Find Silver Half Dollars
Many coin collectors know that half-dollars are the best place to look for silver coins. Unfortunately, in recent years, with silver price hikes and the popularity of coin collecting, many have been picked up by collectors. We discuss some techniques that maximize your chance of success.
Steps
- Look for banks that have hand-rolled half-dollars as opposed to machine-rolled coins from the Federal Reserve.
- Look into smaller towns as opposed to major Metropolitan areas.
- Call ahead to check if the banks have half-dollars, the kind (i.e. hand-rolled or machine-rolled), and possibly the nature of the coins, such as whom they were turned in by and if they were turned in in bulk. If the bank informs you that someone recently returned $500 in half-dollars, you can bet they were already searched.
- When obtaining rolls of half-dollars, ask the bank to give you the rolls that appear to have been sitting there the longest. For example, the ones at the bottom of a stack, etc.
- Schedule a day off and a route that will take you to as many banks as possible. If you are a student, going home for holidays and breaks is generally a gold mine (or silver mine), as it is likely to cover many small towns.
- When you take road trips, avoid freeways and turnpikes. This will give you a chance to pass by as many banks as possible.
- Ask friends who work in retail to put aside half-dollars for you.
- Develop a good relationship with local bank tellers.
Warnings
- Be careful when obtaining large quantities of rolls of half-dollars that the rolls are not short. It is not unheard of to be short a half-dollar per roll, and this can become significant if obtaining multiple rolls.
- There are two types of silver half dollars:90%, minted 1964 and before, and 40%, minted 1965-1970.
- Be mindful of your safety and security if you are carrying large amounts of cash or coins.
Things You'll Need
- Some money to start with. Expect some banks to have upwards of $1,000 of half-dollars.
- Patience, patience, patience!
- Car or Bicycle
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