Is Roll Hunting a Thing of the Past?

Roll hunting, a popular activity among collectors, involves sifting through a random assortment of coins in search of valuable pieces. Collectors can purchase these online or hit up banks for pre-wrapped rolls. “Roll with It” by Casey Hackford-Peer, covers this topic in great detail. 

Since publishing his article in 2024, however, a lot has changed (numismatically speaking). Last year, the Trump administration phased out the U.S. cent. And silver prices have gone through the roof. In May 2024, silver averaged $29.51 an ounce. At the time of this writing, that number sits at a whopping $70.53 per ounce. 

This quandary presents a double-edged sword. On the sharper side, some of these opportunistic collectors stick around long after the hype has died down because their quest for profit morphs into a quest for learning, thereby increasing our hobby’s visibility. On the duller edge, the thrill of discovering an unexpected treasure in your change seems to be growing increasingly difficult. So, does this mean that roll hunting has become a lost cause? 

“In 2019 I used to be able to make $15 to $20 an hour roll hunting. Now, the profit margin is slim to none,” Hackford-Peer told me recently. “Additionally, banks are limiting customers to only $3 worth of rolls. Five years ago, I could get three to six boxes at a time. With silver prices being so high, there’s just less junk silver [circulated pre-1965 U.S. coins] available to pick through.”

All hope is not lost, however. According to Hackford-Peer, “searching local coin-exchange machines still provides an opportunity for those trying to get into the roll-hunting game because this method is less publicized.”

So, roll hunting now offers collectors an opportunity to learn and grow their collections—but not their wallets.

A version of this article appears in the April 2026 issue of The Numismatist (money.org).