Unopened original roll ca. 1968 40 Kennedy half dollars. 2 2

[Galagerson]

My friend has an unopened original roll, ca. 1968, of what we strongly believe are 40 Kennedy half dollars. Markings on roll: $20 HALVES $20, next line: Tel-35X 12-64 P.O. 97539. Please advise.

[RWB]

There are a lot of these and full bags of $2,000 out there. More will turn up as original collectors die off. If you show the ends, we might be able to determine if it was previously opened. The dark areas resemble tape residue, which suggests the roll is not original direct from a new bag.

[EagleRJO]

I'm not sure what you are asking, but eBay is full of scam artists that get old style roll papers and fill them with common coins to sell at a premium.  Even if it's a legit older roll paper, the old tape mark on the right which is interrupted by a later folded over end would suggest this is not an unopened or unsearched roll.

How and when was this roll acquired, and what do you hope to find within the roll?

[Sandon]

   Welcome to the NGC chat board. 

   When you post on this forum, please tell us what your question is. If you're trying to sell this roll, it should have been posted on the Marketplace forum with an asking price and otherwise in compliance with the rules in the topic there entitled "Coin Marketplace Guidelines". I note that you also improperly posted a topic about this roll on the NGC Registry forum, which is for questions or comments regarding the NGC Registry, not for information about uncertified coins.

   I'll assume that your friend is trying to ascertain what the coins in this roll are worth.  Nearly 247 million 1968-D Kennedy half dollars were minted, so they are quite common. Many uncirculated rolls and even bags still exist. Much of their value is in their silver content, which is $3.59 per coin as of today.  Average (MS 63) uncirculated coins retail for $6 each per June's Coin World.  A dealer might be willing to pay about $4 per coin or $160 for the roll, if that much. based on the NGC Price Guide, only coins grading MS 66 or higher, which are quite scarce, would be worth the cost of certification. It is highly unlikely that any would grade that high, even if this is an "original" roll.

  Before posting additional topics, please review the following topic:

 

[Sandon]

   In reviewing your post again, it appears that you don't even know what date of half dollars the roll contains. You're going to have to open it to see what it actually contains.  If it contains half dollars dated 1964 or before, these have 90% silver content and would be worth more in silver alone. If they are dated 1971 or after, they contain no silver and are likely not worth much over face value.

[Galagerson]

On 6/18/2023 at 1:34 PM, RWB said:

There are a lot of these and full bags of $2,000 out there. More will turn up as original collectors die off. If you show the ends, we might be able to determine if it was previously opened. The dark areas resemble tape residue, which suggests the roll is not original direct from a new bag.

My friend purchased the roll in about 1968 at a casino in Lake Tahoe, CA where my friend worked at the time.   Here are photos showing the ends.  My question is should my friend open the roll or wait for a numismatist to do it.

[Galagerson]

On 6/18/2023 at 1:47 PM, EagleRJO said:

I'm not sure what you are asking, but eBay is full of scam artists that get old style roll papers and fill them with common coins to sell at a premium.  Even if it's a legit older roll paper, the old tape mark on the right which is interrupted by a later folded over end would suggest this is not an unopened or unsearched roll.

How and when was this roll acquired, and what do you hope to find within the roll?

My friend purchased the roll in about 1968 at a casino in Lake Tahoe, CA where my friend worked at the time.   Here are photos showing the ends.  My question is should my friend open the roll or wait for a numismatist to do it.

[Galagerson]

On 6/18/2023 at 1:53 PM, Sandon said:

   Welcome to the NGC chat board. 

   When you post on this forum, please tell us what your question is. If you're trying to sell this roll, it should have been posted on the Marketplace forum with an asking price and otherwise in compliance with the rules in the topic there entitled "Coin Marketplace Guidelines". I note that you also improperly posted a topic about this roll on the NGC Registry forum, which is for questions or comments regarding the NGC Registry, not for information about uncertified coins.

   I'll assume that your friend is trying to ascertain what the coins in this roll are worth.  Nearly 247 million 1968-D Kennedy half dollars were minted, so they are quite common. Many uncirculated rolls and even bags still exist. Much of their value is in their silver content, which is $3.59 per coin as of today.  Average (MS 63) uncirculated coins retail for $6 each per June's Coin World.  A dealer might be willing to pay about $4 per coin or $160 for the roll, if that much. based on the NGC Price Guide, only coins grading MS 66 or higher, which are quite scarce, would be worth the cost of certification. It is highly unlikely that any would grade that high, even if this is an "original" roll.

  Before posting additional topics, please review the following topic:

 

My friend purchased the roll in about 1968 at a casino in Lake Tahoe, CA where my friend worked at the time.   Here are photos showing the ends.  My question is should my friend open the roll or wait for a numismatist to do it.

