Big silver hunting let down

[TwoAndAHalfCents]

This past Saturday on a trip up to L.A. I decided to hit up some banks looking for half dollars to search. The first branch I stopped at had 40 loose halves. The teller said she had $40 worth and then realized it was only 40 coins as she counted them out for me. I noticed two silver in there while she counted so I just knew it was going to be good day. A teller at another branch told me she had $20 worth in the vault. She went to get them and came back with an envelope containing 40 halves. I spotted one silver in there as she counted them. So far so good. I picked up $200 in CWRs at yet another branch and a handful of loose halves. Unfortunately I didn't have to time to sort so all of those halves sat in a bag at home all week.

On the way home from work today I decided to stop at a few branches to get some more rolls of halves to go along with that bag at home that I have been thinking about all week. One branch has $210 in CWRs so I took all of those. A couple of other branches had a few rolls too. The rolls from today plus that bag sitting at home came to a bit over $500 in halves to search. I was all set this evening to dig in and start pulling out silver. No such luck. The three 40% silver halves that I spotted from the loose coins on Saturday were the only silver ones in the whole batch. And it gets even worse. That batch of $210 CWRs I got today had 20 rolls with only 19 coins in them and one roll with just 17 coins in it. Ouch!

Getting skunked on the CWRs and then getting shorted too sure was a let down. But I am happy that at least one of our members here pulled off a big silver score searching halves today. I'll keep plugging away until its my turn again for finding some good stuff like that.

[beauanderos]

you should return to the branch (if you can remember which one) that you received the shorted rolls from and explain to the branch manager what happened. Not so that they could replace the missing coins (they won't) but so that they can be on the watch for the next time they come back and try it again (which they will, thinking they got away with it) and count the coins in the rolls if they spot that individual. Shorting like that was intentional and is criminal fraud.

[SilverDragon72]

You were shorted rolls? I believe we know someone who is familiar with the practice....

[TwoAndAHalfCents]

you should return to the branch (if you can remember which one) that you received the shorted rolls from and explain to the branch manager what happened. Not so that they could replace the missing coins (they won't) but so that they can be on the watch for the next time they come back and try it again (which they will, thinking they got away with it) and count the coins in the rolls if they spot that individual. Shorting like that was intentional and is criminal fraud.

Yep. I already have that planned for Monday. Another branch up the road from them had a few rolls in the vault on Friday that they couldn't get for me since the vault teller was gone for the day. I'll be going there on Monday to get those rolls. If they are marked the same as the batch from Friday I will definitely open them up right there on the spot. Maybe they can track down who the culprit is.

[TwoAndAHalfCents]

I talked to the branch manager Monday about all of the short rolls and he said there is a guy who comes in regularly to deposit rolls of halves. Maybe they will catch him trying to short them next time he comes in with a batch.

The other branch up the road also had $180 of rolled halves with the same markings as those at the branch where I was shorted on Friday. I told the teller my story and asked him to open up and count the number of coins in some of the rolls. The first roll wasn't short but then one after another only had 19 coins inside. Needless to say I didn't buy up that batch. I'll let the bank keep them and confront the customer who had dropped them off. He regularly drops off batches of marked rolls at this branch too.

With the batch of halves being stored in the vault and the vault teller ending her shift just before I could make it to that second branch after work, it took a few visits and leaving messages with the tellers before I finally got to even see this batch today. Then it turned out to be another batch of short rolls. The teller felt so bad that I had to go through all that trouble and didn't even get any halves to sort so he took down my name and number and told me he would call next time another customer brings in some rolls of halves. This is the same branch that I stopped at in January and picked up a roll that a little old lady brought in that had several silver including two barber halves. I sure hope she shows up at the branch again soon with more rolls.

[OtusLotus]

Seems like this guy is buying a bunch of boxes, searching them, and then replacing the coins (minus the silver ones) back in the same wrappers, then marking the rolls to make sure he doesn't research his rolls again.

If I were you, I would try and find a different source of halves.

[beauanderos]

I talked to the branch manager Monday about all of the short rolls and he said there is a guy who comes in regularly to deposit rolls of halves. Maybe they will catch him trying to short them next time he comes in with a batch.

The other branch up the road also had $180 of rolled halves with the same markings as those at the branch where I was shorted on Friday. I told the teller my story and asked him to open up and count the number of coins in some of the rolls. The first roll wasn't short but then one after another only had 19 coins inside. Needless to say I didn't buy up that batch. I'll let the bank keep them and confront the customer who had dropped them off. He regularly drops off batches of marked rolls at this branch too.

With the batch of halves being stored in the vault and the vault teller ending her shift just before I could make it to that second branch after work, it took a few visits and leaving messages with the tellers before I finally got to even see this batch today. Then it turned out to be another batch of short rolls. The teller felt so bad that I had to go through all that trouble and didn't even get any halves to sort so he took down my name and number and told me he would call next time another customer brings in some rolls of halves. This is the same branch that I stopped at in January and picked up a roll that a little old lady brought in that had several silver including two barber halves. I sure hope she shows up at the branch again soon with more rolls.

Is there any way that you could get the branch manager at the second bank this happened at to call your branch and confirm your story? Maybe you can get compensated somehow after all. At the least, they should show their gratitude in some measure by your preventing them from accepting any more short rolls from the same source, now that their radar is up.

[TwoAndAHalfCents]

The manager at the second branch called me on Friday to tell me that they had set aside $200 in rolls from a box of halves that came in. I picked those up but have not searched them yet. The vault teller said that someone else comes in regularly searching for halves and ordered a box. I'm wondering if the guy that has been dumping short rolls is also ordering boxes from the same branch. Wouldn't it be funny if he came in for his weekly pickup to find 20 rolls in the box swapped out for 20 short rolls bearing his personal mark.