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 Replies: 32 / Views: 7,768 |
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Valued Member
Canada
426 Posts |
I've been roll hunting about a week and a half, and have gone to the bank every single weekday since last Monday. Over this short time I've come up with a personal code of conduct as a result of personal observations, observations of other roll hunters also at the bank, and feedback from tellers. I feel it's important that all roll hunters follow the items in this code of conduct so that the fun isn't ruined for the rest of us. Please add any other points I've missed to this thread. Happy hunting!  1. Go to a bank at which you are a client I was guilty of breaking this rule. I went to the closest bank to where I work and swapped boxes of coins every day last week. A couple days ago the teller hinted that they would appreciate if I became a customer. It just so happened I needed to open a savings account anyway - so I did, and deposited some money. Since I opened an account (see above), the teller no longer spends a lot of time in the back room (presumably she was weighing my quarter rolls before she gave me the new box). She now knows how to get in touch with me if there's a problem 2. Go during off-peak hours It can take up to 10 or 20 minutes to accommodate your request to swap one box of coin for another. Don't go in the afternoon on a busy day. I find ducking out for a quick coffee break around 11am is a great time to do it. Ask your teller when the most convenient time is to do this. 3. Explain what you are doing Not many people come in on Monday to buy a box of quarters, and come in on Tuesday to trade that box for another box. Explain to the teller that you are a collector and are looking for rare or old coins. You might be told they don't have rolls of old coins - just reply that you go through each roll and hunt for them on your own. It also helps to... 4. Bring in samples of what you have found in the past
Tellers deal with more money every day than most of us make in a year. They process so much of it they don't even think about it. So when I show her the 1947 Maple Leaf penny, the 1929 penny, the 1940 silver quarter, and the 1977 high/low 7 nickles I've found, they're impressed. It also helps to put to rest any unease the teller might have about swapping boxes of coins for you on a regular basis. I will probably bring in a few coins each week in my 2x2's to show my teller what she's helped me find.5. Always visit the same teller Perhaps not necessary, but it can expedite the process. The bank I go to has a single head teller who can get into the coin vault, and I go to see her; she knows what I'm there for. When a different teller calls on me to serve me, I kindly inform the person behind me I'm waiting for a specific teller and let them ahead of me. 6. Don't be a jerk I was at a bank yesterday and there was a guy there who saw me trading in my box of nickles for a new box. He was rude, interrupted me, offering to buy them and the nickles I was trying to buy. I also had personal banking to do, and he was right up standing beside me - I actually had to tell him to back off to get privacy. When he left the teller shyly apologized and told me that he comes in to do what I do all the time but is very disrespectful and feels entitled. Which brings my next point... 7. Don't be entitled Banks are private corporations and can refuse service for any reason just like your local 7-11 can refuse service for not wearing shoes or a shirt. It takes time to sell and swap a box of coin, and ultimately, the teller is doing you a favour by accommodating you and enabling your hobby. Don't act like the staff owe it to you to trade your old coin - they don't. 8. Gifts (thanks chadcoins!) Do you have a teller that has helped you out so much over the past little while? Why not a little gift certificate to a restaurant, movie theater, Future Shop, or wherever? It's always recommended to have a positive relationship with those who help enable your hobby! Edited by splatto
04/16/2010 3:50 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2661 Posts |
Well most are good points. However, showing your finds could lead to the tellers going through rolls they themselves buy and take home reducing your chances of finding anything. Also I feel that you should never take your leftovers back to the bank or banks you get your coins from, especially if we are talking half dollars. Half dollars are a tellers most hated coin. Most banks have to accumulate $1000 worth before they can have them picked up and sent to the FED. Going to the bank in which you have an account is a good thing unless again you are searching halves. In this case, any vault teller will gladly let you have all they have without asking if you have an account. last but not least, dump in the next town over if possible or if you live in a large city, on the other side of town. This will greatly reduce your chances of searching the same rolls again.
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Valued Member
423 Posts |
I thought you weren't suppose to swap boxes. I don't roll hunt so what do I know anyways!
Cheers
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
1733 Posts |
I live in a small town but I have accounts at the three major financial institutions and at a fourth I have to drive an hour to get to (once a week or so I have to go there). So I intend to try this using the pick local/dump remote method.
I agree with the essence of Splatto's post. Thanks for putting down on the page what should be good sense and mentioning the need for manners and patience.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
686 Posts |
I go threw rolls to find the .999 Nickels, usually I just call a bank ahead of time, place an order for a few boxes, go pick them up, sort thru them, and then dump the "junk" coins at a coinstar. there's some td's that have free coinstar's now. that way you don't even need to re-roll the stuff.
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Valued Member
 Canada
426 Posts |
Thanks everyone for your input!
Tim - I raised the possibility with my teller of searching the same box twice, even if I go every day for a month. She said it's very unlikely; I'm guessing that since I go to a downtown Toronto bank near a lot of coffee shops and small restaurants they get a lot of cash (coin) flow. (Sometimes they don't have a quarter/nickle/penny box, so I get what I can in other denominations instead). I never thought about the possibility of inspiring her to go through the boxes. She did say to me today "those coins must be worth some money", and I told her only a little bit, that they're still quite new, but maybe my great great grandchildren could cash in if they wanted. Hopefully that would deter her :) My intention to show her a few older coins was so she knew I wasn't replacing the rolls with slugs. Maybe I should rethink the necessity of that. I really appreciate your comments.
