Hobbies
Coin Collecting
Coin Collecting Basics
By
Susan Headley
Susan Headley
Susan Headley is a well-respected coin collecting expert and writer with over 30 years of hands-on numismatic experience.She is a member of the American Numismatic Association (ANA) and holds several certifications. Susan also belongs to the American Numismatic Society (ANS) and CONECA (error and variety coins club).
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Updated on 08/26/24
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If you have a big jar of coins at home, you are probably wondering what to do with them all. While there are machines at some grocery stores or even banks where you can empty the whole thing, the other option is to get sleeves from your bank and roll the coins to deposit into your account.
The key is ensuring you have the correct number of each coin in the roll. This is standardized, and the bank will check to be sure before letting you deposit the rolls. This means you will want to know how many quarters go in a roll, or dimes, or pennies, before organizing your stash.
The standard for coins per roll is:
- 50 pennies in a roll
- 40 nickels in a roll
- 50 dimes in a roll
- 40 quarters in a roll
- 20 half-dollar coins in a roll
- 25 dollar coins in a roll
| Number of Coins in a Standard Roll | ||
|---|---|---|
| Denomination | Number of Coins | Face Value |
| Penny or 1 Cent | 50 | $0.50 |
| Nickel or 5 Cents | 40 | $2.00 |
| Dime or 10 Cents | 50 | $5.00 |
| Quarter or 25 Cents | 40 | $10.00 |
| Half-Dollar or 50 Cents | 20 | $10.00 |
| One Dollar | 25 | $25.00 |
Why Are Coins Rolled?
Coins are rolled to simplify distribution and inventory.The United States Mintproduces coins first and foremost to facilitate commerce throughout the United States. After they are struck in the coining press, they are placed into large bags (some as large as 4' x 4') that can weigh over 1,000 pounds. These bags are then shipped to rolling and distribution centers to standardize the distribution of coins.
The rolls are then packed into boxes. For example, 50 rolls of pennies with a face value of $25 in total are distributed to the banks. This makes counting the coins in inventory extremely fast and efficient. Additionally, when commercial customers request coins for their business, the teller does not have to count out individual coins in order to fulfill the customer's request.
Number of Roles in a Box of Coins
When a bank receives a bulk shipment from the Federal Reserve Bank or another commercial bank, the coins are delivered in standard boxes. All boxes contain 50 roles of the same denomination. The following chart lists the face value of a standard box of coins.
| Denomination | Number of Rolls | Face Value |
|---|---|---|
| Penny or 1 Cent | 50 | $25.00 |
| Nickel or 5 Cents | 50 | $100.00 |
| Dime or 10 Cents | 50 | $250.00 |
| Quarter or 25 Cents | 50 | $500.00 |
| Half-Dollar or 50 Cents | 50 | $500.00 |
| One Dollar | 50 | $1,250.00 |
Other Types of Rolled Coin
You may encounter rolls of coins that differ from the table above. Private individuals or companies create these rolls, which vary from the standard roll sizes listed above. Some of these rolls include "half rolls" (half as many coins as a standard roll) and "double rolls" (twice as many coins as a standard roll). Coins distributed in these nonstandard roles do not carry any additional value.
Some television marketing companies will package ordinary coins into nonstandard rolls. They then place the coin rolls into fancy boxes or packaging to make them look expensive. This was a common practice with the Presidential Dollar coins. These rolls may even include a "Bank Vaults Certificate" to prove their authenticity. This process and product is a marketing scheme to bilk people out of their money.
The Canadian banking system follows the same standard roll sizes as the U.S.. However, foreign countries standardize the roll sizes based on the requirements of their banking systems, which can vary from country to country.
How to Obtain Rolls of Coins From Your Bank
You can purchase standard coin rolls from your local bank with little or no problem. However, some banks have a policy that only customers can exchange paper money for rolls of coins. Additionally, some banks may limit or charge you for exchanging rolls of coins. Remember, banks are not government-owned institutions and are in business to make a profit. They must employ people to operate the coin-rolling machines and pay them a living wage. All this adds to the cost of preparing coin rolls.
The easiest way to obtain rolls of coins from your bank is to create a relationship with the institution. Get to know your bank tellers and the manager. If your accounts and banking services are spread across several different banks, it will be harder for you to obtain coins on a regular basis. Your bank may insist that you open a "commercial bank account" to get a large number of coin rolls.
What to Search for in Rolls of Coins
The following list is a description of coins you can find in common coin rolls that carry a premium over face value:
- Penny: One-cent coinsdated 1958 or before (Wheat Pennies)
- Nickels: Jefferson Nickels dated between 1942 and 1945 (35 percentsilver); look for a large mint mark letter on the reverse above the building. Additionally, the 1950-D Jefferson nickel is the key to the series. It is especially valuable in uncirculated condition.
- Dimes and quarters: Coins dated 1964 or before (90 percentsilver)
- Half-dollars: Kennedy Half Dollars dated 1964 and before (90 percentsilver) and coins dated between 1965 and 1970 (40 percent silver)
- Presidential Dollars: Presidential dollars had mintages of millions and, in some cases, into the hundreds of millions of coins. Therefore, they are all common. However, a production error led to some coins missing the edge lettering. These can be worth up to $150 per coin.
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