CoinStar Silver and advice

pepperdawg

Hero Member
Dec 25, 2014
531
773
North-Central CT
Detector(s) used
AT-PRO; Garrett-Carrot
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Following others here - decided to start cashing in 2 years worth of clad for some silver from the local coin shop.

Started with my first run of clad at the local grocery store CoinStar. Before I started found this in the reject tray:

20170113_185844.jpg

20170113_185739.jpg

1958D... :)

But the question I have - a good amount of my coins were rejects - They have been scrubbed and soaked in soapy H20 etc.....but are still discolored etc.........I dont have a tumbler. Any other tricks to get dirty clad to pass coinstar? or am I off to Harbor Freight to invest the $40 in a tumbler? I probably have another $100 of mostly filthy clad to cash in. A lot of the clad is stained from fertilizer etc. as mentioned I have washed off all dirt etc....

Thanks for reading/thoughts in advance

HH

-C
 

Oct 5, 2014
31,886
35,424
Massachusetts
🥇 Banner finds
1
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
Garrett: AT Pro, AT Gold & Infinium; Minelab: Explorer SE, II; Simplex; Tesoro: Tejon & Outlaw; White's: V3i
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting
Nice silver score! :icon_thumright:
 

rastinirv

Hero Member
Jan 21, 2013
643
999
North Carolina
Detector(s) used
Teknetics T2 SE, Garrett Pro-Pointer
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I always check the Coinstar reject trays too. Saturday I got 64-d dime :)

My tumbler has been a great investment and I think you'll be glad you got one. And you can pay for it with the savings you'll have by rolling up your coins yourself and taking them to the bank rather than paying Coinstar! You've bent down and wetted your knee too much to let Coinstar keep 10% of your hard-earned finds.
 

kcm

Gold Member
Feb 29, 2016
5,790
7,085
NW Minnesota
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Silver uMax
Primary Interest:
Other
Did you try running any of the rejected coins through a 2nd or 3rd time?

If they're "clean but discolored", it might have to do with the optical sensor in the machine. I've never used a CoinStar, but if it doesn't cost you anything more to try, I'd try running the discards through again.
 

MackinawGirl

Full Member
Jun 10, 2011
171
308
Northern Michigan/Northern Utah
Detector(s) used
Garrett Ace400, Garrett Propointer, Lesche Digger, Garrett Waist treasure bag
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Before you buy a new tumbler go to eBay and buy one a whole lot cheaper. I find them at resale shops too but it is only about two times a year I see them.
 

against the wind

Gold Member
Jul 27, 2015
24,797
24,977
Port Allegheny, Pennsylvania
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
E-trac, Excalibur, XP Deus, & CTX 3030.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
A tumbler is an essential tool worth investing in. I would have spent countless hours trying to clean clad if I hadn't purchased one. A quick clean method is to mix some salt and vinegar with water and then tumble.
I currently roll my coins and deposit them in my account.
I opened a free account with TD Bank to use as a place to deposit clad finds and hobby related funds.
I used their "Penny Arcade Machines " (another name for Coinstar).
Some homeless guy was assisted by the legal aid society to bring a suit against a few banks with Coinstar machines. He claimed the machines were shorting him. A newspaper reporter checked out 30 machines. He deposited $300.00 in each machine. It turns out the homeless guy was right. All of the machines shorted the reporter. Some as much as 30%. (30% of $300 = $90.00). Rather than face lawsuits, TD bank removed all of their machines.
To check how accurate the machines are in your area,, deposit a pre- counted amount of coins and then check that amount against what the machine says you deposited. These machines need to be constantly recalibrated which apparently isn't happening.
 

Argentium

Gold Member
Feb 2, 2008
9,058
5,574
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Detector(s) used
Whites, MXT.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
You should be able to turn your coins into paper cash without paying for it - 10.9 percent is real rip off ! some combination of rolling or coin counter with no charge for members.
 

