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I have been coin searching for many many years, largely started/infected by HighRoller. Every Saturday I would ask the bank in Beaverton for all the coins they didnt want. They would give me anywhere from a couple to a double handfull. Every Saturday for years. Once I got a $20 gold piece. Over the course of years, I amassed a sizable box of Canadian coins --- pennies, post 1982 nickels, dimes, quarters --- heavy box. My daughter and I drove from Portland to Glacier park for a week of camping and hiking; I brought my box of Canadian coins. We went over to the Canadian side. And there we paid for EVERYthing in coin, eating and drinking far above our means. Left big tips (in coin). They even took our pennies at the grocery, politely waiting for me to stack them all up on the counter. It was a wonderful vacation, sponsored in large part by a bank in Beaverton. Just a side benefit of the coin disease.

Not as impressive as your story, but I got about $800 in Canadian coins (about $765 were quarters) and bought them at a substantial discount to the normal exchange rate, since I bought them from a local dealer. I used these to pay for a trip to Vancouver a couple months ago.

Changing the Canadian quarters into dollar bills took about three hours, but a single bank (RBC in White Rock) took them all with no special fees, even though I don't have an account with them!

Kinda curious to how you got a $20 gold piece from the bank and they let you have it

Robarons wrote:Kinda curious to how you got a $20 gold piece from the bank and they let you have it

Can only be Blissful Ignorance!

regarding the $20 gold piece, it was one of many rejected coins on their coin counting machine. Every saturday they would hand me anywhere from a couple coins to a double handfull of coins rejected on their counting machine. That one Saturday, as I was walking out, I was very aware that the handfull felt heavy. The gold coin was just another "not money" to the bank.

All this has sadly come to an end, as Wellsfargo no longer uses coin counting machines in Oregon. Only US bank, as far as I know, still uses coin counting machines in Oregon, and they no longer sell bags. So my coin sorting fetish has largely come to an end. It was fun. And I have a lot of silver (and 1 gold coin) to show for it. I sold all of my copper pennies for 10% over face to get rid of them. Over 150,000 coppers pulled by hand-sorting.

I to also miss the fact that Well Fargo doesn't use the coin counting machine. They were a great spot to get halves. Now they will order boxes for you but no luck in finding silver in those.

rainsonme wrote:regarding the $20 gold piece, it was one of many rejected coins on their coin counting machine. Every saturday they would hand me anywhere from a couple coins to a double handfull of coins rejected on their counting machine. That one Saturday, as I was walking out, I was very aware that the handfull felt heavy. The gold coin was just another "not money" to the bank.

Same thing happened to us in 2013.
See- http://realcent.org/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=22642&hilit=Gold
In shock. Franklin asked a teller have you saved any junk for me and when we got out to the car there it was 1/10 oz. More later.

Update I went by and told the teller what she gave Franklin and she said she would do it all over knowing it made his day. She said keep her name and bank off any post as people can get odd over money. She also said she has a step brother with autism who is like Franklin.



Untitled by henrysmedford, on Flickr

Untitled by henrysmedford, on Flickr