[Galagerson]

On 6/18/2023 at 2:19 PM, Sandon said:

   In reviewing your post again, it appears that you don't even know what date of half dollars the roll contains. You're going to have to open it to see what it actually contains.  If it contains half dollars dated 1964 or before, these have 90% silver content and would be worth more in silver alone. If they are dated 1971 or after, they contain no silver and are likely not worth much over face value.

My friend purchased the roll in about 1968 at a casino in Lake Tahoe, CA where my friend worked at the time. My question is should my friend open the roll or wait for a numismatist to do it.

[ldhair]

I would hate to be a new user and come to this site. 

[Galagerson]

On 6/18/2023 at 5:06 PM, ldhair said:

I would hate to be a new user and come to this site. 

Thank you. :~/

[RWB]

You need not answer similar questions multiple times -- save an electron.

Your description indicates it's an ordinary cash (or "bank") roll of halves and could be a mix of designs dates and mintmarks. Casinos were tough on coins so they are probably not in Uncirculated condition. Probably no advantage to having an experienced coin collector open the roll.

If it is opened, please post some photos and members will tell you more about the coins and their value.

Edited June 19, 2023 by RWB

[Sandon]

 

On 6/18/2023 at 6:56 PM, Galagerson said:

My friend purchased the roll in about 1968 at a casino in Lake Tahoe, CA where my friend worked at the time. My question is should my friend open the roll or wait for a numismatist to do it.

   The odds are that this roll contains 40% silver Kennedy half dollars, whether dated 1965, 66, 67, 68-D or 69-D. All are common and have the same values as stated for the 1968-D. If they were obtained at the casino after use in the slot machines, they may include coins that are circulated or damaged and only worth silver value. The wrapper adds no value, and a coin dealer isn't going to open it any more carefully than you could. It is possible that there are pre-1965 90% silver half dollars in the roll that were spent by someone who didn't know that they were already worth a premium, but most had already been removed from circulation by 1968.  (I started collecting in 1971, and silver was seldom found in circulation by that time.)

   I recommend that the roll be opened. We can help you evaluate the contents if it differs from what is expected, and you can post clear photos of the coins. Hold the coins only by their edges, and put them carefully into a clean plastic bag or, preferably, individual coin flips if available.  

[Galagerson]

On 6/18/2023 at 5:08 PM, RWB said:

You need not answer similar questions multiple times -- save an electron.

Your description indicates it's an ordinary cash (or "bank") roll of halves and could be a mix of designs dates and mintmarks. Casinos were tough on coins so they are probably not in Uncirculated condition. Probably no advantage to having an experienced coin collector open the roll.

If it is opened, please post some photos and members will tell you more about the coins and their value.

Thank you for your reply.  I'm sorry about all the multiple postings.  I didn't know.  My friend did not purchase the roll from the casino, but from a "guest"  raising money to gamble with I guess, who also sold the same kind of roll to other employees there.  One was randomly opened and my friend saw that the contents of the roll were Kennedy Half-Dollars.  I told my friend to open the darn thing and see what's in it, but she is afraid it might devalue the contents and wants to find out what the printing on the roll means first.  I don't know how she's could do that, so the roll may not ever be opened!

[Sandon]

    Perhaps someone on the forum will know what the printing means. The odds are it was to identify the distributor or depositor of the coins or the manufacturer of the wrapper. I've never heard of a coin wrapper of that vintage being collectible or the coins in it being worth more as a roll than individually. You should be able to open the roll at one end without destroying the printed part of the wrapper.

[Galagerson]

On 6/18/2023 at 6:07 PM, Sandon said:

    Perhaps someone on the forum will know what the printing means. The odds are it was to identify the distributor or depositor of the coins or the manufacturer of the wrapper. I've never heard of a coin wrapper of that vintage being collectible or the coins in it being worth more as a roll than individually. You should be able to open the roll at one end without destroying the printed part of the wrapper.

Thanks again, Sandon.  I sent a copy of your message to my friend.  It's up to her whether the roll is ever opened.

[Henri Charriere]

Never opening a roll that has already been opened and sealed, re-opened and re-sealed, any number of times, will not solve the mystery as to its contents. My guess it what your friend may have is a mixed roll of halves, some possibly silver, none 90% silver or dated before 1964 and all bearing what I would describe as "industrial strength" post mint damage. Nothing to fear here but fear itself. 😉 

[powermad5000]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

I remember my Mother telling me her old phone number from when she was a child. Because she grew up in Chicago, it was three numbers and the first three letters of the street she lived on. There were no area codes at the time and operators for AT&T were truly operators plugging in and unplugging lines. I also remember she said you had to wait to talk because you would hear other people talking and you waited for them to hang up (imagine the privacy issues that would raise today!). Tel-35X is most likely a phone number used at the time (or it could just be the manufacturers number to identify which paper wrap it is. I would venture a guess that 12-68 is December 1968. P.O. 97539 might be an early postal zip code?????? Or is a purchase order number???? I would say if she wants that fully deciphered, to try to attempt to locate a bank teller that worked in 1968 who may know exactly what those mean. I would say that one working at a bank at that time would still be alive albeit would be in their 80's or 90's age wise.

