Realcent.org

Records are made to be broken and that sounds like a great way to begin the new year. 2021 started off with a fantastic eleven foreign countries found, topping the previous high of ten in Feb of last year. January gave us tokens, silver, a super old wheatie...quite a promising start to what will hopefully be a banner CS year. My apartment complex parking lot finds were a mere 16 cents but I blame that partially on the cold weather keeping people indoors.

January totals
1¢ - .51
5¢ - .35
10¢ - 1.40
25¢ - 2.75
Total - 5.01

Included above - 1924 wheatie, 1955 & 1964-D Roosies

Australia
5 cents (2006)

Canada
1 cent (1989, 2008)
25 cents (1979)

China
1 jiao (2015)

Germany
5 pfennig (1974F)

Great Britain
1 penny (1971, 1980, 2003)
10 pence (2009)

Philippines
1 piso (1995)

Singapore
10 cents (2011)

Spain
2 euro cents (2018)

Sweden
1 krona (2016)

Switzerland
5 rappen (2016)
10 rappen (1982)

Thailand
1 baht (2005, 2009)


Tokens
Chuck E Cheese (2009, 2012)
Two Cherries (x2)

2021 countries (11)
Australia, Canada, China, Germany, Great Britain, Philippines, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand

Jan Coinstar and found on the ground finds

$.44 USD

.01 - 9
.05 - 2
.10 - 3
.25 -
.50 -
$ -

Tokens
Peter piper token 2

Obsolete

Misc
$2.00 lotto credit.

Pocket Change

Checked the coinstar after breakfast on this -10 morning and found a zinc and a 1938 Abe.

I noticed at a Coinstar today that they are actually selling BITCOIN at those machines now! Guess that makes BC an official currency now?

Do you mean you can get Bitcoin for dumping your change? How does that work, do you get some kind of a # or something?

Here's more info on it:

https://coinme.com/coinstar/

I'm speechless at this month's numbers! Never mind the foreign country count, which is at a pace to blow away the all time record set just last year, the real story is the US total. On three separate visits I was greeted with chock full reject slots: 53 coins, 67 coins & a wowzer of 223 coins. Two of those were at the same machine that produced my all time record (268 coins) and were mostly quarters so I'm starting to think the interior descriminators are faulty. There was no reason any of the coins should have been rejected. What I can't understand is how people walk by and don't notice it! The result was a yuuuuuge new monthly record, beating the old total (Nov 2020) by almost $10.

Everything was multiples this month: new countries, wheaties, tokens, flattened pennies. Even my apartment complex parking lots finds are over the penny-a-day rate with 64 cents. Can this pace hold up for the entire year? It'll be fun finding out.

February total (2021 total)
1¢ - 1.77 (2.28)
5¢ - 4.10 (4.45)
10¢ - 4.50 (5.90)
25¢ - 31.00 (33.75)
$1 - 1.00 (1.00)
Total - 42.37 (47.38)

Included in Feb's total - 1939-S & 1940-S wheaties


Argentina <--New country!
1 peso (2017)

Canada
10 cents (1969, 2005)
25 cents (1981, 2012)

China
1 jiao (2005)
1 yuan (2013)

Great Britain
1 penny (2005)

Hong Kong <--New country!
10 cents (1998)

Ireland <--New country!
2 euro cents (2002)

Japan <--New country!
1 yen (1974)

Mexico <--New country!
50 centavos (2007)
1 peso (2012)
10 pesos (2015)

New Zealand <--New country!
2 cents (1971)

Philippines
10 sentimo (1986, 1991)
25 sentimo (1983, 1991, 1993(x2), 1994)
1 piso (1998)

South Korea <--New country!
10 won (2012)


Flattened pennies
The Rainforest Cafe (frog), Galveston TX
Knotts Berry Farm - Pacific Scrambler, Los Angeles CA

Tokens
Namco (2000)
Jiaxin (no date)
I Like Scary Movies/It/Pennywise penny token (2019)
Guardian Angel

2021 countries (18)
Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, Germany, Great Britain, Hong Kong, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand

Feb Coinstar and found on the ground finds

$.33 USD

.01 - 13
.05 - 2
.10 - 1
.25 -
.50 -
$ -

Tokens
Peter piper token 1

Obsolete

Misc
$2.00 lotto credit.

