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After being cut off from my main penny supplier I'm on the hunt for a new one. I have been making it very well know that if they could provide me with bags I'd be very happy to move my personal acc't from Chase to whoever. Got a few positive responses so far from branch managers but nothing solid (gotta check with my district supervisor). My question: if I do end up winning and getting bags, is it usually the same amount every week (i.e. 2 or 3 bags) or does it vary wildly week to week? Mind you, as far as I know, I'm the only penny sorter in the area.

If you are just getting bags from their counter it can vary quite a bit depending on how many pennies their customer bring in each week. One week you might get 2 bags and the next week you might get 8 bags. So you want to be ready to buy what ever they have. But if they will order bags for you then you pretty well know what they will have for you each week. I am hooked up with a bank that orders 16 bags for me each week and I also take the bags off their counter. They told me they will have 3 additional bags for me on Monday so I will be picking up 19 bags. The old Corolla will be hanging low on the way home again.

Bags of loose coin are just that. Loose coin. This is what has made it through the coin counter in that branch. I get these from a few Key Bank branches near me. Every week it is different. A few weeks ago all one branch had was 9 bags of cents. That same branch today was 2 bags quarters and 1 bag cents.

You get a bank to order you bags?!?!?! How the #*!@ did you pull that off?

I went to several banks and asked if they would order me bags. Most said no but a few said yes. The bank I am with now I just slowly kept increasing my weekly order and now I am up to 16 bags. The only thing you have to watch out for if you order bags is that your dump banks don't use the same armored car service that your supply bank uses because then you end getting your own bags back.

Just ask...crazy enough it just might work. Brilliant!

Yeah all the banks my dump banks and my supply banks all know me as the crazy penny guy. But if you bring them some goodies once in a while they actually get to the point where they don't mind seeing you come in the door. My supply bank even lets me use their cart and sometimes helps me load the bags into the car.

One big thing to watch for on bags. If you are picking them up from the machine be aware of the holidays. Normally there is a pause after the hoilday on pick ups and you can score a bunch of bags.

Hi Ed,

I agree with what the others are saying. If you are just going around the supply will vary greatly. If you order bags it will be an expected number each week. I think getting bags is a risky move. I used to go to banks and buy their bags, but found once I got a coin counter that they almost never added up to the expected total. They were either over or under. It is a trade-off, convenience at a potential cost to your wallet.

In my experience the most reliable supply is from N.F.String boxes, then bags and last would be the Brinks plastic wraps if you order bulk can start sending you rolls that are partially filled. So i will never order large numbers from them again. The bags I also tend to avoid for similar reasons.

I don't believe i'm the only one seeing light and heavy bags, but it's something to note. Also bags of pennies may not bother you since the time not spent opening rolls and then disposing of the paper and cardboard can easily be justified by a few cents missing. But if you're doing larger denominations such as halves it's something to really consider...

Good luck finding a bag bank that will order you bags.

~JobIII

What about returning the bags of zincs in bulk? How the heck do you count the 5000 cents? Do you have a machine? Does the bank make you wait until they send in the bags to get counted before they credit your account?

You can count a couple ways:

use a triple beam scale (have the weight set to $0.50 or $1.00) and then do it 50 or 100 times...
You can use a coin counter...
You can manually count the total.

Banks may give you cash instantly, or credit your account after the bags are counted. It's really up to the bank, and in some cases the amount you are depositing.

~JobIII

HoldingAg wrote:What about returning the bags of zincs in bulk? How the heck do you count the 5000 cents? Do you have a machine? Does the bank make you wait until they send in the bags to get counted before they credit your account?

I do have a coin counter but NONE of the banks in my area will accept pre-counted coins or even machine rolled coins. If I were to bring in machine rolled coins they would make me break open the rolls and run them through their counter. But I am lucky I have a bank that has several different branches that has self serve coin counters in their lobbies. So I just weigh out 28 lbs. into canvas bags and dump 4 or 5 bags at each branch. After I dump the coins I just take the receipt up to the teller and they hand me the cash. Then I go to my supply bank and pick up the new weeks supply.

I just got my first bag last week...while dumping halves, the machine needed a bag change, halves and one of the penny bags was full. I asked if i could buy the penny bag....after some conversation with her manager.."Yes, but we are not going to be held responsible if the bag is short"...Man was I excited...Didn't have to break open any rolls that night. Started with a precount through the Brandt, 5080 pennies and two dimes....ended with 18.8 % Cu, my average and NO penny WRAPPERS...So-Wheat. I do dump in precounted $50 bags, largest dump 13 bags...takes three days for the deposit to hit my account. Only once did the teller forget to credit my account...but once is one time to many but all is well.Now instead of 24 boxes a week. lets go for 19 bags.

fasteddy wrote: Now instead of 24 boxes a week. lets go for 19 bags.

