Tips for Searching Through Rolls of Coins

[Recyclersteve]

We may have another thread somewhere that has become inactive over the years. If so, if someone can merge this with the other one, that would be great.

That said, I see lots of talk about people saying "I looked through $25 in pennies and found this or $100 in halves and found that". This thread is NOT for those kinds of posts. Rather, let's use this thread as an educational thread. Imagine if you are very old and losing your vision. You have a young friend or relative who would love to begin searching through rolls of coins, especially while they are still available from banks. You decide to help that young person become more efficient with some of your best tips. This thread is for those kinds of tips that might help others. I am doing this because I believe in paying things forward.

I've given stock tips that have literally made people millions of dollars (over $500k on a single one that 101 people traded- and that was just the ones I documented) without expecting anything in return. Occasionally I've accepted gift cards or free meals (had one Tuesday morning as a matter of fact). I say this not to brag, but to point out that I did that without any expectation of compensation. I am doing the same thing with this thread.

Here is my tip to start the thread...

I look for halves a fair amount, so I'm gonna use an example with half dollars. Let's say you go to a bank and they say they have $400-$500 or more in halves. These are rolled halves not loose items in somebody's tray or at their window. In this case I will ask for only $100 in halves and here is why. If I go through $100 in halves and don't find any silver, odds in my opinion are that the other halves wouldn't have had any either.

I will take those $100 in rolls and then do 2 things. I get a business card from the bank so I know which bank those halves came from. I may be going to 10 or more banks over the course of 1-2 hours, so I need to be organized to make this work well. I will then take 2 of the 10 rolls and open them up to see if there is any silver BEFORE LEAVING THE AREA. If no silver, I move onto the next bank. If in the 8 unopened rolls I find a bunch of silver, then I know exactly which bank I need to go back to because I am already in their parking lot or very close by.

Also, by doing this, I have preserved capital for more halves from other banks. Rather than shooting my wad and buying a box of $500 from a single bank, I am spreading out the risk, so to speak.

Another tip, if my $100 in rolls came from a bank at 1234 Main St., I will often take a single roll and write '1234' on it so I don't lose sight of where they came from.

What tips does everyone else have? I look forward to the responses this may generate.

[cwgii]

I almost always,,,sample,,,in the parking lot.
Halves are so hard to find, I take all I can afford. At any one bank.

On the pennies, I reroll some. As a couple branches, will want to,,,trade out. So that they still have inventory to give out. That said, I put magic marker ,,slashes,, so at a glance I know if someone tries to give me back my ,trade ins.

[Silver4face]

First of all, I like this thread. I will contribute now and possibly again later this week. (I do not log in every day) Anyway, here goes:

I label (magic marker) all rolls that I am returning to the banks so that I don't accidentally repurchase them. Over the years, I have seen and even accidentally purchased competitors rolls.

If you buy a few rolls of quarters to search, you should also purchase 1-2 dollars in loose quarters so that you can essentially replace anything that you find and keep out of the rolls. Of course, this tip does not apply to machine dumpers. For nickels, if you buy 5-10 rolls, then you might want to buy 5-10 loose nickels out of the tray so that you can cover anything that you keep. For large volume sorters, you might want to purchase an extra roll or two in case you are assembling a full $100 junk box.

[cwgii]

That is what,, pocket change is for. Lolol

[Lemon Thrower]

If I'm on a road trip, old banks in small out of the way places are great. They probably have a box of half dollars that have been sitting in the vault for years. That national branch in the new part of town won't have anything.

[Recyclersteve]

If I'm on a road trip, old banks in small out of the way places are great. They probably have a box of half dollars that have been sitting in the vault for years. That national branch in the new part of town won't have anything.

LOVE going to small banks in rural areas!

[Silver4face]

If I'm on a road trip, old banks in small out of the way places are great. They probably have a box of half dollars that have been sitting in the vault for years. That national branch in the new part of town won't have anything.

LOVE going to small banks in rural areas!

I did that one day about 6-7 weeks ago with very poor results. However, it has worked a few times in the past.