasionally find Franklin halves of 1948 to 1963 and very occasionally a Walking Liberty half.
Dollar coins and foreign coins
Small dollar coins have been made mostly for collectors since the Treasury cut circulating production at the end of 2011, so dollar coin boxes also come largely from returned coins. They can hold Susan B. Anthony dollars of 1979 to 1981 and 1999 and Presidential dollars with missing edge lettering, an error best known on the 2007 George Washington dollar.
Canadian coins mix into US rolls because they are similar in size. Set them aside rather than returning them. Canadian dimes and quarters dated 1966 and earlier are 80% silver.
Keeping it worthwhile
Track every box: the date, the bank, the denomination, whether it was customer-wrapped and what you kept. Over a few months the record shows which branches and roll types give the best results. Some banks charge fees for ordering coin or for depositing loose coins, so ask before you order. Returning searched coins in the form your bank prefers keeps the arrangement going.
Frequently asked questions
Is coin roll hunting legal?
Yes. You buy coins from a bank at face value and return or spend the ones you do not keep. Melting current cents and nickels is illegal, but searching them is not.
Which coin rolls are best for finding silver?
Half dollar rolls. Kennedy halves have not been struck for circulation since 2002, so bank halves often come from old hoards that include silver coins.