by Romalae » Thu Dec 06, 2012 7:55 pm
If you're looking for silver, perhaps the key is not to search for boxes of halves, rather bags. I tend to find a lot more silver in bags when I do sort halves; probably because it comes directly from the customer and is not presorted by Brinks or anyone else. To receive bags of coin, you'll want to go to one of your banks (one that isn't a dump bank) and determine if they have a coin-counting machine on site and will allow you to purchase them once full.
If you are intent on obtaining rolls of halves, you may want to order them in advance. More than likely, your banks will not have many half dollars on site because they aren't used often in everyday circulation. But it is entirely possible for the banks to place an order with their coin service provider if you request it in advance. They will call you once the shipment arrives (I believe most banks have a weekly shipment of coinage from their armored car service, but it could potentially take longer to process your order).
As for Ikes, those are rarely seen anymore. I've never explored purchasing them in bulk at banks so I have no information on that note. But occasionally a teller will have a few on hand and will likely be more than happy to get rid of them.
Good luck to you, sir.