Coinstar Hunting Tips and Tricks

[Monstarules]

Well, tonight I am doing the audit...which means I have a lot...and I MEAN A LOT...of spare time. So, being the (self proclaimed...) expert Coinstar Hunter I am...I figure I should share some of the best finds from the last 6 (in reality, I've only been doing it for about 3) months, just to give you an idea of what you might see/accomplish:


Pretty sweet, eh? How do I do this? How do I find so much? Well, I'm a rather nice person, so I figure we all should be having some fun!

The Golden Rule
Always check a Coinstar. It doesn't have to be an all points inspection, like some of us like to do on them (myself included), but checking the Coinstar can be the difference between going home with no nice coins, and going home with many neat things!

The Basics
Where to look, is often the first question. Immediately, people go to the reject chute, and of course it can produce...however, there is often more than that! Here are the areas I like to check:

1) Reject chute
2) Basket
3) Near the basket of the machine
4) On top of the machine
5) Under the machine
6) The sides of the machine
7) Tables and other raised level areas around the machine
8) The floor around the machine
9) The dirt cup
10) The "trash bucket" in the machine
11) The trash can near the machine

So, some areas here are self explanatory. However, each one will get a thorough explanation of how it can produce!

How Areas Produce

Reject chute: inside the Coinstar is this wonderful motorized contraption. It sorts coins by sizes. Whatever goes through the holes, end up then getting weighed. If it doesn't weigh right, if the coin is dirty, or if the machine is being really picky, it ends up going into the reject slot!

Basket: Sometimes, people are in a hurry and they don't thoroughly check the basket. Coins may end up stuck around the edges. People also throw rejects and junk in it too!

Around the basket: Coins often can end up scattered all over the Coinstar. People get them stuck behind the basket, they spread their trash and rejects all over the table, and they just leave them, 9/10 times.

On top: Sometimes, people just toss coins up on top. They get placed there because it is out of sight, out of mind, and saves the person from having to carry "useless" coins around.

Underneath: Sometimes people put the rejects under the machine. More often than not, they end up falling on the ground, getting kicked under the machine, or they roll under it. Coins can also fall out of the hopper, dirt tray and dirt cup onto the floor, in rare scenarios.

The sides: Similar to the floor under the machine, except it is easier to get to. Coins get stuck under the sides.

Raised, level surfaces nearby: People spread their rejects out here, to sort through them. Either that, or it's just not leaving them on the machine. Check the floor near these too.

The floor: Coins fall, bounce and roll. They can shoot out of the reject slot, they get accidentally dropped, and some people also just sweep the rejected coins off of the machine.

The dirt cup: This is the Holy Grail. The dirt cup is where "trash" that doesn't go through any of the holes for US coins fall. A trap door opens and the coins, trash and everything else falls right through. Quite neat. You can find really cool things here. However this is INSIDE of the machine.

The garbage bucket: Inside the machine, often are trash buckets, stored on the door. Sometimes people will say it is property of Coinstar, but in reality, it's just what the Coinstar guy and store employees dump the dirt cup/tray into...unless they are...strange...and dump it right into the coin boxes, or back into the hopper. Make sure to tell Coinstar if you see them doing this, it messes up their counts, and their machines.

The trash can: Sometimes people literally throw out the rejects. There is usually a small wastebasket near the Coinstar. Store employees will also dump out the dirt cup, from time to time, in said wastebasket. Wear gloves, and clean all coins with alcohol.

Advanced Steps
It's not so simple to get coins for some of the above things. This is where I will explain, even more in depth, how to get the coins.

Under the machine: It is dangerous to just swipe your fingers under the machine. People here have gotten sliced on can slaw, glass, and more while metal detecting...the same applies to the Coinstar. Use hand protection, as well as a tool, to get items out from under the machine. Either that, or check when they open the door to show you the dirt cup. Trash accumulates under the machines, and in your area, you can encounter things from glass live ammunition, knives, bursted batteries, sticky you don't even know what, to even used needles. Be careful.

Trash can: Oh god, I don't need to explain what could be in there stuck to the coin rejects. Anything from diapers, to dog crap, used condoms, used feminine products to used needles. Gloves and hand washing are requirements. Not suggesting it either.

Sides of machine: Broken glass and shards of metal may end up here. Use caution. However you are more likely to see it before you feel it.

Dirt tray: Store employees will show you the dirt tray when removing the dirt cup. My favorite find? Live rifle and pistol rounds. However, depending on your area, if they find live ammo, they may call the cops. It isn't your ammunition, but they might make you answer questions.

