The Question:

In a bank roll, Federal Reserve roll or bag of BU Lincoln cents approximately what number of coins, on average for every 50 in a roll would end up being MS-65 to MS-70?
Do you know if there is a chart for most common types of coinage?

The answer to this question has a lot of variables.

Current dated Lincoln cents do not come in bags anymore. They are rolled by private companies before being delivered to banks and credit unions.

A BU roll of Lincoln cents would have coins that would be considered MS-60 at a minimum. That is simply because the coins are Mint State and MS-60 is the lowest grade that an Uncirculated coin would be graded.

MS-70 is the grade that is assigned to a perfect coin. Perfect in this scale means just that ….PERFECT. They look at a coin under 3X to 7X magnification and if there is the slightest imperfection, or the coin is not centered perfectly, or doesn’t meet many other criteria on a list of details….it will not be graded MS-70. As a result, MS-70 coins on general circulation coins are difficult to find and are truly rare.

The nature of the minting process causes coins minted for circulation to be dumped on top of each other in very large bins causing small marks and dings that we can’t always see with the naked eye. Under magnification, they can be seen.

As a result, the grade of MS-70 is very rare. Most MS-70 graded coins that you will see on Ebay, for example unless graded by PCGS or NGC will not, in fact be MS-70 coins.

Here is where it gets a little more complicated.

Coins in Uncirculated rolls that are recently dated, let’s say 2005 thru 2009, would therefore range between MS-60 and MS-69 as finding an MS-70 coin in a roll of coins intended for circulation is near impossible. The further up the scale you go, the more rare the coin would be.

As an aside, I’ve noticed over the years that coins produced in the Denver Mint are of a higher quality than those produced in the Philadelphia Mint. I can’t tell you why that is.

Realizing that grading is subjective, which means …it is an opinion, it is necessary to understand that the more coins you look at, the more accurate your grading skills become.

Being familiar with the grading standards and having looked through millions of cents, this is still only an opinion but I feel a fairly correct one.

The average coin in an average roll of current dated Philadelphia Mint cents would probably average in the MS-62 to MS-64 range.

The average coin in a roll of current dated Denver Mint cents would probably go just a notch higher and be in the MS-63 to MS-65 range.

There will be a very small number of cents from either Mint that would grade MS-66, a few less at MS-67, and almost none at the MS-68 or MS-69 levels.

Other denominations are different. On coins made with nickel, for example…The dies wear very quickly so I don’t see coins much higher than MS-61 or MS- 62 in rolls of nickels, dimes, quarters or halves.

The new Presidential dollars probably average in at MS-62 to MS-63 as they really get banged around during the minting process and then during the rolling and distribution processes.

There is no study that I am aware of that specifically breaks down the percentages of what you might find in a roll based on grade.

One of the best books , with pictures and descriptions of the grades is “The Official American Numismatic Association Grading Standards for United States Coins” published by Whitman Publishing, LLC.