Nosey cop/guard at my dump bank

[Cu Penny Hoarder]

Not going to mention which bank it is (rhymes with Pee Pee Bank), but they have the fastest coin counter I have ever used... the bags tend to fill up quickly, but I love it.

While I was dumping about $150 worth of zincs today, some city cop (acting as a bank security guard) asks me: "Do you have an account here?". I said "yes". Why this cop (who works for the city) would ask me if I have an account at this bank is beyond me. Anyway, he comes closer to me and asked me: "Are those all pennies?", I said "yes". He then said: "If there are any wheaties in there I will buy them from you... they are worth a little more than normal pennies". I said "Really, thank you, but there are not any wheaties in this bucket". So he then says: "Oh I see, you are removing the wheat pennies and returning the rest". I said "yes, it's my hobby". I was not about to tell him anything about copper or anything else.

Did you guys ever have any other bank employee or guard ask you invasive questions about what you are doing? If so, how do you handle it? I always get a little aggravated because IMO, it's none of their business what I am doing.

[Rodebaugh]

Stay cool and be friendly........you'll catch more flies with honey than vinegar.

[Lemon Thrower]

that would piss me off but sometimes playing dumb is your best route.

tell him something like yeah, i heard they are worth 2 cents each - i would love to buy yours from you. I aslo like old silver coins - i understand those are worth double too.

[NHsorter]

Yeah, probably nothing to this. He probably is into coins himself. If I was a cop on detail at a bank I would have a hard time staying away from the change counter. Heck, if someone is ahead of me in line I usually can't help but to ask them if they have any old coins that they are returning. Those details must be sooo boring!

Still... if it was me, when he asked about the wheaties, I think I would have just smiled and told him that I would keep an eye out for some. It would not be a lie, I am always scanning for a wheat that I might have missed as I am feeding the machines.

[Morsecode]

Sounds like just a bored cop on a boring bank detail. If he seemed to be nosy it's only because they can't help it...it's what they do all day on the street. Be nice. Maybe next time you can get him to help you lug your bags from the car.

[schockergd]

A cop in my area from what I hear is the biggest coin collector in my county.

I think he was trying to be friendly and maybe came off wrong. I don't know about you but in my eyes it's a good thing to network with other coin collectors

[hobo finds]

could have been interested in what you were dumping, maybe someone had a large amount of mixed coins stolen from them. Just doing his job I guess...

[Cu Penny Hoarder]

Thanks for the comments. Maybe I was not "nice", but I was cordial with him. I'm having one of those days where I did not feel like explaining or being questioned. I guess a 2 gallon bucket of pennies does tend to raise some questions.

It won't be long until the government extends the patriot act that labels Cu hoarders as terrorists.

[Morsecode]

Now that is entirely possible.

Then we'll have to fence zincs for less than face just to get rid of them.

[AGgressive Metal]

He's probably a Realcent member looking for a deal LOL

[SoFa]

He's probably a Realcent member looking for a deal LOL

LOL. There should be a special secret sign for RealCent members to identify each other at the dump banks.

[OtusLotus]

The answer is this....

The reason why the cop was asking you if you had an account at TD Bank, was because the bank charges 6% to everyone that does NOT have an account at the bank! Since they started charging the 6% about 1 year ago, it is common practice for the employees to come over and ask you if you have an account, and if you don't, then they let you know of the charge BEFORE you dump in your change!

As for him asking you about the wheaties, well, he is just a guy that probably looks thru his change, and saves all of his wheats, and wanted to let you know that some pennies are worth more than others.

If you would have just taken two seconds, and appreciated what that cop said to you, you probably would have thanked him for not only knowing that, but letting you know how you can collect something that might be worth 3x as much instantaneously. Instead you came off like a pompous a*******!

One of the things about this site is that we try and inform each other, as well as non-members, to help them better understand the world in which we live and the collectability of copper pennies, nickels, silver, etc... and to act that way, IMO was totally uncalled for, since he was doing his job, and was a collector trying to inform you about wheat pennies..

The next time I went into that bank, I would give that guard a wheat penny, and say thanks for letting me know, I found this one the other day. It doesn't have to anything special... one day that cop might just let you out of speeding ticket!

[Thogey]

Damn dude, back off just a tad. I don't think the OP deserves a down dressing like this.

I doesn't sound like he was rude or put off at all. He just did not engage in a long conversation. I also keep my conversations with cops as short as possible. That behavior is far from pompous.

[uthminsta]

The next time I went into that bank, I would give that guard a wheat penny, and say thanks for letting me know, I found this one the other day.

+1 to this part. Not a bad idea...

[henrysmedford]

He's probably a Realcent member looking for a deal LOL

That has happened to us, we meet a Realcenter at the coinstar last year see http://realcent.org/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=3051&hilit=+member and later he let us use his Ryedale sorter to see if we wanted to buy one and now we own one!