The Legendary Dirt Cup
Of course, it is now time...for the best place to find coins while Coinstar hunting: The dirt cup. Read above how it works. It will get a lot of things in it. Silver coins, gold coins, jewelery, and more. It will also attract bent coins, tokens, bills, and a lot of interesting things. It also will get dirt, and trash. How, pray tell, do I get to the machine? Well, I often use Coinstars, and I will say: "I think I got shorted, I called Coinstar (not a lie, I have called them before, several times, and they are okay with the store giving you the dirt cup contents) and they said there could be stuff in the dirt cup, and that you could give me anything in there since it is not counted, and only a reject slot". You can say other things too, and if your friends are working behind the counter of the Customer Service desk, it's even better. Anywho, if they are worried about getting in trouble, they might balk, but with careful explaining, and even a call to Coinstar, their fears are usually satiated. The little trash bucket inside the machine is a good spot to look too, as people will just dump willy nilly into it. However, this sometimes takes more explanation. Thank them for their time, and be on your way.

Regardless, you will find stuff no matter where you look. I saw a golden eagle, and a platinum eagle on Reddit that a guy got from the dirt cups. Go guy! Spend that cash wisely!

Any questions? I'm more than happy to answer them.

 

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[vpnavy]

..: GREAT TIPS AND TRICKS Monstarules :..
Haven't got the guts yet to ask about the Dirt Cup!
Here is my CoinStar Surfing Log!​

 

[Monstarules]

You can do it VP Navy! Just say you called Coinstar because you think you got shorted, and they said that the store can check the dirt cup for you!

 

[Tommybuckets]

very informative. I have never approached the staff but figured they have access to the innards of the coinstar. I snipe from the reject slot n trash chute. Best find- 14k gold bracelet. The live rounds are hard to fish out because they are so heavy. I haven't messed with the trash can but talking to the coinstar tech who was emptying the coins one day he said he chucks everything- gold, silver etc. He throws it all away. I had to bite my tongue. Where did you find the big silver dollars? The security guys and the cart wranglers check most coinstars I go to at least hourly so I need that leg up.

 

[Monstarules]

The dirt cup inside the machine, where they can't get to without the key.

 

[TxAg]

The dirt cup inside the machine, where they can't get to without the key.

Great tips Monstarules, thanks for sharing them! In my town, the only CoinStar machines are at the grocery stores (Walmart, HEB, & Albertsons). Do the Customer Service folks have a key to get inside the Coinstar if I try your tip on the Dirt Cup?

 

[DeepseekerADS]

I'm glad I read this thread. Thank you!

Another question: the CS folks are standing there when the machine is open. How do you handle that interaction?

 

[Turbo21]

Great tips Monstarules, thanks for sharing them! In my town, the only CoinStar machines are at the grocery stores (Walmart, HEB, & Albertsons). Do the Customer Service folks have a key to get inside the Coinstar if I try your tip on the Dirt Cup?

Yes

They all have the key to get to the dirt cup

The easiest way in is to tell the cust service rep that you put a few large dollar coins in and they weren't counted. The coinstar folks will tell you to ask the store people to check the dirt cup to see if they are there. I have never been denied access into the dirt cup with this story. ( coinstar machines don't count any large dollar coin. Including morgans and Ike's

 

[LooseChange]

Yes

They all have the key to get to the dirt cup

The easiest way in is to tell the cust service rep that you put a few large dollar coins in and they weren't counted. The coinstar folks will tell you to ask the store people to check the dirt cup to see if they are there. I have never been denied access into the dirt cup with this story. ( coinstar machines don't count any large dollar coin. Including morgans and Ike's

I would consider sacrificing a clad IKE or 2 in order to lend credibility to this strategy. I would gladly pay a $2 admission fee to get to the dirt hole.

 

[Monstarules]

Post pictures of your finds, gentlemen. This is probably my all time favorite picture of finds from a dirt cup:

Sweet finds, random guy.

 

[TxAg]

I am trying a combination of everyone's ideas tomorrow. To make it legit, I'm going to dump exactly 300 cents plus 1 crappy Ike clad into the Coinstar. I'm hoping it sends by Ike to the dirt cup and not the reject tray. Then I will tell the grocery store customer service rep that I think it ripped me off and hope I get my Ike back and everything in the dirt cup. Will let you know if it works!

 

[Monstarules]

Do it man! Do it and show us what you find!

EDIT: Bugger! I missed a question! Just gonna edit this into this reply:

So here is how to handle interactions with employees:

1) Always remind them that Coinstar says IT IS OKAY to get what is from the dirt cup. If they are still worried, call Coinstar up. If you need to call Coinstar, just say: "I got shorted on a machine in <STORE>. I've called you guys up before, and you say that sometimes the coins end up in the dirt cup. The store employee/manager is nervous that the coins have been counted", to which the CS rep will say "Oh sure, it's just a reject chute like the one on the outside".

