weighing coins..

Kilerclown25

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Mar 27, 2013
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I was wondering if anyone weighs rolls for silver. I (very impulsively) bought a gram scale with the thought that I'd weigh all my rolls to save time. I soon realized all the downsides of this and will probably never use it. But does anyone think It would work at all?

I use my gram scale for much more than weighing rolls before opening them. (I always open every roll, no matter the weight, but it is fun to see overweight rolls, open them up and get rewarded with silver). I use the scale for checking counterfeits, checking culls and slicks, and when I have to roll, it helps with counting. However, I only use the scale to weigh for silver when opening CWR or if I'm bored when opening half boxes. To me, the slight variations in weights are not worth it for scale checking dime rolls.
 

I think the best use for it is when buying CWRs from banks. I weigh the rolls before buying them, and if they are short I can then open them in front of the teller and prove it. Also, it's always nice to see a roll of halves weighing 230+ grams, since that usually means it has 90% silver halves or is a coin over.
 

It takes less time for me to just open up the roll and edge search than it does for me to take out my scale, balance it out and weigh it.

Pretty much the only use for weighing rolls is if you were going to sell "unsearched" rolls on eBay...

Weighing coins on the other hand is a great way to make sure that you don't have a counterfeit and check for errors along with identifying unknown coins.
 

Well it sounds like my first thought was wrong but the scale wasn't all a waste! :) thanks alot guys!
 

Weighing would only work if all the rolls were uncirculated and guaranteed to have 50 US half dollars. The problem is, that is not the case. 40%ers have a similar weight to nickel clad. This creates a problem if any nickel clad is worn, or any 40%ers are worn. 90%ers are even more prone to wear. Some rolls are short. A short roll by one coin will be enough to miss silver. In addition, there are foreign coins which may be heavier or lighter, which alters the weight. Would weighing give you a general estimate? Yes, but it is too general to just cherrypick the rolls this way. Most unsearched roll sellers on eBay use this method, since it will mean they won't give away a massive silver roll, and the occasional 40% will be in them.

Weighing coins is very good and helpful, as others have said.
 

Last edited:
A couple of years ago I started a thread on this very topic - (however ,I never once advocated weighing instead of opening !) but
sure enough , almost everybody who read ( misread ) my post , be-rated me - with all the stuff about worn coins , bogus coins
short rolls , fat rolls - you name it ! So I now reiterate my interest in weighing - I found it very entertaining to see the occasional
sinker on the scale ( a 90%er or a couple of 40's normally) I was using a triple beam gram scale , it can be very interesting!
 

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