Hello all, I'm do not collect, but an elderly friend does a bit of it. He's starting to feel like his time on Earth is very short and is looking to start liquidating what he has. This is the first batch that he's asked me to do some research on to determine if they are worth anything more than face value (easier to dump them at the bank if they'll only fetch as much on eBay). He's got a $25 paper roll from Philly and another from Denver for each of the following presidents: George Washington James Monroe William Henry Harrison James Madison Martin Van Buren Andrew Jackson Thomas Jefferson John Adams Two $12 plastic rolls (intact seals): One for George Washington One for John Adams A single dollar in a round plastic 'case' for: John Adams Zachary Taylor Lastly, two boxes (looking like gold press bars), each marked "425 net grams, ballistic rolls" and containing 50 Thomas Jefferson dollars in a sealed plastic tube. Again, I realize these are likely face value items, but bouncing thru Wiki, I saw that it is possible the Washington and Adams paper rolls *could* contain errors worth somewhat more. Am I right to assume it's fine to just unroll them all, as finding no errors they are still legal tender worth face value, and is errors are found, so much the better? Or is there a way to determine whether errors exist inside a paper roll without opening it? Thanks for the long read and any assistance you all can offer.
You might find someone to pay a small premium for specific rolls, but for the most part, they made billions of these, and they are not precious metals... So face value may be the way to go. I'd keep an eye on this thread incase someone who is really into this series of coin drops in with pointers. If it was me, I'd read up on some of the possible errors, then unroll each one meticulously, checking for the errors specific to that coin, and pull any that look promising. Then spend the rest. That's my opinion. Worth what you paid for it! Welcome to the board! Stick around and someone may have a better idea. Edit: When I say 'meticulously', I mean following standard rules of handling collectible coins, such as NEVER touching the faces of the coin, not allowing them to knock around against each other or hard surfaces, holding by the rim (with cotton gloves or cloth if possible). This way if you do find a treasure, it isn't dinged up or fingerprinted when you are done.
If both time and money is the over-riding factor here , perhaps an " outright " sale or auction on EBAY is the way to go. If your concerned about the possibility of having an error coin in the Washington or Adams rolls , in the famous words of Clint Eastwood " Do you feel Lucky " ? Un-searched , you would probably get more buyer interest . It's a coin flip .
CoinMan- By un-searched, do you mean an eBay buyer might be willing to pay a bit more for the "possibility" that errors might be in the roll, and I'm gambling that 'extra' if I open them and find no errors? Ratio- That's my inclination as well.
The "ballistic rolls" were hyped and sold at a huge mark-up by a company that runs full-page newspaper ads (that look a lot like a news article). They target people who know little to nothing about coins and sell them grossly overpriced coins as "investments". The coins are often packaged in ways to make the unknowing thing they are getting something very special (which they are not), e.g., ballistic rolls and gold-colored cardboard boxes that look like bars of gold. (The gold boxes may make some unknowing buyers thing they are buying gold coins when, in fact, they are only buying gold-colored coins that are worth face value).
