Rolls of Wheaties from my late father 1 1

[JT2]

Well about a year ago my father passed away. Well to not ramble too much back in 1974 he gave me my first whitman blue tri fold so this is how it started.  Fast forward to today.  My brother after going through his things in Alabama came across multiple rolls of wheat cents.  He knowing that i am a collector still decided to forward them to me.  I got them the other day and well ther were about twenty rolls of wheats, most marked with date ranges. 1910 -1919, 1920 - 1929 ect. and about 10 rolls of stealies. I went through all of them and didnt find anything better that a fine which i set aside.  most of them are in the VG range with solid readable dates.  So i have been thinking.  Should i start dumong these into circulation and maybe it will catch the eye of some younger person or should i just hang on to them as part of the ol JT HOARD??  which is starting to over take the office and spill out into the next bedroom.  So whatcha guys think?  slowly relase them or just hold them?

[Fenntucky Mike]

It's a tough call but I'd release them or hand them down to a young collector.

[RWB]

Give them to a local coin club with YN members - that way, they will get into real kid collector hands, and not just added to random "penny jars."

[Mikhail2400]

About a week ago I finally got around to opening two plastic tubes of wheat pennies from my dads collection. i had opened one of the tubes just to see it was wheat pennies but to my surprise the other tube was noting but Indian Cents. They were all low grade VG and some worse but it was a pretty cool surprise.

 

[Coinbuf]

I like the suggestion by RWB, you could hang onto one or two rolls to pass down to family members .  A family legacy as it were.

[l.cutler]

You could also check with any local boy scout troops to see if anyone is working on a coin collecting merit badge.

[Mohawk]

On 9/29/2021 at 8:48 AM, RWB said:

Give them to a local coin club with YN members - that way, they will get into real kid collector hands, and not just added to random "penny jars."

This is the best suggestion and exactly what I would do with them if they were mine.

[RWB]

You could even organize it as a club presentation -- tempt them with all the juicy finds that might be in the rolls. Possibly get a member to toss in some red UNC for additional interest. (PS: If the club is a qualified nonprofit, the donation is a tax deduction for you.)

[JT2]

On 9/29/2021 at 5:34 PM, l.cutler said:

You could also check with any local boy scout troops

What a funny thing you say   I always carry extra coins in my bag at the FUN show in Orlando and had them out to the boy / girl scouts i see walkin around.  That is only after i ask their accompanying adult if it is ok to give them something...

[JT2]

On 9/29/2021 at 8:48 AM, RWB said:

Give them to a local coin club with YN members - that way, they will get into real kid collector hands, and not just added to random "penny jars."

Great idea... and you are right i dont think that i have ever been to someones place that didnt have one of those jars.....tragic!

[The Neophyte Numismatist]

I have to admit, I would be very torn here.  I have that "penny jar" from my grandfather's closet when he died - mixed date copper and zinc.  He died 6 years ago, and I still have not opened the jar.  I keep it exactly as he left it.  To me, I am preserving a piece of him (sounds silly to read that).  I thought about building date runs for my kids of their great-grandpa's coins, but there is such a mix in the jar (from what I can see), I may not be able to provide all of my kids with a decent run. The jar sits on my desk next to his glass "Pop" beer mug that now holds my pencils and pens. 

If you were to give them away, I love the idea of giving them to a kid to spark or maintain interest in coins.  You could go the coin club route, or hand out rolls to kids at a big coin show and see their faces.  You could 2x2 them individually and play Santa Claus all day handing them out to kids.  Lots of ways to have fun and reward yourself when being generous to others!   

Edited October 1, 2021 by The Neophyte Numismatist

[Henri Charriere]

My off-the-cuff feeling is if your grandfather had gone through all the trouble of making notations on rolls he was saving, I seriously doubt (and suspect he would resent) his collections being dispersed willy nilly to the four winds after he departs.

The first task you have is to get clear dimensions of the cache. That means recording dates, types, general conditions, etc.  If you should happen to find anything unusual like a Lincol Cent dated 1909-S with the initials V.D.B. prominently displayed on the bottom of the reverse side, it goes without saying, that coin belongs to me. I joke, of course, but many significant finds have been made in recent years commandng prices your grandfather could never begin to imagine. Get your trusty Red Book out and examine your coins carefully. Consult experts; do your due diligence as this opportunity, if it even arises, comes once in one's lifetime..  Numismatic experts with specializations abound on the Forum and many would be eagar to impart advice to a serious collector. And since time is money, I would not expect that you would get a good deal for your sentimental collection from just any dealer chosen at random. Bear in mind, some of your coins have waited very patiently for over a century to see the light. Give them their fair due.  Take your time.  And set aside anything that piques your interest for further investigation. Resist, to the extent possible, any impulse to sell the coins immediately; and never accept a first (or second) offer from a dealer whose own interests vastly surpass your own.

I wish you the best of luck!