So, What Would You Do?

I see no problem with asking. The worst that can happen is that they'll say no and you'll fret for months about what may have been. At least you asked. Of course, I would make sure that the charity box was adequately compensated if the answer were yes.

Well I have seen a 1960 Florin in a charity box (same size as a 20c piece here in Australia) and asked if I could swap it for a $2 coin. Person behind the counter thought I was crazy but happily swapped it out for me.

I just saw this thread today. What a coincidence. About 2 weeks ago I was at a Mc Donald's. I saw what looked like a 1909 wheatie in the charity box, but I could have been mistakien. Yeah, my hands got a little sweaty. Coincidentally it was the manager who was taking my order. I told him I collect wheaties. That I see one in the box and would he get it for me if I gave him a dollar for it. He told me it's against their rules and he couldn't do it. If he had been more flexible maybe I could have gotten it, but I also wouldn't have wanted to get him into any hot water. But I do look at coins where the container is uncovered. If I did see anything interesting I would take it and replace it with a larger donation. I also look at, but not look through the penny container which the cashier uses to grab a penny or 2 to make a transaction easier.

I've seen coins in the "give a penny, take a penny" things that I wanted and just switch them with the same amount. That's what the sign says anyways... With the charity box though I would ask to trade for more than face value because of the win-win situation jcook mentioned.

The hard moral question is that if you see a valuable coin in the box, how could you not, in good conscience, put a similar amount back in? If you find a coin that's worth $20, then that charity should receive $20, even if it's only a quarter piece and most likely they would only get .25 when they deposit it in the bank. It really depends on how much your conscience bothers you. The more it bothers you, the more you need to put in until you feel like you have done what's right.

That coin belongs to the charity since it's in their box. To be completely honest about it, you would have to ask the charity if you could have that coin, and you would have to tell them what you thought it might be worth and see what they would say. This is going to the point of ridiculousness (nice word, eh?), but that's how it should be done. The problem is that you will never get to a decision maker before the coin is gone so you're right back where you started.

If it wasn't for that box, you would have never had a chance to get the coin in the first place. Now, if it was a priceless coin, then you would have a harder time figuring out what would be fair. Especially if you wanted to keep the coin.