LooseChange wrote:Awesome tips, thanks for the advice. I bank with several institutions in my area so combining that with all of the branch options does leave me plenty of "Plan B's" for picking up coins. What I have run into is that all of my local credit union branches have coin counters so they do not get many, if any, rolled coins. They will not sell me any coins from the counters, they have to send it "striaght to the feds" they told me.
I stopped by an new CU branch Yesterday and the teller was a little apprehensive on sharing their coins. Apparently, they do not order rolled coins and have a limited supply, they only have what customers bring in, which was kind good too in that all of their full rolls are hand rolled by customers. I'm not sure that this is the case at every branch, but needless to say, I'll be stopping by a few different branches as I may be able to get a good sampling of coins from each one.
If your CU isn't keen to supply you with coin, then that may be your signal to convert it into a dump bank as opposed to a buy bank (especially if they have coin counting machines). My two current dump banks are CUs who are quite similar to yours in that they were hesitant to give me the bags off their machines. As a result, I converted them into a dump bank and they are perfectly fine with taking my dumps every time I come in.
Though I am not endorsing them, my major buy bank is Wells Fargo because they get a weekly shipment in from Brinks and are more than happy to fulfill my banking needs...usually. Their percentages are kind of mediocre (not good, not bad) but I'm okay sacrificing a little bit if it means I can get easier access to coin with little hassle. I recommend you try to find a bank that carries lots of coin on a weekly basis and one that doesn't hassle you in any way for picking up your coin.
As I said in my last post, if one suddenly decides your needs aren't worth their time, effort, or policy, then maybe consider converting them into a dump bank. The only thing you should be aware of is that some banks use the same armored car service and thus intermingling your dumps and pick-ups using banks that have the same service could mean you get some of your pre-searched zinc/clad back.
As far as a silver search goes, I think I'll go with the dimes first as it has a smaller up front cost and more availability. The last 3 branches that I contacted had only 1 loose half dollar each, so I'd have to special order a box from whichever branch I choose. I'll save up for some halves and make that call if I choose to venture down that road in the future.
Thanks again for all of your tips
I think for your purposes, dimes are indeed a good way to start because you should get a steady percentage of silvers per box (1 a box) and you will hopefully not get frustrated with skunks as you might if you had begun with half dollars.
Good luck.