2) Sometimes, the store people are adamant about NOT letting you get in there without Coinstar. I've called Coinstar, put the rep on speaker, he told her it was fine to open the machine, and she outright refused, and ordered them to send a technician to do it. He asked to speak to another manager, and she lost her , saying she was going to call security for trying to steal from Coinstar. The Coinstar guy said that he would make sure an e-mail got sent to the store manager involving her.

3) If they say "you can't touch the plastic bin, that's not ours" ask them to take one look at what is inside of it: mostly beat up coins, and trash. Point out that a technician literally just dumps the dirt cup's contents there. Point out that there is literally a cleaning rag in it. I know for a FACT that you are allowed to look in there. I asked Coinstar, and they said "Haha, probably gonna be trash and nasty coins, but sure, you can look through that too if you're looking for your coins".

4) It's safe to say, don't touch what you don't need. Don't touch the machines interior other than the dirt cup, tray and that jug, the employee will get nervous you are doing something bad.

5) If there is a Coinstar guy servicing the machine, innocently approach and talk to him. They love being talked to about the machines. Some of them will give you what is in the dirt cup, and jug, some will say they're afraid to do it, and some will say no. If he is worried, just say "I understand, but I have called Coinstar before. Nothing in that dirt cup is counted, and I wouldn't be stealing". It's not a white lie...literally nothing in that dirt cup gets counted.

Here are some other interactions I have had: I got laughed at by a woman, who left behind a full reject chute, who said I was acting like I was homeless. I made a point that she left behind silver coins, and several dollars of US currency. Her loss? . However, fellow coin-hunters may be your biggest issue. I can't go to one store and expect to find much because the employees routinely check the dirt cup, after I found 15 Ikes in the dirt cup. I visited once, saw the employee, and he was grinning ear to ear, showing me pictures of all the cool stuff he found. I had a cop curiously question me once, but it was more out of curiosity. Security guards are your friends, especially if you share what you find. I've been asked to stop looking under the machine by nervous employees, to which I responded: "I'm not breaking the rules, it's okay". I had one employee demand me to stop after I found coins under the machine, saying she was going to call Coinstar and say that I was stealing. I laughed, and welcomed her to. She must have been a coin collector, because every time I fished out something cool, her face got redder and she got nastier.

 

[DeepseekerADS]

I extend a very great appreciation towards you, and your sharing what you've learned. This is all new to me, and I've been trolling Coinstars for years, but never got into the dirt cup. Our local one is beside a magazine rack, so I work my way through that with no intention of buying any mags, right to the Coinstar

I lean maybe a little bit into paranoia, so my method next was an attempt to make me more aggressive in my adventure.

I had a time weeks ago here where I'd grab about $10.00 of coins from the change jar and using that excuse - towards my grocery bill at Lowe's.

But I guess I hadn't realized that Coinstar machines only paid off 90% - deducted a 10% fee. I need to read deeper into the instructions screen, but being the normal dolt I've become, the 10% fee didn't really payout in finds, but I did find things.

So, being lazy about reading the instructions, is it true Coinstar charges 10%?

 

[Monstarules]

11.2% now, actually. @TxAg tell us how it goes man! We look forward to seeing what you find! In other news, I'm about to go pick up my box of halves...keep yer eyes peeled! This town is a silver hotspot for coins!

 

[TxAg]

