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So here has historically been my plight in the past 3 years or so of copper penny sorting (related to the socio-cultural aspect of this venture):

As a 16 year-old male and avid copper penny handsorter, there seem to be several forms of discrimination imposed on me by bank tellers. These can be both beneficial to me or hinder my activities/discourage me from it. I’ve noticed these after going to dozens of bank branches and experiencing different tellers. These things are communicated implicitly usually; however, there are times when I am openly chastised with words.

On the positive side, because of my youth, the nicer tellers take on a perception of “oh look at that, a kid is harmlessly collecting coins, that’s cute,” and they are willing to help me to a degree. While this ends up working in my favor, it does get to the point where I feel like I’m an embodiment of a childish stereotype that exists because historically, younger individuals possess a fascination with coinage. And one must remember I’m at the point in my life where being viewed as more youthful than I already am grates on my disposition after a while.

On the negative side, and this is far worse than any grievance I have with the positives, a good portion of tellers interpret my presence and my papermoney-to-penny exchange as an imposition on them; kind of a “ugh it’s that kid again, interrupting our daily operations and requesting trivial things like pennies to give us a hassle.” They give me less light-of-day than they would an adult, such as one of you doing the same kind of exchange. It makes me feel awful, even though I reassure myself that I’ve done nothing wrong or against bank policy/standards. There are times when the tellers even openly remark on their displeasure in regards to the circumstances for various reasons/excuses. I’ve asked for medium-sized quantities of pennies and they sometimes respond, “oh, we don’t carry that here,” or they think they can deceive me in order to get out of doing more work than if I hadn’t come around, because they assume I don’t know any better as a more youthful bank frequenter than most.

I am at sort of an impasse here, because I am unable to decide if the positives outweigh the negatives or vice-versa. All I know is that it sometimes discourages me from the hobby. I would like to find some way to maneuver around these discriminations and find more than one or two banks that don’t express opinion on my activities at all and just did their job and allowed the exchange to happen without personal judgment.

Would the community have any suggestions in regards to what I should do in the future, or what kind of mindset I should take on? Thanks in advance.

Were are you learning to write so good. You might turn this post into a school paper and then show off your A+ on your paper and then they might want to be part of a winning team. You might also try taking a Whitman coin folder with you with some of the holes filled . Then show it off and thank the teller for helping you fill it. Everyone want to be part of a winning team.

All I can suggest is to try to find a bank that has too many coins, and take bags rather than boxes. That way, you're doing them a favor instead of the other way around.

Also, just remember not to care what they think. The bank is a business, and it exists to serve you! If you don't like the way they treat you, withdraw your money and put it somewhere else.

another tip is NEVER dump at your pick up bank.
they don't like dealing with 'em twice,
and you'll wind up getting your own dump back

Just keep doing what you are doing. Coin collecting is a great hobby and can be financially rewarding too. Go to your local coin dealer and start collecting coins other than copper pennies. Start stacking some silver at your age who knows what it will be worth in 50 years.

At your age you may not want to hear about appearance, but it really does make a difference.

If I walk in dressed like a business professional, they treat me as such. If I'm unshaven and wearing my favorite five year old clothes, they act as though I'm of no consequence. I'm not suggesting you wear a suit or even really dress up, but do try to look clean cut.

One other thing you could try is joking with them about being a coin nerd while all the cool kids are drinking and smoking. It should help to reinforce their motherly instincts to help keep you out of trouble.

Engineer wrote:At your age you may not want to hear about appearance, but it really does make a difference.

If I walk in dressed like a business professional, they treat me as such. If I'm unshaven and wearing my favorite five year old clothes, they act as though I'm of no consequence. I'm not suggesting you wear a suit or even really dress up, but do try to look clean cut.

One other thing you could try is joking with them about being a coin nerd while all the cool kids are drinking and smoking. It should help to reinforce their motherly instincts to help keep you out of trouble.

+1 on that. At your age, you are ahead of the game. Good work!

Ha ha I shave about once a month and I haven't gotten a haircut since January.

Engineer wrote:One other thing you could try is joking with them about being a coin nerd while all the cool kids are drinking and smoking. It should help to reinforce their motherly instincts to help keep you out of trouble.

