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After a month of sorting dimes and coming up with less and less silver, I thought I would try my luck with halves. I picked up my first box today. I opened up the first roll - SILVER. The second roll - MORE SILVER!

Here's the loot from ONE BOX:

29 - 40% SILVER


6 - 90% SILVER KENNEDY


1 - 1960 SILVER FRANKLIN


And to top it all off, I also found a GOLD PLATED half from 1983 (my birth year)!



I'm calling all my banks and changing my orders, because I AM HOOKED ON HALVES!

Nice pickup! What's with the '83? I've never seen them counterstamped like that.

It has to be some 20th anniversary, the left stamp says 1960, the right says 1980. I'm not sure why they picked a 1983 half to use, and not a 1980. I guess a 20th anniversary present is better late than never.

creshka46 wrote:Halves: $6900 - (7)'64 - (32)40% - (1)walker

Not to brag, but I almost have you beat after $500 in halves.

brian0918 wrote:Not to brag

Too late, skunk boxes are on the horizon...never ever brag, you can list it but you don't want to brag about....Anyway that is a great box and good luck on the next one.

Great 1st box, but its not typical in most locations.

At this point, anything is an improvement over 1 silver dime in $2100. I'll take it!

I found another date-stamped gold-plated half from 1983. Apparently these are to commemorate Kennedy's inauguration. This one is a 25th anniversary one (stamped 1960-1985), but the coin is from 1983. There are actually lots of these on ebay.

nice box... someone has to find one once in awhile. Just don't expect it to be the norm

beauanderos wrote:nice box... someone has to find one once in awhile. Just don't expect it to be the norm

When I dragged that box home, I was expecting exactly skunk. Now I guess my expectations for a box are halfway between skunk and 7 ounces.

Nice box, but you haven't hit the holy grail yet.

Let us know when you get an Obummer half

That is sweet, the most I ever found in a box was 3 oz., and I was just elated. Most boxes, I would be happy if I found 1 40%'er. Often, I would bring my two boxes home and find nothing. However, their seemed to always be something interesting, a stamped coin, a proof, one time an old british penny they are about the same size, a bar drink chip, maybe some newer looking halves, or post 2001 which are the lower mintage. You just never know what these half dollar boxes will bring. Often I would save the newer looking shiny and spend them somehow, people always like getting them because they are just not used in commerce anymore. I heard they are going to start minting only 750,000 from each mint but I'm not sure.

Did you run back to the same bank and ask for the rest of what they had on hand???

I've been thinking of starting dimes soon. Maybe I should try halves instead.

Very nice box!

Beginners luck! Congrats. Think I'll order a box today and try to see how much I can stretch out my half box skunk streak.

The first box is always the best. Your next 5 boxes will have 1-2 silvers or skunks! Nice first find though.

And to think I got excited when I got back a silver rosie from the supermarket coke machine

Beginner's luck, but stick with it though the skunks and your finds will add up. Keep on rollin' and best of luck.

After sorting the halves and then going back to dimes, I'm also liking the halves more simply because I don't have to slice open all the plastic wrappers. It's also a lot easier to tell the silver from the copper in low light conditions, meaning less strain on my eyes. So I'm definitely sticking with them.

highroller4321 wrote:The first box is always the best. Your next 5 boxes will have 1-2 silvers or skunks! Nice first find though.

If I could get consistently 1-2 silvers I'd do it. However I'm on a run of about 10 boxes with 1 90% found. Time has value too

From my Halve searching, I always find the very small bank branches, sometimes in the middle of nowhere/country, are my biggest scores!!! In my own theory, I think alot of older farmers and/or wives bring in coins without ever searching them or knowing what they have. Plus these smaller banks don't use machines to roll, they hand roll them....so free rolling papers for ME!!!!! But again that is only my experience/theory

-The Great

CLINT-THE-GREAT wrote:From my Halve searching, I always find the very small bank branches, sometimes in the middle of nowhere/country, are my biggest scores!!! In my own theory, I think alot of older farmers and/or wives bring in coins without ever searching them or knowing what they have. Plus these smaller banks don't use machines to roll, they hand roll them....so free rolling papers for ME!!!!! But again that is only my experience/theory

-The Great

I have found this to be true as well. I also have good luck with areas that have a large retirement/elderly population for the same reason.

Noticed this the other day so I asked my local bank if they had any halves today. They had $89 in halves in the whole place and that was it.... 1 - 1964 and 12 - 40% in the bunch. I noticed the "Ping" when I dumped them out on the table but never imagined there would be 13 silver coins in there.

Are there any other "key dates" I should be looking for? My boys have them stacked on the kitchen table by year so thought I would check.

Heard the same thing about the retirement areas, my grandpa scored me some 40% a few weeks back from an old lady at his church, he sold them to me and made a proper donation to the church instead. I'm going to search halves again, going through two boxes a week for a couple of weeks, something different to try for awhile. Also, about a year ago, I was given a 64 quarter in change at a local pub in a remote town in a remote area on a Saturday night.