Where Have You Found Coins/Currency?

[silverflake]

Fishing down at the river dropped my worm I was trying to rig up. Bent down to get it and there was a bright shiny nickel right at my feet. Thank you very much. Got a rainbow trout in the current to boot!

[Recyclersteve]

I have to add this posting, merely because of the amount in coins that I found, namely $15.20 all on a single visit to the free vacuum area of a car wash.

Last night I found the following coins:

$2.30 in pennies (this included 30 copper pennies)
$1.10 in nickels
$5.30 in dimes
$6.50 in quarters
$15.20 TOTAL

Plus I found a five peso coin and a post-2000 Japanese 500 yen coin (currently worth $4.40 US per xe.com), along with 3 misc. tokens.

The key thing to look for, in my opinion is vacuums with the name Vacutech USA on them. These are, for the most part, easy to open and empty. Step back a bit when emptying them, or else you may get some dirt and God knows what else in your face. Some of the ones I have seen are virtually sealed shut, because they haven't been opened in so long. Also, it is a good idea to have a box to put below the vacuum waste containers so the debris and coins don't fall directly into the trash cans beneath them. One other thing- it is good to have some kind of lightweight and fairly skinny bar that you can put into the debris container to loosen things up. Sometimes they are so solid that they won't fall out unless you do some poking with a rod of some kind. The rod should be at least 3-4 feet long and no more than 1" in diameter. I have literally been to a few car washes where these vacuums appeared to have not been cleaned out for many months if not a year or more. So often times they are not getting the regular attention they deserve. Many of the coins you get will need to be put into soapy water to get the gunk off. I'd recommend wearing a mask if possible while doing this work. You can get pretty dirty.

Even though I found $15.20 this time, I'd guess a normal visit would yield perhaps $2-5.

[hobo finds]

What if the cops show up? You just tell them you are helping out to empty the dirt and debris in order to make the vacuum work better?

[cwgii]

parking lot the other day, 2 quarters and a dime

yesterday another quaorter
today a dime/

the joys of looking down , instead of up

[Recyclersteve]

What if the cops show up? You just tell them you are helping out to empty the dirt and debris in order to make the vacuum work better?

Exactly- and there is always at least one of the canisters that is sealed shut because it hasn't been opened in such a long time. So, to prove my point, I find that one first so I am prepared to show the officer in case they question me. I can always say, "Take a look at that one next to you. You look like a strong person, Mr. Officer. Try to open it. You can imagine it has been a long time since someone gave it the attention it deserves."

Now, that said, this whole process takes longer than you think. You will have a fairly heavy box full of dirt, crud and corruption. Sometimes I might even have more than one box. Once you return home, if possible, don't go through the sifting process indoors. The box might smell bad, and God knows what is in there. You will want to carefully sift through the debris with gloves and I'd recommend wearing a mask if possible. The type of mask that people with allergies wear when mowing the lawn should be just fine.

I found a syringe buried in the dirt in the box yesterday, but there was no needle, so I was very cautious about finding a loose needle in the rest of the debris and proceeded very slowly.

After sifting, you will need to clean a bunch of the coins (perhaps 20-25% of them) or they will not be accepted by your local Coinstar machine or bank. Just soaking in a little soap and water for a few hours should do the trick.

Another item to consider- when you empty the canisters, there are some coins that will miss your box and end up on the ground. Don't forget those stragglers before you leave.

The less time you are there, the better. So if you can resist the temptation of going through your box (except to discard large items such as toothbrushes and straws) while you are there, the less your chances of having to explain yourself to a police officer, etc.

Expect to find a bunch of miscellaneous items- I've found drill bits, lots of paper clips and hair pins, foreign coins, tokens, costume jewelry, etc.

[hobo finds]

Wow that's better than going thru vacuum cleaner bags when I first started scrapping I would cut open the paper bag and go thru the debris bag, the with cat box turds was bad but not as much as the one that they vacuumed up puke... after that the bags just stayed on and into the shred pile they went! LOL

[cwgii]

recycle center parking lot,,, 2 pennies

[Recyclersteve]

Found a late date Roosy dime in a payphone of all places.