That's really good if you can say it with a straight face, but you're caught in a lie (even if it's true) if you burst out laughing...

henrysmedford wrote:Were are you learning to write so good. You might turn this post into a school paper and then show off your A+ on your paper and then they might want to be part of a winning team. You might also try taking a Whitman coin folder with you with some of the holes filled . Then show it off and thank the teller for helping you fill it. Everyone want to be part of a winning team.

Haha thank you, I'm just very adept at English right now; it just comes naturally to me. That is a good idea for sure; that way they are aware that it's going to a good cause, and maybe they'll be more inclined to cooperate.

scyther wrote:All I can suggest is to try to find a bank that has too many coins, and take bags rather than boxes. That way, you're doing them a favor instead of the other way around.

Also, just remember not to care what they think. The bank is a business, and it exists to serve you! If you don't like the way they treat you, withdraw your money and put it somewhere else.

Ah yes, I understand your logic entirely, but it doesn't really matter to the tellers because they're not the ones who have to personally pay the fee to Loomis/Garda/Brinks to ship off the bags, so it's actually more convenient for them to fetch me boxes rather than bags.

justoneguy wrote:another tip is NEVER dump at your pick up bank.
they don't like dealing with 'em twice,
and you'll wind up getting your own dump back

Oh definitely; I was aware of this within my first week of copper sorting years ago.

NDFarmer wrote:Just keep doing what you are doing. Coin collecting is a great hobby and can be financially rewarding too. Go to your local coin dealer and start collecting coins other than copper pennies. Start stacking some silver at your age who knows what it will be worth in 50 years.

I've been coin collecting since before I was even aware that copper pennies existed and had value more than double their face. Albeit not in large quantities, I definitely gathered myself a nice little hoard of silver and continue to add to it today whenever I can. Thanks.

Engineer wrote:At your age you may not want to hear about appearance, but it really does make a difference.

If I walk in dressed like a business professional, they treat me as such. If I'm unshaven and wearing my favorite five year old clothes, they act as though I'm of no consequence. I'm not suggesting you wear a suit or even really dress up, but do try to look clean cut.

One other thing you could try is joking with them about being a coin nerd while all the cool kids are drinking and smoking. It should help to reinforce their motherly instincts to help keep you out of trouble.

Very interesting; I hadn't explored the psychology of my appearance yet. When I get the money to go back to the banks again, I will see what happens with different clothing & conduct. I'll report back any differences.

mtalbot_ca wrote:+1 on that. At your age, you are ahead of the game. Good work!

Thank you sir.

scyther wrote:That's really good if you can say it with a straight face, but you're caught in a lie (even if it's true) if you burst out laughing...

Haha yes, I almost feel like I would burst out laughing; I'd feel so pathetic. Not that it is a lie...as far as you know...

To a degree you are probably taken less seriously because of your age, and that's not gonna change until you get older. Don't worry, you'll be old before you know it.

But most of the stuff that you wrote is actually "Penny Guy" discrimination. I would bet that we all deal with this to some degree. Even the really old farts. I think it is more what you are asking for, than your age. The tellers roll their eyes at us sorters regardless of our age. Just keep smiling. Even to the grumpy tellers. I just always say that I am looking to see if I can help them out and take some of their unwanted/surplus coin. Even if I don't get anything I just say thanks and that I will check back later. Some places I had to go and ask 3-4 times before I got anything.

Read everything that you can on this forum and you will learn more about the processes that they follow at the banks. With this knowledge you'll be able to counter their excuses with pointed questions. When they say that they don't have anything to spare I usually ask if they ship out coins weekly, because I would be happy to come back and take it to save them a few bucks on the processing.

Good luck, and don't give up. You'll find some good sources. If you are just hand sorting, you should be able to get more than you can sort. If you think a bank is lying to get you to go away, post it up here and we can probably help you out.

I've found that the younger group does get treated better. What you'll find is that when your vault teller changes it's like starting all over again. My best bank for years just changed their vault teller and the new one from day one doesn't like me. For that matter, she doesn't like doing her job. All I can say is, Do NOT give up!

Keep at it and congrats on your persistence. Your not doing anything wrong. You'll find some banks are easier to deal with than others and tellers are different even at the same bank. Its mostly about personal relationships with the tellers. Stay positive and friendly and don't lower yourself to the level of the tellers with bad attitudes. You'll be glad you went through all this years from now when you have a nice stash of copper and you'll be the envy of others. I wish I would have had your foresight when I was 16!

You've gotten some great feedback.