Aside from that, she could carefully open one end to see if one is face up and what the date is. If the reverse is face up, close that end back up and try the same on the other end. If you can determine a date it might ease her mind to going ahead and carefully opening the whole roll. You could put the roll up for auction on eBay and never know the contents, but I guarantee someone down the line WILL open the roll up. It might as well be you. I would not expect to find any coins of extremely high dollar value in it so I would open the roll with tempered expectations.

Edited June 19, 2023 by powermad5000

[Fenntucky Mike]

Cut the tape, open the end and remove the halves. The wrapper has little to no value but it's easy enough to remove the coins without destroying it, and yes, I would keep the wrapper. It's kind of neat. I'd probably keep the coins in the wrapper, after inspection, as there is little chance that there is anything of significant value in the roll, the story is worth more. 

Maybe someone will write a coin wrapper catalog some day. Now that would be a labor of love or an act of masochism. 

[Henri Charriere]

Pending a forensic analysis of the, er, coin roll wrapper, my spy at central intelligence took one look at that 5-digit number, 9-7-5-3-9, broke out in a grin and proclaimed, "Why that's my zip

 from Jackson County in SW Oregon!"  (Sounds a whole lot better than taking that old refrain from my one-time nemesis to heart to "go look it up!")

When's the unveiling?  This whole matter is getting to sound like Geraldo Rivera's much-heralded opening of Al Capone's mystery vault which, accompanied by intense media coverage in 1986 revealed -- nothing.

Your friend is assured at least $20.(minus your consultation fee).  🤣

[EagleRJO]

I also don't see any reason not to just open the roll, as there is no added value from keeping the coins untouched in the paper wrapper regardless of what may be advertised on some sites by scammers, and it appears to have been previously opened.  You can just carefully open one end and slide the coins onto a rubber mat or hand towel, and handle the coins by the edges as noted.

Look for any pre-1965 halves Sandon mentioned, as those are likely 90% silver and worth a little more, or halves that are bright color without many marks or discoloration as they may be worth a little more if in excellent uncirculated condition.  If you find anything good you can always posts some pics of the coins here to get some feedback.

I would keep the paper wrapper just because I think it would be neat to have a 50+ year old wrapper, and try to handle it as little as possible as it may be a little brittle.  The additional markings sometimes on paper wrappers like that posted are typically either the bank where it was rolled (like the attached) or info on the manufacturer.  For that wrapper I think it's the latter.

Edited June 20, 2023 by EagleRJO

[Jason Abshier]

Just rip it open ! It’s Not like it’s a roll of precious gold coins … you’ll never know until you open it … I once bought a original federal reserve shotgun roll of 1956-p Lincoln cents I broke it open most of the coins had tiny carbon spots all over them 3 of them in middle of roll were gem , 2 of them had crack skull on Lincoln’s head a friend of mine collects unique doe cracked US coins he wanted them I sold them all to him … never bought another original roll again , was it fun? Eh ? It was alright nothing to write back home about …. But your JFK roll is more modern to me I’d break that roll open any day and not have any regrets about it either 

[Linda_Latch]

On 6/19/2023 at 3:20 AM, Galagerson said:

Thank you for your reply.  I'm sorry about all the multiple postings.  I didn't know.  My friend did not purchase the roll from the casino, but from a "guest"  raising money to gamble with I guess, who also sold the same kind of roll to other employees there. One was randomly opened and my friend saw that the contents of the roll were Kennedy Half-Dollars.  I told my friend to open the darn thing and see what's in it, but she is afraid it might devalue the contents and wants to find out what the printing on the roll means first.  I don't know how she's could do that, so the roll may not ever be opened! Speaking of uncovering treasures, check out low-deposit casinos at playsafecasino and follow this link for a different kind of excitement. A small deposit can lead to big thrills. Happy exploring, both with vintage finds and in the world of online gaming!

For the mystery Kennedy half dollar roll, it's understandable that your friend wants to preserve its potential value. To decipher the printing on the roll, she may want to check to see if it has any special markings, dates, or mint marks. Online coin forums, numismatic websites, or even reaching out to coin collectors can provide valuable insight without necessarily opening the roll. It's a fascinating mystery - hopefully she can solve it without devaluing the contents!

Edited January 29 by Linda_Latch

[JKK]

Deleted. Never give me the power to ban thread necromancers unless one wants a bunch of people tossed.

Edited January 22 by JKK