Can you imagine being the poor person who has to go around and collect money from the payphones? Wouldn't you worry about your job being eliminated soon?

[cwgii]

plp ==parking lot penny

[Dr. Cadmium]

Crumpled $1 bill at the edge of a parking lot, blended in with some fallen leaves.

I will have to check the local carwash vacuum and report back my findings.

[Recyclersteve]

Found a dime on the ground near the ticket agent at the local movie theater.

[cwgii]

got a quarter in a box of liquour bottles

[hobo finds]

$.25 cents in a big plastic tote bin full of insulated wire cost me $5 so only $4.75

[Recyclersteve]

$.25 cents in a big plastic tote bin full of insulated wire cost me $5 so only $4.75

Hey hobo, if you can somehow let us know what you get for the tote and how many pounds it is, I'd really appreciate it. I want to get some idea for when I go to garage sales and surplus stores. Thanks in advance. Hopefully it isn't too much work to segregate the tote from the rest of your copper stuff that you recycle.

[silverflake]

Walking to the Lutheran church to vote today for Governor here in VA, crossed the street and on the edge of the lane, a bright, shiny 1996 quarter. Helped ease the pain of my candidate losing.

Just keep stacking.

[cwgii]

parking lot next car over from where i park.... 2 pennies and a quarter
liquour box... quarter.

dumpster bag --dime and 2 quarters.

[cwgii]

dumpster quarter on sunday

[Recyclersteve]

I've got a new place where I found something. It was only 2 cents, but in a very unusual place. I was indoors at a local McDonald's and standing at the Coke machine. There is a place just below the dispensing faucet where people pour their old drinks down the drain and so forth. Sure enough, under the grill near the drain were a couple shiny pennies. I didn't want to see them clog up the drain, so I didn't mind lifting the grate to clean it out.

[cwgii]

half a credit please....

i was at a left turn arrow, looked down at a plastic bottle and .... there was a penny beside it. just when i was going to open the door and retrieve them....... the light went green....grrrrrrrrrr

[Recyclersteve]

half a credit please....

i was at a left turn arrow, looked down at a plastic bottle and .... there was a penny beside it. just when i was going to open the door and retrieve them....... the light went green....grrrrrrrrrr

Good think you didn't get out of the car. I wouldn't want some coroner to have to write: "Cause of death: Recycling and being frugal."

[cwgii]

the other half of a credit.................

penny under the urinal at one of my bars//////// aint touching that coin , even with gloves.

[hobo finds]

the other half of a credit.................

penny under the urinal at one of my bars//////// aint touching that coin , even with gloves.

When we were 21 we went to a bar and there was a bunch of cents in a urinal I am thinking close to 50 (not sure as I did not take them!) But around last call they were gone

[silverflake]

Went to my Moms for a visit this past weekend. She always lets me go through her red solo cup of coins where she throws her change. I take the copper cents but this week I found a 1946 Roosevelt dime! Woo hoo! Yes, I told her it was silver. She said "keep it.". Moms...gotta love 'em.

Keep stacking.

[Recyclersteve]

the other half of a credit.................

penny under the urinal at one of my bars//////// aint touching that coin , even with gloves.

When we were 21 we went to a bar and there was a bunch of cents in a urinal I am thinking close to 50 (not sure as I did not take them!) But around last call they were gone

Now, tell the truth, if you saw an Indian Head in nice shape in the urinal, would you pull it out? Ok, now what if you could see the date said 1877?

Reminds me of the old line from a guy who goes into a bar and approaches an attractive lady. He asks her "Would you sleep with me for $1 million?" She replies, "Sure." To which he says, "How about $1.99?" To which she says "What do you think I am?" Then he replies, "We've already established that. We're just dickering on price!"

[cwgii]

.25 in a beer box