What is comes down to is that we all are a nuisance/inconvenience to the bank and especially the tellers. Some tolerate it better than others. Some only tolerate it as much as they feel that they have to. They see a younger person as an opportunity to be the boss without getting challenged. You might get some mileage out of respectfully challenging them. Try politely delivered questions such as: Do you refuse coin service to your other customers? -or- What is unreasonable about my request? -or- I don't understand the issue with accommodating my banking needs. Is there someone I should talk to about getting the service I expect from my bank?

NHsorter wrote:To a degree you are probably taken less seriously because of your age, and that's not gonna change until you get older. Don't worry, you'll be old before you know it.

But most of the stuff that you wrote is actually "Penny Guy" discrimination. I would bet that we all deal with this to some degree. Even the really old farts. I think it is more what you are asking for, than your age. The tellers roll their eyes at us sorters regardless of our age. Just keep smiling. Even to the grumpy tellers. I just always say that I am looking to see if I can help them out and take some of their unwanted/surplus coin. Even if I don't get anything I just say thanks and that I will check back later. Some places I had to go and ask 3-4 times before I got anything.

Read everything that you can on this forum and you will learn more about the processes that they follow at the banks. With this knowledge you'll be able to counter their excuses with pointed questions. When they say that they don't have anything to spare I usually ask if they ship out coins weekly, because I would be happy to come back and take it to save them a few bucks on the processing.

Good luck, and don't give up. You'll find some good sources. If you are just hand sorting, you should be able to get more than you can sort. If you think a bank is lying to get you to go away, post it up here and we can probably help you out.

Yes, I intend to read up on some counterarguments I can use; thank goodness for this forum. And thank you for your detailed response.

inflationhawk wrote:Keep at it and congrats on your persistence. Your not doing anything wrong. You'll find some banks are easier to deal with than others and tellers are different even at the same bank. Its mostly about personal relationships with the tellers. Stay positive and friendly and don't lower yourself to the level of the tellers with bad attitudes. You'll be glad you went through all this years from now when you have a nice stash of copper and you'll be the envy of others. I wish I would have had your foresight when I was 16!

This is quite true. I definitely try to maintain a positive attitude but it's often unrequited and as a result the situation becomes awkward/uncomfortable.

Madwest wrote:What is comes down to is that we all are a nuisance/inconvenience to the bank and especially the tellers. Some tolerate it better than others. Some only tolerate it as much as they feel that they have to. They see a younger person as an opportunity to be the boss without getting challenged. You might get some mileage out of respectfully challenging them. Try politely delivered questions such as: Do you refuse coin service to your other customers? -or- What is unreasonable about my request? -or- I don't understand the issue with accommodating my banking needs. Is there someone I should talk to about getting the service I expect from my bank?

I love this. But as much as I'd like to backfire with comments like this, I'd rather it not hurt my chances of ever coming back to the bank or having any level of cooperation at all. Regardless, it does seem like a fair response to teller incompetence.

I think I have been discriminated against also. The key is relationships with the bank personnel. Positive relationships are generally developed over time. Eventually some banks will see you as a convenience rather than a nuisance. When they can make one phone call and get rid of everything so they don't have to break the rolls and ship it out, or if they don't even have to make a call because they know the penny man stops by every Saturday afternoon, they will start to appreciate you. Of course those cookies I am baking this week for my favorite banks don't hurt. Recently one of my regular tellers was promoted to branch manager at another branch. Guess who is getting more pennies.

As others here have said, persistence pays off. Always be polite and not pushy. Think of it like a salesman. They have to make a lot of cold calls.. most resulting in rejection. But if you make enough calls, you will have some positive outcomes. Then you develop those customer relationships over time.

You might also consider partnering up with an older penny nerd to see if you can get an edge that way. Maybe they will give him some pennies when they might not want to deal with younger customers. But it would probably melt some tellers' hearts if you went in together and they thought it was a boy and his father or uncle sharing a positive hobby.

You might also want to check to see if there are any local coin clubs you can attend. Coin clubs are a great place to meet like minded individuals, learn things, and maybe even do a little buying and selling. I regularly attend several coin clubs in my area and really enjoy that aspect of the hobby. One of my clubs I have been a member of since I was 13 and one of the others I have been a member of since I was 15.

You are already well ahead of the game. One big advantage you have is youth.. you will get older. A lot of us older guys see a bit of ourselves in you. Keep sharing here so us old coin nerds can enjoy a few vicarious thrills from your successes.