My 19 bags equals 38 boxes. If I had to bust open 1900 rolls each week I wouldn't be sorting copper. Maybe I am just lazy. So I am lucky to be able to get bags. Just cut the top off the bag, pour and sort.

You are all lazy, with your bags...

this hobby should be enjoyed in steps. Pick-up 80 boxes, break open the rolls, sort, return, repeat.

I guess I'm extra lazy. I'm getting sick of unwrapping 10 boxes a week. I'll take the over/short as I'm only doing this with cents right now and boxes average 28%-32% Cu. Figure the bags can't do any worse. The profit margin is such I can afford a 1%-2% shortage and still come out well ahead. That's not even figuring the time/energy saved.

as long as you bag-buyers have gotten boxes before - then you know the effort we go thru.
i am able to get one bag every couple of weeks from one of my banks - and - man - i could get used to the cut and pour method !!
oh well, as long as the pennies are coming in -

I'm just kidding about enjoying the roll cracking. It's incredibly time consuming. I think we all could get used to the cut-pour method...

Bags offer more positives than negatives. Sure sometime they can be a little short. In fact once I picked up several bags at once and when I got home I saw one was visibly smaller. $38 and some change was in there I believe. But, most are actually over and they almost always contain foreign, dimes, and sometimes even silver. I've found all kinds of crazy things in my bags. A small gold chain that my Ryedale did a good job at chopping up, hundreds of dimes, quite a few silver dimes including a few merc's, and assorted junk both good and bad. The good far out weighs the bad. At least for me.

I NEVER turn down pennies from a bank. Bags, boxes, CWR's, or whatever. The boxes I don't even open. I just put them to the side for a later day. Bags make you lazy, hehe.

Deal

Interesting comments, Deal. I'm sort of thinking about buying the bags from the banks in my area, but i'm already getting more boxes than i can break open weekly...

The random bonus finds that come in bags is a reason to get them. What to do what to do.

~JobIII

Ah.. if only...

I have one credit union that allows me to buy bags. Only 3 of the 8 branches will allow me to buy. That is ok with me. Dumping has become a little more work since i am limited at my dump bank to $300 a day per branch.

Bags are the way to go. I don't think I have ever been short. The dimes make up for the difference.

If you are going to do bags, a coin counter is a must (IMO). The bent,stuck together, gum coated, and other problem coins need to be removed before the pennies hit the Ryedale.

I have one bank that will allow me to return loose in $50 bags. She gives me the cash on the spot..NO WAITING. I use my high speed counters to count out $50.02. I would rather be over than under.

Be polite, be professional, and act like buying bags is an everyday thing. Reassure them that they will NEVER see the pennies again if you buy the bags and that you accept the loss if the bag is short.

slickeast wrote:I have one credit union that allows me to buy bags. Only 3 of the 8 branches will allow me to buy. That is ok with me. Dumping has become a little more work since i am limited at my dump bank to $300 a day per branch.

Bags are the way to go. I don't think I have ever been short. The dimes make up for the difference.

If you are going to do bags, a coin counter is a must (IMO). The bent,stuck together, gum coated, and other problem coins need to be removed before the pennies hit the Ryedale.

I have one bank that will allow me to return loose in $50 bags. She gives me the cash on the spot..NO WAITING. I use my high speed counters to count out $50.02. I would rather be over than under.

Be polite, be professional, and act like buying bags is an everyday thing. Reassure them that they will NEVER see the pennies again if you buy the bags and that you accept the loss if the bag is short.

If they are not already, sounds like you have five perfect candidates for dump banks. Tell 'em to let you buy their bags, if not, you'll have some more for them....

I love the coin for instant cash deal. I don't have to precount. Just return loose and uncounted. I get that at ALL my dump banks (knock on wood). Heavy bags full of worthless zinc, for a pocket full of folding worthless junk....

At my dump on Saturday, I was almost given over $300 extra. My usual dumps average at about $1000 per branch, but on my last stop I had about half that. So when she gets done and comes out to tell me the total, she says $800 some odd dollars. Not a chance I tell her. I'm thinking $500ish. What happened is she ran my coins in two batches and she was adding the two totals plus the actual total. Ended up being $534 and some change. Honesty is the best policy....

Deal

4 of the 5 that won't let me buy have the slow Scan Coin machines(think coin star). The other banned me from the machine. The asst bank manager stood her ground. I won't even step foot in that branch now.

I am satisfied with the system I have in play. Could it be better? Yes. But I have it better than most.

I'm banned a few places as well, hehe. Our systems, which are similar, are probably better than most. We are lucky for sure. I don't even open the boxes I get, I just set them aside. Too spoiled to unroll them, hehe.

Deal