Facts about buying shotgun or unsearched coin rolls

Shotgun rolls can be a lot of fun, but you need to be careful to keep from getting taken.  Here are a couple myths about shotgun rolls.

Myth #1- Shotgun rolls are crimped at a bank so they must be unsearched- Who could afford a roll crimping machine besides a bank?  Anyone.  The Klopp CR1 tube crimper is about the size of a toaster and costs only $375.  It makes rolled crimps just like at the bank.  So don't assume that just because the ends are crimped, the seller didn't make up the roll.

Myth #2- Some sellers rolls are better because special coins are showing on the ends- Basically a pig in a poke.  I've seen lots of rolls with VDB cents or 1916 dimes on the ends.  The pitch is that it may be an S VDB cent or 1916-D dime, both very valuable coins.  You won't know for sure unless you buy the roll.  Let's assume these are bank rolls like the seller says.  Bank sorting machines are highly accurate and have been for some time.  Money is their business and they don't mind losing yours, but losing theirs is a whole different story.  Let's assume that the machines aren't accurate and one dime manages to slip into every hundred rolls.  Now in each roll there are 50 spots, but only two are on the end.  Let's conservatively assume that of all dates that could end up in a roll, only one in 50 is a 1916 dime.  Also, since this odd phenomena only happens with the coin face up, we'll cut the probability in half.  So with extremely conservative estimates, one in 250,000 rolls would have a 1916 dime face up on the end.  So how is it that there are so many out there?  You got it.  If you but one of those high priced rolls, it may be.  However, if you are looking for a 1916-D dime, you'd be better off buying a 1916-D dime.  You'd get to see it first and it would be safe to dispute if not authentic.  Rolls usually have no guarantees.

Myth #3- Only buy rolls that have a bank name- Rubber stamps cost less than $10 and they'll put anything you want on them.  Oh, and that fuzz you see on the "old" rolls?  That's done with a wire brush.

Hope this helps.  Be careful what you buy and don't set your expectations too high.  Scattering a couple hundred pennies on the kitchen table can make for a fun afternoon.  Know what I do right after?  Drive the leftovers to my local coin dealer.  He dumps them in a huge tote with thousands of other "unsorted" cents.

EDIT: I see 19/20 helpful votes?  The 1 unhelpful vote is from a roll seller.  That's the mentality of those people.