Romalae wrote:So here has historically been my plight in the past 3 years or so of copper penny sorting (related to the socio-cultural aspect of this venture):

As a 16 year-old male and avid copper penny handsorter, there seem to be several forms of discrimination imposed on me by bank tellers. These can be both beneficial to me or hinder my activities/discourage me from it. I’ve noticed these after going to dozens of bank branches and experiencing different tellers. These things are communicated implicitly usually; however, there are times when I am openly chastised with words.

On the positive side, because of my youth, the nicer tellers take on a perception of “oh look at that, a kid is harmlessly collecting coins, that’s cute,” and they are willing to help me to a degree. While this ends up working in my favor, it does get to the point where I feel like I’m an embodiment of a childish stereotype that exists because historically, younger individuals possess a fascination with coinage. And one must remember I’m at the point in my life where being viewed as more youthful than I already am grates on my disposition after a while.

On the negative side, and this is far worse than any grievance I have with the positives, a good portion of tellers interpret my presence and my papermoney-to-penny exchange as an imposition on them; kind of a “ugh it’s that kid again, interrupting our daily operations and requesting trivial things like pennies to give us a hassle.” They give me less light-of-day than they would an adult, such as one of you doing the same kind of exchange. It makes me feel awful, even though I reassure myself that I’ve done nothing wrong or against bank policy/standards. There are times when the tellers even openly remark on their displeasure in regards to the circumstances for various reasons/excuses. I’ve asked for medium-sized quantities of pennies and they sometimes respond, “oh, we don’t carry that here,” or they think they can deceive me in order to get out of doing more work than if I hadn’t come around, because they assume I don’t know any better as a more youthful bank frequenter than most.

I am at sort of an impasse here, because I am unable to decide if the positives outweigh the negatives or vice-versa. All I know is that it sometimes discourages me from the hobby. I would like to find some way to maneuver around these discriminations and find more than one or two banks that don’t express opinion on my activities at all and just did their job and allowed the exchange to happen without personal judgment.

Would the community have any suggestions in regards to what I should do in the future, or what kind of mindset I should take on? Thanks in advance.

I don't have any suggestions for you on how to secure more pennies. Just know that, with your command of the English language at such a young age, you can take comfort in knowing, that in the not too distance future, you will be making more than every one who works at your local branches.

OH, heck they discriminated against me at my CU saying I have to pay 10 cents a roll. Then, I asked for a box at a different branch not long ago and they hooked me up with one. Every other place I went in and just asked, it was always somewhat of a hassle. Did anyone mention ordering ahead of time? It was always more of a hassle when I did not order ahead of time, now it's no problem. Another trick, talk with the head teller, or get in good with the head teller, that will earn you more respect as well. Don't forget about the Customer wrapped roll CWR trick, have them call you if someone brings those in. I go into my bank branch every Friday pick up two boxes and I'm on my way. Maybe order a box every week or every other week, whatever your up for. I've put up with the same as you, and I'm in my 40's, your not alone. Oh, it never bothered me all that much if they get snappy, I just want my pennies.

HoardCopperByTheTon wrote:I think I have been discriminated against also. The key is relationships with the bank personnel. Positive relationships are generally developed over time. Eventually some banks will see you as a convenience rather than a nuisance. When they can make one phone call and get rid of everything so they don't have to break the rolls and ship it out, or if they don't even have to make a call because they know the penny man stops by every Saturday afternoon, they will start to appreciate you. Of course those cookies I am baking this week for my favorite banks don't hurt. Recently one of my regular tellers was promoted to branch manager at another branch. Guess who is getting more pennies.

This does, however, require consistency and a schedule that permits you to allocate a specific, routine time for penny-sorting purposes. Because I am not an adult with a steady, established job and lifestyle, this is not entirely possible for me.

You might also consider partnering up with an older penny nerd to see if you can get an edge that way. Maybe they will give him some pennies when they might not want to deal with younger customers. But it would probably melt some tellers' hearts if you went in together and they thought it was a boy and his father or uncle sharing a positive hobby.

Well, hook me up with all the rival sorters in my area. Haha I think my existing parents can do just fine because they're not disparaging of my hobby in any way. Might be a swell idea, but it's just so juvenile, it'd frustrate me.