[Sheikh_yer_Bu'Tay]

Damn dude, back off just a tad. I don't think the OP deserves a down dressing like this.

I doesn't sound like he was rude or put off at all. He just did not engage in a long conversation. I also keep my conversations with cops as short as possible. That behavior is far from pompous.

Nah, I would just tell him the Brinks truck rolled over a few blocks away and I helped clean up!

[Cu Penny Hoarder]

This "pompous @ss" finds your response totally unnecessary and completely ridiculous. Oh well, I guess you can't please everyone.

The answer is this....

The reason why the cop was asking you if you had an account at TD Bank, was because the bank charges 6% to everyone that does NOT have an account at the bank! Since they started charging the 6% about 1 year ago, it is common practice for the employees to come over and ask you if you have an account, and if you don't, then they let you know of the charge BEFORE you dump in your change!

As for him asking you about the wheaties, well, he is just a guy that probably looks thru his change, and saves all of his wheats, and wanted to let you know that some pennies are worth more than others.

If you would have just taken two seconds, and appreciated what that cop said to you, you probably would have thanked him for not only knowing that, but letting you know how you can collect something that might be worth 3x as much instantaneously. Instead you came off like a pompous a*******!

One of the things about this site is that we try and inform each other, as well as non-members, to help them better understand the world in which we live and the collectability of copper pennies, nickels, silver, etc... and to act that way, IMO was totally uncalled for, since he was doing his job, and was a collector trying to inform you about wheat pennies..

The next time I went into that bank, I would give that guard a wheat penny, and say thanks for letting me know, I found this one the other day. It doesn't have to anything special... one day that cop might just let you out of speeding ticket!

[shinnosuke]

To answer the original post, I would have ripped the pistol out of the cop's holster and shoved the barrel into his mouth, hopefully chipping a tooth or two, and yelled, "It's none of your flippin' bizness, pig." But, hey, that's just the way I roll.

Edited to say: I hope everybody knows I was just kidding.

[hags]

He then said: "If there are any wheaties in there I will buy them from you... they are worth a little more than normal pennies"...

....a missed opportunity....you should of replied..."oh really?.....well yeah.....there's wheat cents in there.....I have no interest in them, but would you be interested in buying the pennies at face value and then you can sort them for wheaties"....

Throw 20 or so wheaties in with your zinc rejects and sell them to your "dump cop"....no need to hassle with a dump bank.....it would easily be worth it.....

hags

[tn-dave]

He then said: "If there are any wheaties in there I will buy them from you... they are worth a little more than normal pennies"...

....a missed opportunity....you should of replied..."oh really?.....well yeah.....there's wheat cents in there.....I have no interest in them, but would you be interested in buying the pennies at face value and then you can sort them for wheaties"....

Throw 20 or so wheaties in with your zinc rejects and sell them to your "dump cop"....no need to hassle with a dump bank.....it would easily be worth it.....

hags

I do like the idea of a "dump cop" Welcome to Realcent hags

[Know Common Cents]

Mostly known by all of the tellers everywhere, but for the inquisitive ones, I tell them I'm having a big penny ante poker game at my house over the weekend. That seems to be sufficient for my usual 2-3 boxes. Doubtful the bank guard/rent-a-cop would see a problem with that.

[Lemon Thrower]

you should never assume a cop is telling you the truth.

your caution was well-earned.

assuming a cop is there to help you is so ridiculous its dangerous.

[JobIII]

Did you guys ever have any other bank employee or guard ask you invasive questions about what you are doing? If so, how do you handle it? I always get a little aggravated because IMO, it's none of their business what I am doing.

FYI - I wouldn't say patrons and bank employee's are the same. Nosey patrons you can care less about (unless they are in line to use the machine, in which case I typically end my returns to let them dump their small coin bags). Employees on the other hand, have the right to ask you questions and it pays in this hobby to be polite and honest.

If you are getting upset when people ask you questions about what you're doing; perhaps ask why am I getting upset? It may seem normal to you, but it's really quite a spectacle to return large quantities of coin. So you're returning a lot of coin and people are curious by nature, so it's not at all unusual that you may have a couple people stop by and comment. Answer in short but polite comments. Being rude to bank patron’s only paints you in a negative light which could help get you cut off from that bank. Also if you really find it that hard to be polite to total strangers who are only guilty of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, you may want to work on your people skills just a smidge

One TD bank I go to has local police stationed in the branch. It's strange almost no banks have them anymore. The bank keeps one because of the recent string of bank robberies in that area. They all seem friendly enough to me in my experiences with that branch. Also since you were returning a lot of coin, that officer was probably just going to say the machine charges you if you're not a customer.

[JobIII]

you should never assume a cop is telling you the truth.

your caution was well-earned.

assuming a cop is there to help you is so ridiculous its dangerous.

I agree with LT, assuming the police officer would perform any bank teller duties is quite ludicrous.