Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/10/27/coin-roll-hunter-finds-some-nice-rare-pennies.html
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I can see how this is pure eye candy for numismatists, I was kinda adhered while clicking through looking for anything big he found. Some years ago, I inherited a small penny collection with indian heads dating back to the 1880s but, try as I might, I couldn’t sell them for anything worthwhile on EBay. The market is flooded with everything but the rarest or most pristine coins.
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The coin market, especially on ebay, exists because there is a sucker born every minute. “This 1932 penny must be worth SERIOUS money!” Sure, it increased in value by 3000%. From 1 penny up to $3. Add in listing fees, postage, etc. and you will probably net about 25 cents. Not a bad return for looking through 10,000 pennies for a day or so.
Of course, now you also have 9,999 pennies to deal with.
Also, there is the scam where someone lists a coin with an opening bid of $500, then a “different person” lists the same coin with no minimum bid. ALWAYS CHECK COMPLETED LISTINGS TO GET A SENSE OF A COIN’S VALUE. ALWAYS!!!
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And never ever ever use Ebay to purchase seriously rare coins. Counterfeit coins are everywhere.
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FTFY.
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i have a 1919 wheat penny that i’ve had since high school, i think. i consider it my lucky penny because my birthday is on the 19th. i have maybe a dozen other wheat pennies of various years (mostly 40s-50s), but honestly i don’t know anything else about them. i used to have a zinc penny, but i’m not sure where it is. i was amazed he could glance at a roll and pick out the wheat ones on sight. i wonder what tips him off to them besides the color/age appearance?
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Are you thinking of a 1943 penny? Those were made of steel so that copper could go to the the war effort. Pennies minted after '82 are almost entirely zinc. It always seemed odd to me that copper was more important to the war effort than steel.
I have been through something like 3000 wheat pennies without finding anything more valuable than about $5. We recently went through 100 pounds of loose change accumulated by my Uncle over the last 45 years. Aside from a few silver coins, wheat pennies, and Canadian money, there was nothing of note. Total cash value of 100 pounds of coins was $612, in case you’re curious.
On a related note, I have a 5 cent piece from 1865 that was recently appraised at face value. Ain’t that a kick in the teeth.
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Maybe hold off until after COVID on this hobby? Coins rolls are so hard to find today that I spent 2 hours tracking quarters down to wash my clothes.
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oh yes, you’re right – i meant the steel one, not the zinc ones.
speaking of 5¢ money, i have a 25¢ BILL from 1863. i found it crumpled in the corner of a torn-out pocket of an antique vest i once bought. i was able to flatten it out, and it’s not complete, but it has the date “March 3, 1863” on it, and says “United States Fractional Currency,” in a banner along the top, and “United States Treasury Dept.” in a banner along the bottom, and a ton of other very elaborate script all over it. i’m not sure who the portrait is of on it, though. it doesn’t seem to say. The back has even more elaborate script, and i can only read the first few words, but it seems to just say that it’s legal tender for all debts public and private, etc., etc. it’s definitely the coolest thing i’ve ever found in a pocket.
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FYI: That last video you link about his “Mega Haul” is an April Fools joke. Halfway through I went to the Youtube page to see what the coin valuations might be, and the comments tipped me off.
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I’m sure there are some armchairs statisticians here. What are the combined odds that a a) coin collector went to a bank that b) only had four rolls of nickels and c) all four remaining rolls apparently came from the same person and d) all four rolls had coins of interest and e) out of 40 nickels in a roll, the rarest coin winds up on one of the outer edges?
Extra fun: who even needs that many nickels nowadays? Is he getting in a fistfight later?
Highly unlikely, which is why it would be a surprise worth documenting?
For what it’s worth, tellers will frequently set aside the ‘fun coins’ for someone that’s going to appreciate them, and provide mundane change to the standard client. As a kid, I’d frequently swing by the bank and ask if they had anything unusual, and would walk out with old $2 bills and half-dollar coins and the like.
If anything, his premise that the bank was low on nickle rolls is the tip-off: They’d have retained those and broken them up for use. Money is money! (though if they get bills > $100, they keep them for destruction)
That is a very cool find! I hope you will frame it. It’s probably worth something more than face value.
Also, I googled it and found that the portrait on that note is William Pitt Fessendon, who was Secretary of the Treasury under Abraham Lincoln.
right now i have it stored flat in between a couple pieces of acid-free cardboard. i’m afraid the sunlight will harm it further, and it’s already so crumbly and fragile. i keep meaning to take it to an Antiques Roadshow type thing for kicks, but haven’t had the opportunity. and you know what? you’re right again – the pic of him at his wiki definitely looks like this portrait on my bill:
EDIT: hey, further down on the wiki they show a complete image of my same bill. awesome! i should’ve looked this up ages ago. so cool! he’s only one of three people ever depicted on fractional currency in their own lifetime.
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This makes me want to learn more about the history of paper currency in this country. Thanks for sharing this.
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You can make much more money just be pasting them on some mesh and sell them to home owners. $17 profit for each “sheet of tile”!
@AndreaJames
Have been busting at the seems to shoehorn the following joke into this thread after watching the last video but none of the commenters has afforded me the opportunity and not sure about the demographic!? 
Anyhoo
With regard to interesting coin rolls:
Buffalo coins go around the outside
round the outside
round the outside
Buffalo coins go around the outside
round the outside
round the outside
BaDum Tish anybody???
wondering how many wheat pennies are in there, and if there are any from the 1910s or 1920s that would probably pay for the entire remodel, if found…
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