Ugly - Thanks for the comments. I only started roll hunting Monday of last week and felt a bit sheepish, especially since the woman at the bank I frequent had never heard of the practice and was a little skeptical. I was polite and very grateful the teller accommodated me. When I went to the second bank in the suburbs, I couldn't believe that man's behaviour and attitude. The bank manager there said they don't usually do it, but she is more than happy to do it for me because of my attitude and patience. I fear that people like the guy I came across may ruin the whole fun for everyone.
Thanks for the advice jg86. Rolling isn't too bad actually. All my rejects are put into a big bowl, and I use the perfectly sized clear plastic rolls to measure out the right amount to fill inside a paper roll. But a coinstar would be much quicker....and the reject bin from the customer ahead of me might yield a nice gift!
I haven't found a bank in Toronto where I can do half dollars. I got lucky and was in a store on the weekend when one employee asked another "do we take fifty cent pieces?". I was more than happy to buy it from the customer so he could make his purchase :) (1952-2002 double date). Maybe I'll call some of the main branches to see if they stock them. But I really don't want to be stuck with $990 in half dollars that the bank won't take back because they can't do anything with them
Edited by splatto
04/15/2010 02:15 am
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
1051 Posts |
Don't be entitled, but remember that when you borrowed money for your mortgage, they didn't lend it out of their reserves, they created it out of thin air, and have ever since been charging you interest on this money they never had.
The least they can do is sell me a roll of coins once in a while!
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
1159 Posts |
Splatto! You have all the rules I have followed for years dealing with the banks and tellers.One thing I do every year being the pests we can become exchanging coin rolls.At x-mas every year I buy a $50.00 Boston Pizza gift certificate for my favorite tellers.I'm very rich favoritism and they even keep stuff specifically for me.A gift certificate goes a long way for my appreciation!
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Valued Member
Canada
426 Posts |
Great idea chadcoins! I've added your suggestion to my Code of Conduct and gave you credit for it.
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Valued Member
Canada
74 Posts |
To keep re-rolling as simple as possible I keep a small bowl of change on available, and remove any coins of interest from the roll, replacing them with ones from the change bowl. When the bowl gets low, I just scoop up what's in front of me and carry on.
No recounting. Combined with the pre-rolled tubes it's a cinch. I found the plastic holders a nuisance in larger denominations, and they don't hold the correct amount all the time (the last batch of quarter holders I bought held 39 without taping it closed).
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
686 Posts |
I've done the same as steve. When I was going through Nickels by hand (for the .999's) and had to re-roll, I would keep stacks of 5 or 10 coins aside and just refill the roller with those to offset the number I took out. The reason I say 5 or 10 is because I was usually taking out 5-10 coins per roll, and instead of counting one at a time, it was easier. Also, you don't need to count the 5 or 10 each time, just stack coins until theyre level with a pile of known size.
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Valued Member
United States
402 Posts |
My wife is a bank teller of over 25 years. Yes, she advanced to VP and all that stuff but went part time teller instead of retiring. They are not supposed to keep any coins but last week she brought me home $30 in Wheaties rolls (60 rolls) one day and $29 (58 rolls) in rolls the next day. A young woman brought them in. Still going through them. Like she said her boss takes home all the silver coins and someone else takes home the halves and dollars. There is two persons who come in twice a day and ask if anyone brought in a lot of coins today. If they did they buy them on the spot and take them home looking for errors and return the rest the next day. They don't go for wheaties though. Mainly State Quarters and Presidential dollars. Understand they both make a living off the errors they find. I am not an error person so I don't know anything about them. "Splatto" had it right except don't tell the tellers what you found and brag about it. These guys told the tellers about errors and the wife brought home over $200 in Millard Filmore dollars and had me look for an error. Think it was the wrong date on the rim. Also got a lot of State Quarters looking for an extra leaf or branch in a tree. Whats nicer than a pizza is a small gift certificate. When Dunkin Donuts, Pizza Hut, KFC are coming in to cash their accounts they usually call and see what the tellers want to eat or drink (free of course) before they come over. The tellers love little jewelry trinkets. So, don't think when you get coin from a bank that those nice, pretty tellers haven't went through the coins already. Some of them can spot a silver coin three teller drawers over. Counter is ceramic and the wife can tell the difference between a silver and clad coin by the sound when it hits. Sorry for rambling on. "No", I am not selling any of the Wheaties to you guys. At least not until I get my 50 quality posts. edgman/Tom R |
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Valued Member
Canada
426 Posts |
Thanks Edgeman - you're the second person to say don't show the teller and since you gave known stories about bank employees roll hunting, I've crossed that rule off of the RHCoC.
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Valued Member
Canada
139 Posts |
more additions to 7. Don't be a Jerk
saying ''please'' ''thank you'' ''have a nice day'' ''I would like X amount of rolls of X'' also helps, also handing a piece of paper with what you would like also helps since it saves the teller the task of writing it down.
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Valued Member
Canada
139 Posts |
not sure how to edit my post but going back to the piece of paper, include the total $ amount if you are paying by cash or withdrawing from your account. Also helps when you are cashing in coins. I have created a formula sheet using excel. All I gotta do is type in the # of rolls I have of each denomination and it totals it up for me. Let's say I want to cash in: 1 Roll of toonies, 4 Rolls Of loonies, 10 of quarters, 5 of dimes, 20 of nickels and 10 of pennies. I just type in my numbers under each denomination and presto, my total: $320. Print the sheet and hand it to the teller and your good to go.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1523 Posts |
Always mark your rolls with a short swipe from a marker so as to not get the same roll again also,just invest in a cheap rolling machine from Wal-mart.They work well and give you more time for searching. |
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Replies: 32 / Views: 7,768 |
Posted 04/14/2010 4:13 pm
