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I am getting bored with going to the banks and doing the sorting. It used to be a joy, now it is seeming like work.

Yet I know I need to be doing this because in the end, I believe it's the right thing to do for my family.

Is anyone else in this boat? It seems to be a chore, yet it's work that needs to be done!

Yes, BUY!

TXBullion wrote:Yes, BUY!

Actually that is sage advice.

If you don't enjoy it the hourly-wage of this hobby is roughly minimum wage or less. If your "real job" pays you more then buying makes a lot of sense.

barrytrot wrote:

TXBullion wrote:Yes, BUY!

Actually that is sage advice.

If you don't enjoy it the hourly-wage of this hobby is roughly minimum wage or less. If your "real job" pays you more then buying makes a lot of sense.

Gotta have fun......or your spinnig your wheels.

Rodebaugh wrote:Gotta have fun......or your spinnig your wheels.

Laughably one night, I woke up at around 2AM. Couldn't sleep for like 30 minutes, so I decides to dump some rolls on my bed, threw out two Nintendo DS' with Pokemon on them, and in-between trading between games, I sorted the rolls. Got thru like $20 worth before I got bored of trading and went to sleep after 1.5 hours.

I'm just a hand sorter, so my experience is probably quite a bit different than someone who is machine sorting. But I do get tired of it from time to time. Whenever it starts to feel like work, I stop for a while. But I still get a handful of rolls every time I'm at the bank so that when I do start going again, I have a ready stock to sort. Usually my "boredom" only lasts a week or two at a time, and then I come back stronger than ever.

I sorted pennies for about a year ($150+ per week) until I reached my goal of a ton, but it was sort of a love/hate relationship. It was a pain to pick up/dump, but when I was actually sorting, I loved it. Finding wheats/Canadians/Indians was always a treat. I was using a Ryedale to sort, otherwise I would have spent 6x the amount of time sorting than I did.
My advice is take a break for a while. Also, if you have the capital, you could sort halves or dimes for silver. I find it more rewarding to find a 40% or a 90% half or dime. More exciting/more of a reward. Just my thoughts.

If it is a chore, don't do it. Life is too short to waste it on things that you don't really enjoy.

Stop for a while. You will come back to it.

I was doing two boxes a week, but things got pretty busy and boxes started building up in my basement. I thought about taking a break from ordering boxes so I could catch up. However, I didn't want to lose my source bank; so I decided to cut back to one box a week. Now that I've had some time off I've been able to catch up and ordered two boxes this week.

I don't see it as repetitious. Every box has its own personality, its own surprises. You never know when an IH, pre-1940 wheat, Canadian King etc will pop up. Back in 2009 I pulled a few dozen AU/BU 1964s and 1968s. A couple weeks ago they started showing up again. I have no clue how they get there. I don't see it as lost time either, I typically do it while watching T.V. If I felt as you did I would take a break or cut back but try to do it while preserving my relationships with my source banks. You never know when you might catch the bug again.

Good luck

A change is as good as a vacation. When the repetition starts weighing on me I try to find some new banks with new faces for my "cold calls".

"Never despair; but if you do, work on in despair." Edmund Burke, Irish orator, philosopher, & politician (1729 - 1797) Sometimes you just gotta do what needs doin' even if it ain't as fun as it should be.

Are you using a sorter?

I kept picking up from the source bank when I wanted a break. They just kept stacking up in the corner but I am glad I did. With the scare of Brinks sorting out copper it never hurts to have some extra on the side. They also make a great rainy day or bad weather day project for the kid when you don't want to go outside.

The only time I totally stop taking from the source is when I am on vacation and not able to get to the bank. I have worked to hard building relations with my favorite tellers and for the most part now if I ask for 1 or 6 boxes or dimes or nickels I get what I ask for no questions which is great.

When you need a break, take it. If it is to time consuming then buy instead of sort.

Good Luck!

The idea about keeping in touch with your source banks is spot on. I have a source bank that has a counter. If I want a break, I just don't go in and buy the bags off of the counter. The troube is, they told me they would call when they have bags of halves. Because I wasn't going in on a regular basis I missed the last couple of bags of halves. Now I go in more regular, even if I don't really want to sort the pennies. The real prize has been he bags of halves. I'm not going to miss another.

just found a 1919 and a 1920 in the same roll!(no mint marks, DAMMIT) but HEY they are going in a jar!

knibloe wrote:If it is a chore, don't do it. Life is too short to waste it on things that you don't really enjoy.

Stop for a while. You will come back to it.

I couldn't have said it better myself, therefore I just quoted knibloe. Take a break. There's nothing in the rulebook that says you can't call a timeout.