Pocket Change

Penny, nickel at CU counter.

coindood wrote:I'm speechless at this month's numbers! Never mind the foreign country count, which is at a pace to blow away the all time record set just last year, the real story is the US total. On three separate visits I was greeted with chock full reject slots: 53 coins, 67 coins & a wowzer of 223 coins. Two of those were at the same machine that produced my all time record (268 coins) and were mostly quarters so I'm starting to think the interior descriminators are faulty. There was no reason any of the coins should have been rejected. What I can't understand is how people walk by and don't notice it! The result was a yuuuuuge new monthly record, beating the old total (Nov 2020) by almost $10.

Everything was multiples this month: new countries, wheaties, tokens, flattened pennies. Even my apartment complex parking lots finds are over the penny-a-day rate with 64 cents. Can this pace hold up for the entire year? It'll be fun finding out.

February total (2021 total)
1¢ - 1.77 (2.28)
5¢ - 4.10 (4.45)
10¢ - 4.50 (5.90)
25¢ - 31.00 (33.75)
$1 - 1.00 (1.00)
Total - 42.37 (47.38)

Included in Feb's total - 1939-S & 1940-S wheaties


Argentina <--New country!
1 peso (2017)

Canada
10 cents (1969, 2005)
25 cents (1981, 2012)

China
1 jiao (2005)
1 yuan (2013)

Great Britain
1 penny (2005)

Hong Kong <--New country!
10 cents (1998)

Ireland <--New country!
2 euro cents (2002)

Japan <--New country!
1 yen (1974)

Mexico <--New country!
50 centavos (2007)
1 peso (2012)
10 pesos (2015)

New Zealand <--New country!
2 cents (1971)

Philippines
10 sentimo (1986, 1991)
25 sentimo (1983, 1991, 1993(x2), 1994)
1 piso (1998)

South Korea <--New country!
10 won (2012)


Flattened pennies
The Rainforest Cafe (frog), Galveston TX
Knotts Berry Farm - Pacific Scrambler, Los Angeles CA

Tokens
Namco (2000)
Jiaxin (no date)
I Like Scary Movies/It/Pennywise penny token (2019)
Guardian Angel

2021 countries (18)
Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, Germany, Great Britain, Hong Kong, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand

I could go back and look but how many countries have you found since this thread started?

hobo finds wrote:I could go back and look but how many countries have you found since this thread started?

I usually include that number in my year-end totals. Here it is from last Dec:

All countries 2014-20 (66)
Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bahrain, Belgium, Belize, Brazil, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, China, China Rep (Taiwan), Colombia, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Great Britain, Greece, Hong Kong, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Luxembourg, Macao, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos Is., Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela

Don't think I've added any new ones yet this year. Of course it's possible I've missed one or two.

My criteria is pretty strict for inclusion in the list - Coinstar fiinds only, but early on I had a grocery store source who saved all the foreigns that people tried to feed into the self-checkouts. I decided to include those countries since they're something akin to finding them in the wild.

What I don't count are foreign coins given to me by friends/coworkers, foreigns I get in my change or CRHing/slot machine hunting. I'd probably be close to 100 nations if I included those. The other day I got a Bermuda 5 cents from a nickel poker machine, pretty cool but it doesn't make the list.

Edit: I should clarify that in the casino, abandoned foreigns in the reject chutes of the self-serve coin counters DO count as towards the totals.

It may not be the bonanza that was February, but you can't have that kind of luck all the time. March, as my totals go, was an above average month. If I can manage around $4 a month for the rest of the year I'll beat last year's record haul, and $5/month will get me to $100. Let's see what happens. Made it to 20 countries with foreigns, including my oldest ever non-US silver.

The only downside this month was an ill-advised relocation of my best paying Coinstar machine. Instead of being hidden away in a vestibule where the outside entrance door is locked due to ongoing COVID restrictions, it's now front and center near a busy postal station where any passersby can snatch the abandoned accumulations. Plus, a handy trash bin has disappeared. That was a great source for disgarded foreigns and tokens. Ah well, perhaps the added visibility will lead to more use and potentially more small finds.

Parking lot finds in my apartment complex started off well, then dwindled. I'm at 79 cents for the year to date.


March total (2021 total)

1¢ - .55 (2.83)
5¢ - .40 (4.85)
10¢ - 1.50 (7.40)
25¢ - 3.00 (36.75)
50¢ - 1.00 (1.00)
$1 - 0.00 (1.00)
Total - 6.45 (53.83)

Included in March: 1937, 1940-S, 1942 wheaties, 1964-D Roosie, 1969-D half

Bahamas <--New country!
25 cents (2015)

Canada
5 cents (2016)
10 cents (1953 NSF , 1973, 1984, 2015)
25 cents (2006-P, 2010)

France <--New country!
1 euro cent (2017)

Japan
1 yen (1994)

Mexico
50 centavos (2013)

Philippines
10 sentimo (2016)

Spain
5 euro cents (1999)


Tokens
Ilias Slot Park (No date)
Namco (2000)
Two Cherries (No date)


2021 countries (20)
Argentina, Australia, Bahamas, Canada, China, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hong Kong, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand

march Coinstar and found on the ground finds

$1.31 USD

.01 - 16
.05 - 2
.10 - 2
.25 - 3
.50 -
$ -

Tokens


Obsolete

Misc
$2.00 lotto credit.

