I picked up a couple of $25 boxes the other day, from a branch of my bank that I'd never been to before. We asked for "old" pennies, but the teller apparently didn't understand the request, because she brought us one brand new box, and one that was opened. I looked in the opened box and realized that it was all hand-rolled. I figured it was a bust, but took them out to the van. I was certain that the hand-rolled box was going to be 100% zinc, but the first roll I pulled out, and the first penny I shook out was a 1925D. Huzzah! So, that meant that not only did this box have copper in it, but it had some wheaties as well. I took the new box back into the bank and asked the teller if she had any more boxes just like that hand-rolled one she'd given me. She said she had one more.
I'm still sorting the second box, but the return on the first box was 23.92% (including wheaties), not counting a 1984 and a 1959 Canadian penny. The wheaties were 1925D, 1939, 1942, 1947, 1950D (x2), and a 1954S.
I'm on the 23rd roll of the second box, and I found this penny with a weird mark on the date. I'm totally new to sorting and collecting pennies, so I was hoping someone could tell me what this is, and if it is anything special.
Thanks for all your help! I'll let you know the final totals on the second box when I'm done.
The_Tallness
