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Roll Searching 101 – Keep It Pleasant

Sunday, April 26th, 2009

The best way to get started is to pick up a few rolls of coins the next time you go to your local bank or credit union. As suggested in a previous “class”, it is a good idea to call the bank ahead of your arrival to request rolled coins.

There is a small amount of paperwork that needs to be done by a teller to transfer coins to their window. The transfer is sometimes done from the vault to the teller or from one teller to another. In any case, it is best not to just walk in and ask for an unusual number of rolled coins. Being a thoughtful and courteous roll searcher, it is important that you never take a teller by surprise with your request for coins. Ultimately, you want to have the bank look forward to your transaction and never look upon you as a nuisance.

Old Style Coin Bag

Old Style Coin Bag

Always be sure to bring along a bag of some sort so that you can carry your coins out to your vehicle.

In the past when the Mint used to supply loose coins in bags, it was common to get a few of these from a bank now and then. It is what I now use to carry rolls of coins in. Since they are no longer used by the Mint, they have actually become collectors items in their own right.

Keep in mind that there are only so many rolls of halves, for example that you can carry in your pocket before you run into serious trouble. I’ll leave that picture up to your own imagination.

Since coin bags like the one shown will probably not be available, I might suggest an easy to obtain, nylon shopping bag for carrying your rolled coins.

Above all, always be cautious and remain diligent when returning to your vehicle. Carrying any amount of rolled coins can be hazardous if there are any unscrupulous persons in the area.

KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR NON-UNITED STATES COINAGE!

Over the years, I’ve found well over five thousand coins that are from countries other than the United States! Coins like the ones below from Fiji, Venezuela, Switzerland, The Kingdom of The Netherlands, and the former Socialist Republic of Czechoslovakia were all found while searching through rolls of what should have been all United States issued coins.

Non-United States coins

Non-United States coins

You may also find coins such as the one seen below. The Euro is currently the legal tender used by 15 of the European Union Countries. Some territories of those countries also circulate the Euro. Other countries have agreements with some of the issuing countries to use these coins as well. They all share a design on one side. This is the common side of all the 1 EURO pieces that are minted.

A One Euro Coin

A One Euro Coin

Found on the other side of the coin is an identifying National symbol. This One Euro coin, dated 2002 was issued by Italy.

A Euro of Italy

A Euro of Italy

Keep it pleasant and you can find all kinds of coins as you search through rolls!

Posted in "Roll Searchers' Newsletter", Collecting, Found in Rolls, Non-United States Coins | Comments Off

Roll Searching 101

Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009

Since this might be your very first stop on the way to becoming a seasoned Roll Searcher, I thought that it might be a good idea to start from the very beginning. This article will focus on some of the things that you will need to begin your roll searching activities!

You already have one of the basic pieces of equipment needed to have fun searching through rolls of coins. Looking through rolls in order to pick out specific coins by their dates and mint marks can be a lot of fun and to do that you can simply use your own eyes. They are some of the best tools ever devised. Here comes one of them now!

The Human Eye

The Human Eye

If, like me you are beyond the age where your eyes can reliably tell the difference between a three and an eight or pick up the distinction between the mint marks D and an S, then it might be necessary for some optical assistance, as I like to call it. When using any of the various forms of “Optical Assistance”, a numeral followed by an X indicates the amount of magnification provided. A 2X lens magnifies to two times the original size, a 4X lens magnifies to four times the original size and so on.

My arsenal includes the following items:

  • A 2X Hand Lens with a small 4X portal built into the lens. The 2X portion helps to check out the date on each coin, while the 2X portion of the lens is great to determine what the mint mark is.

  • I have several jeweler’s loupes. One is a simple 8X lens and the other is a multi-lens system that is 8x or 18X depending upon whether the smaller lens is connected to the system. The portion with the smaller lens screws on and off and is quite easy to use. The higher magnification is acheived when both lenses are used together.

  • Next is an unusual 18X loupe. It is unusual in that it is longer than my other loupes. It does a very nice job of magnifying the very small details while filtering out unwanted light. I use this one more than any other while searching for rare die varieties. I won it at an auction about ten years ago and I have not seen another one since. I can’t tell you where to get one like it.

  • I occasionally use a lighted, 30X pocket microscope.

Magnifying Glasses and Loupes

Magnifying Glasses and Loupes


SOME HELPFUL ROLL SEARCHING TIPS

1) Call the bank before you make a trip to pick up coins.

2) Ask for whatever coins you might be interested in and do not forget to ask for unusual coins like large sized dollars.

3) If rolls of coins are available, try to aproximate the time that you think you will arrive at the bank to pick up some rolled coins.

4) If one bank doesn’t have extra rolls of coins available, call another one and ask them if they might have any.

5) Set up more than one account. You should try to use different banks so that you can bring coins back to a bank other than the one you are getting your coins from.

GOOD LUCK IN YOUR SEARCHES!

Posted in "Roll Searchers' Newsletter", Collecting, Die Varieties, Found in Rolls | Comments Off

A Roll Searcher is Born!

Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009

Many coin collectors started out by looking through their pocket change to find any coins that might have seemed a little unusual. Often those coins would end up in jars or dresser drawers without being organized in any way. If at that time the coin collecting bug really bit, some people would move to the next step in their pursuit of their hobby.

Purchasing a coin folder from a coin shop or book store, the budding collector would begin to place the coins that were being found in circulation into the dated slots that were in the folders. Many coin folders, particularly in the case of United States coinage, will have slots for coins that are designed to be filled with circulating examples of each date and mint mark combination produced by the U.S. Mint.

One Page from a Coin Album

One Page from a Coin Album

As their collections progressed, they would find that some coins could be difficult to find in circulation during the normal course of events.

Often, the next step in the hobbyist’s progression is to go to a bank and ask for rolls of coins to take home and look through so that it might increase the chances of finding the coins needed to fill in more of the slots in the coin folder. The new collector makes a life altering discovery! The idea really works!

It is in this way that a new “Roll Searcher” is born!

Posted in "Roll Searchers' Newsletter", Collecting, Die Varieties, Error Coin, Found in Rolls | Comments Off

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