Realcent.org

If you have the time, always READ THE DATES on halves, don't just edge search!

I was dumping some halves at the bank and just looking at the coins as they were falling into the chute when I spotted 1964! What was that doing in there?! I thought I was pretty good at edge searching. It was really dirty and had a rusty red tone to it so I must have seen that red on the edge and thought it was copper. Fortunately for me I plucked it out just before it fell into the abyss. Lesson learned, the easy way. I just hope I didn't miss any more

Going through all the work to get them, go through them, bringing them back, may as well.

That was a pretty easy "learning opportunity". It seems like I always have to learn this type of stuff the hard way. I once sold a roll of Mercury dimes on Craigslist. I met the guy at a bank or somewhere and I thought it was odd that he only took a nano-second to check out the roll of Mercury dimes and that he couldn't get the money out of his wallet fast enough to pay me for the dimes I was trying to sell him. I figured it out once I got back home. I grabbed the wrong roll and ended up selling him my roll of 1945 micro "s" mercs at melt price. Now that is a lesson learned the hard way. But, I'm glad to hear that you grabbed that '64 before it was gone.

Another thing you can do instead of checking all the dates is to do a sound check. As you open the roll do your edge check and then let them slide from one hand to the other and listen. That silver would have sounded off pretty well. I also only do my edge checking under decent light. I examine any half dollar that appears to be a solid color of any color. I have come across some 90% that were pretty dirty or rusty as you say. The thing that made it stand out was the coloring was consistent across the entire edge of the coin. I use this same technique while searching dimes. I came across a Mercury dime that almost escaped. The edge was completely smooth and it had a very dark tone to it. It almost looked like a foreign coin. I thought it was going to be a small Caribbean half cent or something like that. But when I examined it, it turned out to be silver!! So always double check the coin!!

1964 Dime or Half?

I am assuming a Half dollar almost got lost

yeah, it was a half

Went to a bank once that had $300 in halves once, thought it was going to be a great score.

Until I saw all of them except 5 rolls had X's marked on them, lines in marker, marker marks. etc. Tell tale sign they were searched and dumped there. Whats worst that it was like 3 different kinds of markings, like as if 3 individual dumpers were using that bank.

Found 2 40%'s anyways in the marked rolls (must had edge checked them and missed them) and the last 5 rolls were taped on both ends, with one end of each roll ripped open, another sign they were searched and put back in.

Open those last remaining rolls to see about $17 Face of 40%. But all the edges were copper/red/rust colored. These seriously looked like normal cupro-nickel havles. But after looking at them closely they were indeed 1965-1969 Halves. The whole coins were red/rust colored. It was like they got hit with serious water damage or chemicals.

All the half searchers ignored these coins. I would have too if they didnt look so darn weird and made the classic silver noise when dropped into my plastic bag to be sent back.

Should had taken a picture of these suckers- copper going through the edges, but they were just discolored.

In the last month or so i've gotten about $1,300 of what i suspect is someone else's dumped halves. i do keep picking them up though, just in case they only edge check as in your example. Thanks for posting that so i don't get discouraged. Luckily, only one bank i pick up at seems to have this problem.