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Machine wrapped roll with Indian
Head Penny showing on one side. |
We [at CWS] have seen a lot of listings for rolls of coins popping up on Ebay that have rare or uncommon coins showing on both ends. Sellers seem to have unlimited numbers of original bank wrapped rolls of wheat and indian head cent pennies showing on the end, which can give buyers a false impression of what is to come inside that roll. There are already ebay guides on the subject, (Beware of Buying Unsearched Rolls), that have been generated to help buyers avoid getting misled.
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| Bank wrapped Half dollar roll |
Over the last 20 years I have been searching penny rolls. I have found only one roll with an indian penny on an end. I'm not trying to say that every such listing is a fake, but you really need to be careful.
I can recall seeing ads on craigslist.org with people trying to buy old coin rolls. By that I mean empty and old paper coin rolls. It seemed odd to me until I found out how inexpensive roll crimping machines were. These machines seal the roll and would give the appearance of being an original roll.
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Machine wrapped rolls of a Nickel roll with a Silver
Nickel showing (left) and a Penny roll with an
Indian Head Cent showing on the end.
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We understand that there are truly unsearched rolls, and there are many fakes. We recommend anyone interested in buying these types of listings pay attention to the details and also check to see the feedback for similar items sold.
Bottom line, if a seller lists a roll that they have filled and machine wrapped they will probably not tell you this. A roll with 2 Indian cent commons on the ends and 48 common wheat pennies inside will carry an enormous premium.
Not everyone seller on ebay is so shady. But we would recommend using caution before buying any coin rolls on ebay that are listed as: unsearched, or original. When in doubt you can also send the seller a question about the roll.
We hope this helps prevents some people from being misled and ultimately taken advantage of.