You are already well ahead of the game. One big advantage you have is youth.. you will get older. A lot of us older guys see a bit of ourselves in you. Keep sharing here so us old coin nerds can enjoy a few vicarious thrills from your successes.

I would have to agree with you in regards to my pecuniary expeditiousness; most other folks my age are rather ignorant to anything that requires more thought than "lmfao," or "omg he/she broke up with me," or "[VIDYA GAEMZ & FOOTBALL]," etc.. I'm pleased to know that I embody many of your qualities and I intend to manifest them in the future.

twoten01 wrote:I don't have any suggestions for you on how to secure more pennies. Just know that, with your command of the English language at such a young age, you can take comfort in knowing, that in the not too distance future, you will be making more than every one who works at your local branches.

Aw, thanks. That is highly optimistic.

everything wrote:OH, heck they discriminated against me at my CU saying I have to pay 10 cents a roll. Then, I asked for a box at a different branch not long ago and they hooked me up with one. Every other place I went in and just asked, it was always somewhat of a hassle. Did anyone mention ordering ahead of time? It was always more of a hassle when I did not order ahead of time, now it's no problem. Another trick, talk with the head teller, or get in good with the head teller, that will earn you more respect as well. Don't forget about the Customer wrapped roll CWR trick, have them call you if someone brings those in. I go into my bank branch every Friday pick up two boxes and I'm on my way. Maybe order a box every week or every other week, whatever your up for. I've put up with the same as you, and I'm in my 40's, your not alone. Oh, it never bothered me all that much if they get snappy, I just want my pennies.

I haven't really tried much ordering yet, only the few times when they've suggested it to me, maybe therein lies my problem. And while you may be 25+ years older than me, something tells me you hold a lot more credibility being an adult than someone who is still in their youth and as a result is characterized as not being serious (especially when asking for pennies). Thanks for your suggestions.

Hey there! Congratulations on your efforts. I am, as many others on this forum, proud of you. Don't give up!! You have received some excellent suggestions from the members and we all wish you well. You will probably continue to run into these problems, but don't give up (said again, sorry!)

You might just outright tell the folks who wait on you ... "I'm into collecting old pennies. I'd really appreciate it if you would sell me a (box, ____ number of rolls, a bag, or whatever). Some times a big, expectant smile and an honest excitement about collecting coins will soften some hard-hearted tellers.

One other thing ... it has already been mentioned. Don't ever dump coins where you pick them up! Depending on several variable factors, dumping can be a much greater pain for tellers than getting you a bag, box or quantity of penny rolls. We have had success in outright telling the bank tellers, "we promise not to dump these here". They appreciate that, in the main.

The very best wishes to you, my young friend!! Keep it up!

Sheba wrote:Hey there! Congratulations on your efforts. I am, as many others on this forum, proud of you. Don't give up!! You have received some excellent suggestions from the members and we all wish you well. You will probably continue to run into these problems, but don't give up (said again, sorry!)

You might just outright tell the folks who wait on you ... "I'm into collecting old pennies. I'd really appreciate it if you would sell me a (box, ____ number of rolls, a bag, or whatever). Some times a big, expectant smile and an honest excitement about collecting coins will soften some hard-hearted tellers.

One other thing ... it has already been mentioned. Don't ever dump coins where you pick them up! Depending on several variable factors, dumping can be a much greater pain for tellers than getting you a bag, box or quantity of penny rolls. We have had success in outright telling the bank tellers, "we promise not to dump these here". They appreciate that, in the main.

The very best wishes to you, my young friend!! Keep it up!

Thank you very much! I am in no position to give up any time soon despite these unfortunate discriminatory variables I've mentioned. It appears they can be psychologically circumnavigated anyway.

I definitely do not merge dump banks and pickup banks. I found this to be poor planning during my first week of serious copper sorting years ago.

Thanks for the suggestions and words.

Roll in with a wheelchair with the cents on your lap!

Awesome topic! Since I sometimes come up against varying amounts of penny discrimination, or at least penny displeasure, I often try to tell myself "in ten years, what will be more important - the fact that some nobodies gave me grief, or the fact that i enjoyed a hobby and now have TONS (hopefully literally) of copper pennies to show for it?" The answer always comes back that these people are just employees of a bank and their thoughts and comments, while possibly annoying or sometimes even hurtful, are ultimately not worth giving up what we on this forum love to do. Keep it up, and keep the faith!

Cheers, Matt