Pocket Change

Stopped by a Smith's I haven't checked out before and while looking in a small trash can next to it I got a glimpse behind. Took the best photo I could given the tight constraints. Just cringeworthy! Imagine what else is lurking underneath!

Amazing photo!

That makes me wonder how common this is. If it is common, I’d consider making some kind of cheap telescoping tool to rake them up. It could be the kind of thing you might get cheaply at a place like Harbor Freight or Goodwill.

Just tonight I stopped at a CS at an area Walmart.

Checked the sorting tray and return bin- nothing. Then, tucked neatly in a corner on the top part (where people frequently set their jars, cans and bags), was a stack of 9 small coins.

6 U.S. pennies- maybe 2 coppers- no biggie
1943-P steel cent
1963-D Roosy dime
1964-D Roosy dime

Funny story about the steel cent that I’ve likely told before on this site. Once (years ago) my wife saw me with a steel cent. She said “I collect those!” To which I responded with absolute shock, “How many do you have?” Her answer: Two! Not 2,000 or even 200, but 2! I laughed so hard I couldn’t stop.

At my next convenience I got her a roll of 50 at the local coin shop. You’d think I bought her a new car!

Recyclersteve wrote:Amazing photo!

That makes me wonder how common this is. If it is common, I’d consider making some kind of cheap telescoping tool to rake them up. It could be the kind of thing you might get cheaply at a place like Harbor Freight or Goodwill.

What isn't apparent (or maybe it is?) is that I took that photo blind, just stuck my cell back there and snapped. There was barely enough room to even angle in to see back there. I like the idea of some kind of raking tool but - in this case anyway - maneuvering it would be just about impossbile, or at the very least would take some practice, and with my luck I'd snag a power cord or something.

Great score on the steel and silvers!

I've been laid up for a couple of weeks so CS withdrawal is setting in.

Wal-Mart CS this evening.
1956-D Roosevelt dime.

MUTiger

Food Lion Coinstar:

1 dime
1 Zincoln

After seeing the photo above of the back of a CS machine I just had to go to Harbor Freight and get a telescoping tool with a magnet on the end. The device won’t pick up most U.S. coins (other than steel cents), but will pick up a number of foreign coins. It only cost about $5 so I can use it for scrapping as well.

Early in the month I got a nice 39-coin score at one of my regular stops. If it weren't for that, April would have been a bust since I've been recouping from surgery since the 6th. To say that I'm jones-ing for some CS action is putting it mildly. Thankfully, things are looking better and May should be my rebound month, in more ways than one.

April total (2021 total)
1¢ - .49 (3.32)
5¢ - 2.60 (7.45)
10¢ - 1.00 (8.40)
25¢ - 1.50 (38.25)
50¢ - 0.00 (1.00)
$1 - 0.00 (1.00)
Total - 5.59 (59.42)

Mexico
50 centavos (2017)
5 pesos (2015)

April Coinstar and found on the ground finds

$.34 USD

.01 - 4
.05 -
.10 - 3
.25 -
.50 -
$ -

Tokens


Obsolete

Misc


Pocket Change

coindood wrote:Early in the month I got a nice 39-coin score at one of my regular stops. If it weren't for that, April would have been a bust since I've been recouping from surgery since the 6th. To say that I'm jones-ing for some CS action is putting it mildly. Thankfully, things are looking better and May should be my rebound month, in more ways than one.

April total (2021 total)
1¢ - .49 (3.32)
5¢ - 2.60 (7.45)
10¢ - 1.00 (8.40)
25¢ - 1.50 (38.25)
50¢ - 0.00 (1.00)
$1 - 0.00 (1.00)
Total - 5.59 (59.42)

Mexico
50 centavos (2017)
5 pesos (2015)

Sounds like you are doing better and ready to go.

hobo finds wrote:Sounds like you are doing better and ready to go.

Yessir! And the first finds of May are an indication of improvement as well.

I know I’m straying from the CS topic, but has anyone had luck finding coins at bank drive thrus?

One place I’ve had some really good luck is McDonalds drive thrus, believe it or not. The only downside is that some of the coins are badly scratched from being driven over.