Some newbie questions that have probably been asked 100x...

[SkinsFan0521]

So, I've been lurking at realcent for quite a long time (started at the old realcent.forumco site) and finally decided that I'm actually going to start sorting pennies. I've been telling myself to do this for a while, but now my decision has been made and I have a few questions that have probably been asked by every newbie before.

First, I'm going to go "all in" and buy a Ryedale, a couple extra hoppers and maybe a coin counter too. So, obviously, I plan to sort through a lot of pennies. First, where do you find the best place to sell your sorted coppers is? I know that there is a section of the forum on here. I'm also a top rated powerseller on ebay from selling other precious metal bullion, so that was my first option to try. But, I'm assuming that a big part of my profits will be eaten up by the fees, so I was looking for other options.

Second, I'm just wondering about returning your zincs. I've read tons of threads on here that a lot of people take them to the TD Bank PennyArcade, but I don't have one of those around me. The only banks that have coin counters around me will charge a 3% fee, so that will also cut into my profits. So, while I can return to the bank and have them charge me 3%, it's not ideal. My question is really for those of you who are returning your zincs loose in bank bags. Are there certain banks that allow this? Is there any way that I should approach my bank to see if they will accept them loose in bags? Lastly (for the bank bags), how much face value can fit into one of those plastic bank bags?

Another question I have is about shipping... How do you ship $100fv in a flat rate box? I know that the weight is ok (<70 lbs), but what about the structural integrity of the box? I've shipped about 36lbs in one of those many times and I'm always afraid that the bottom of the box is going to bust open even with all the tape and things that I put on there. I'm thinking that I'll be putting these pennies in canvas bags inside of the box, but I don't know how to reinforce the box to prevent it from bursting open during shipping. Any suggestions that you have for me on this??

And lastly... For those of you who are sorting about $1k face value (or more) per week... how do you pick up all the pennies from the bank?? haha I'm just picturing myself walking into the bank to pick up $1,000 in pennies and having to take 10 trips back and forth to my car to get them all. Do you just walk in there with a dolly or what??

Thank you very much for all your help and knowledge! I hope to become an active member of this forum once I actually start sorting heavily.

[aloneibreak]

welcome to the forum !

most of what you need to know for shipping can be found here ...

viewtopic.php?f=18&t=201

as far as selling goes, ebay is pretty crowded right now

you can definately sell some cents, but not for what they should be bringing

i personally think ive got a lot more work into mine than 1.6 or so times face - im mostly stacking right now, waiting until later to sell

[VWBEAMER]

Copper pennies are not worth more than 1.6-1.8 times face. You can get nickels at face value and when pennies hit more than 2 times face, the nickels is a better deal....with no risk.As long as pennies are still in circulation, I think 1.6-1.8 times face is where you are at on price.

I have bought on ebay, and out of 7 boxes, 3 where busted and two had significant amount of pennies gone. So if you sell on ebay i would put in your listing that the pennies will be packaged well. 68 lbs just doesn't do well in a card board box. $100 face value auction seem to be most popular.

[slickeast]

68 lbs or $100 is pretty much the same. Listing $100 is better because 68 lbs will get a ton of questions about face value.

I double box mine. When you use bags, plastic coinlok or something else, this gives you wiggle room to get both boxes shut.

Buy a cart, home depot has a nice rubber maid cart that holds 500 lbs. Harbor freight has some good ones too. You will be glad you have it.

Ask you bank of they accept loose coin in bags. It varies from branch to branch. Credit unions are a good place to look for free coin counters

Order from several banks. Try to buy the bags from the banks that charge 3%. Getting loose is the best way to go if you can get them.

Never ever try to dump where you pick up

Buy a good high speed counter. Don't go cheap, you will regret it

[shinnosuke]

Try to buy the bags from the banks that charge 3%.

@slickeast,
What does your comment above mean? I'm not sure why paying a 3% premium is recommended.

Thanks,

[PennyPauper]

Make those banks your pickup banks,opposed to dumping there,they will most likely be glad to clear some space in their vault.
Never pay a fee unless its your only option.There are banks everywhere unless your in a remote area.
It takes some legwork finding out how banks operate.Some branches of the same bank can have different policies and attitudes.
Just smile,be nice,and persistent.Don't sweat the cross eyed looks either.It's worth it.
Start small then work up to bigger amounts,tellers need to be comfortable with you.

[slickeast]

Try to buy the bags from the banks that charge 3%.

@slickeast,
What does your comment above mean? I'm not sure why paying a 3% premium is recommended.

Thanks,

The machine probably sorts into bags. They will be $50 bags of loose pennies. Since you are not dumping there, try to make them a source bank. The banks that I buy loose from love to get rid of the bags of loose.

Talk to the vault teller. They might state that they can't guarantee that the bags are correct. I always come out ahead. I regularly get dimes mixed in. one or two per bag on average.

[tinhorn]

I've shipped boxes of books--darn near as heavy as pennies--from coast to coast using strapping tape (with those little strings in it) to reinforce the boxes. Strapping tape is indestructible. You just have to turn your box into a plaid pattern, running a strip around the "breaking points".

[SkinsFan0521]

Thank you everybody for your responses!

I checked out the thread on packaging and it looks like a great resource. It has very detailed instructions which are also helpful.

Another idea I had that I was wondering if anybody had any experience with... Anybody ever order from Brinks or Loomis Fargo? I'd be interested to know what their fees are as well as if they have any minimums or any other "gotcha" rules that would prevent an individual from ordering from them? I've sent a couple emails (since it is a holiday weekend and all), but would love it if somebody here has had experience with them before!

Thanks again!

[SkinsFan0521]

oh, and tinhorn, thanks for the suggestion of the strapping tape. I figured that I would probably use that instead of the "regular" tape, but it's nice to know that you are saying that it's pretty much a "must use" item. Thank!

[SkinsFan0521]

Another question that I have is about sorting out wheats/IHPs from the memorial coppers. Is there any automated way to do this or is the only option hand sorting?

I'm guessing that the only option is hand sorting since they're mostly the same composition (except that I've read about some of the wheats not being exactly 95% copper and getting kicked to the zinc side of the Ryedale).

[inflationhawk]

Based on my research and reading on Realcent it sounds like many wheats get rejected along with the zincs when doing a copper search using the Ryedale. This is apparently because early wheats have a bit of tin in them (1942 and earlier I think). So once you do your initial sort, you can go back and do a second sort of the rejects (i.e. mostly zincs) and look for zincs using a zinc as your test coin. Then the rejects will be wheats, canadian pennies, steel pennies (as if you couldn't spot them visually!), etc. Basically anything non-zinc. You may miss some wheats in your original copper pile, but you could re-sort those too if you wanted and look for a wheat (1944-1958) as your test coin. This is all theoretical as my Ryedale is on order and I hope to get it by next weekend. I learned all of this through the great folks here on Realcent! Thanks all for my penny education.

[pennypicker]

Like you I also was very concerned about shipping heavy weights in medium flat rate boxes. But I devised a way to triple box my medium flat rate shipments as well as make the bottom of the boxes 4 layers thick. So far they have held up very well and even with this reinforcement I still won't put more than $50 face value (34 pounds) into a box.