So today, my "Great Idea" did not meet with success. 1st stop was at Walmart where I dumped $3 in cents and 2 crappy Ikes. Sure enough the Coinstar counted the cents immediately but groaned for a minute trying to process the 2 Ikes before I finally told the machine I was finished. Then after a short while I heard the Ikes drop into the Dirt Cup inside the machine. It spits out my voucher showing the cents were all counted but zero dollars counted. I innocently told the Walmart Customer Service lady (who was eyeballing me while I was feeding coins into the machine), "the machine ate my dollars". She said it was because the machine won't take the big dollars. She called the Manager for the key and so far my plan is going like clockwork! The Customer Service lady opened it up with me to the side where I could see everything. Boy, there's a lot of guts and feathers to these machines, I wish I had the nerve to take a picture! Right away I see about 40 coins on the floor under the machine, previously hidden by the door. I commented on the coins hoping she would offer them to me but she said they were stuck to the floor (maybe from waxing the floor?). She pulled out the long Dirt Tray and it was full of dirt and lint and a small token of some kind. Then she pulled out the Dirt Cup and asked how many I was missing, I said "two" and immediately wished I had said "I'm not sure" in case there were other dollar coins in there (filed that one away for next time). She pulled out my Ikes and handed them to me. I didn't see any other coins or debris in the Dirt Cup. Somebody is keeping it clean, maybe the Coinstar tech or maybe the Customer Service lady. Then she quickly closed and locked the door before I could ask about anything else like the Trash Can. She asked if I still wanted to exchange the Ikes. They were really scratched so I said "sure" expecting her to make the exchange out of her cash register. Then she pulls 2 dollar bills out of her wallet to make the exchange. Conclusion - she's probably a coin collector /silver sniper herself. On to Albertson's (machine out of service) and HEB (Customer Service counter closed) so I am unable to try my second "throw down" bag of cents plus 2 Ikes.
After work, I hit the Albertson's and HEB machines again and now both are out of service, crap! At HEB, I see about 8 nickels jamming the feed hopper slot and manage to pull out 4 and the rest slide in. Machine still out of service, so I give up. Near my house is another HEB and the CS is operating, yay! However, my joy is short lived as I get the same outcome as at Walmart, except Customer Service guy is more friendly. My 2 Ikes are in the Dirt Cup and it has nothing else in it. A Parks quarter is in the Dirt Tray and there's 5 coins on the floor under the machine. I ask if I can have them since "they didn't get counted" and he hands them to me - all modern coins.
So I learned a lot and wonder if I will look like a jackass trying the ploy again at the same two stores. But then I get another "Great idea" - The next time I go out of town I'm trying this at every freaking CS machine I can find because the Customer Service rep will never see me again! "Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to find silver!"

 

[Monstarules]

I actually went in to one yesterday and said straight out that I was a coin collector and I was rescuing coins from the machine. I explained how the dirt cup worked, the rep smiled, nodded, made me wait 15 minutes, called me impatient when she forgot how to open the door, and let me open the machine to look thru the dirt cup. Lots of clads oh well. I did find a 1940 Panama copper quarter in the reject tray! I also found 4 MS state half dollars yesterday CRH, so not bad!

 

[TxAg]

Man Monstarules, you've got this thing down! I'd have to get my nerve up to try this! Nice find on the Panama quarter. Did the rep let you keep the clads?

 

[barneyb71]

I actually went in to one yesterday and said straight out that I was a coin collector and I was rescuing coins from the machine. I explained how the dirt cup worked, the rep smiled, nodded, made me wait 15 minutes, called me impatient when she forgot how to open the door, and let me open the machine to look thru the dirt cup. Lots of clads oh well. I did find a 1940 Panama copper quarter in the reject tray! I also found 4 MS state half dollars yesterday CRH, so not bad!

I think I'm going to try this approach at the ones closest to me to see if I can build a relationship with them first. No way I can keep pulling the "it ate my dollar" on the machines I stop at the most. I did check the top of the one machine, netted me 5 Lincoln's, thanks for that tip.

 

[Oquario79]

like ur idea TxAg... I usually get rid of Ikes I find but maybe it will be wise to keep a few and play hook line and sinker...at work I have a group of ladies that give me their pennies all the time...maybe put that to good use.

 

[Zomotion]

I've been thinking about doing what monstarules put out there with the Ike's for about a year now. Thank you for the advice and the "push" I needed to actually do it! This is a great thread btw.

So I drop in $4 in Ike's and about $10 other coin (overdid that a little). Heard the Ike's rolling around and cashed out my ticket. Went to the service desk counter and simply stated I know I dropped a few dollar coins in the coinstar but they don't show up on my ticket. Is there a way to get those back, I could hear them rolling around in the machine.

The lady grabbed another lady with access to the machine... And bingo, door is open. She pulls out the trash tray which is ridiculously filthy. She then goes for the cup... But only reaches in and grabs the 4 Ike's and a key chain ring. I didn't get to see what else was inside the cup, but it worked. I should have said is are there any more in there I wasn't sure how many I put in...

She also gave me a about .50 in change out of the trash tray. So that helped with the fee, which in my area is 11.9%.

Now to the best part. As she opened the door, I immediately saw a silver dime on the floor. I didn't go all nuts and try to grab it, but just asked after she gave me the Ike's if I could grab that dime on the floor. She says sure, and that's when she gave me the extra change too.

I didn't feel like weirdo just a guy asking for his money. Over the last 4 years or so I've netted about 30 silver dimes, a silver quarter, and plenty of US and foreign coin.... Always wondering what else was inside!

Again, thank you for the push monstarules! Now to just remember to ask for everything in the dirt cup