OP
OP
pepperdawg

pepperdawg

Hero Member
Dec 25, 2014
531
773
North-Central CT
Detector(s) used
AT-PRO; Garrett-Carrot
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
I haven't rolled coins for probably 20 years- does one need to write name or anything else on the outside of the rolls.......?
 

against the wind

Gold Member
Jul 27, 2015
24,797
24,977
Port Allegheny, Pennsylvania
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
E-trac, Excalibur, XP Deus, & CTX 3030.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I haven't rolled coins for probably 20 years- does one need to write name or anything else on the outside of the rolls.......?

The banks used to require that but the 2 banks where I deposit the rolled coins don't require it anymore.
Also, some banks charge 8%, but not if you deposit the coins. I deposit the coins and simply use the ATM to withdraw when I need to. There are also some banks that offer Senior Citizen accounts. If you're 62 or over, you pay 0% on any transactions including withdrawals. Check it out with your local banks.
 

sjvalleyhunter

Silver Member
May 5, 2014
3,716
2,172
Central California
Detector(s) used
Minelab E-Trac and Whites MXT
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
If you can find a credit union in your area to join then I suggest that you do. The one I am a member of charges zero fees for all transactions AND they have a coin counting machine in the lobby (basically a Coinstar) and don't charge any percent fee to use it. I recently had two canvas bank bags full of change that I took in. It ended up being more than $2,225! I couldn't imagine losing 10% of that as a fee simply for using a machine. Only 3 coins were rejected which I just handed to the teller.
ImageUploadedByTreasureNet.com1484593405.130156.jpg
 

Xraywolf

Silver Member
Feb 28, 2005
3,576
4,360
MI USA
Detector(s) used
Ace 400, AT Pro, equinox 800, Simplex,Vanquish 540
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Coinstar is a service, people shouldn't gripe about them charging a fee.
They obviously have a startup cost and maintenance, no one outside of a scant few credit institutions is going to provide this service out of the kindness of their hearts.

One of the criteria for change machines is weight, and its pretty exact or it will get rejected. So crud caked coins are rejected out of hand by weight alone.
 

sjvalleyhunter

Silver Member
May 5, 2014
3,716
2,172
Central California
Detector(s) used
Minelab E-Trac and Whites MXT
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Coinstar is a service, people shouldn't gripe about them charging a fee.
They obviously have a startup cost and maintenance, no one outside of a scant few credit institutions is going to provide this service out of the kindness of their hearts.

One of the criteria for change machines is weight, and its pretty exact or it will get rejected. So crud caked coins are rejected out of hand by weight alone.

In this great country of ours anyone can provide a "service" and charge whatever they want for it. I have no problem whatsoever with that. What my gripe is in this case is that the "service" is not worth a nearly 11% charge, especially when that service is offered elsewhere for a lower or no charge.

I mean, the service they offer is this: I give a machine $20 in spendable cash and the machine gives me $18 in spendable cash. What a deal that is.

And maybe it's different where you live, but in my city a good number of banks (and credit unions) still offer free coin counting services to their members. I just don't like banks because I shouldn't have to pay a business money in the form of various fees just for them to hold my money while they are making money on my money.
 

Last edited:

fistfulladirt

Gold Member
Feb 21, 2008
12,204
4,918
Great Lakes State
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
dirtfishing
Primary Interest:
Other
Banks get their money back in the form of monthly 'maintainance' fees. I belonged to five different banks when I was roll hunting, and they all charged a minimum of $10-$15 a month in the end. I dumped 'em and went with two different credit unions, where I have no fees and I'm not only a member, but part owner.
 

Xraywolf

Silver Member
Feb 28, 2005
3,576
4,360
MI USA
Detector(s) used
Ace 400, AT Pro, equinox 800, Simplex,Vanquish 540
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
In this great country of ours anyone can provide a "service" and charge whatever they want for it. I have no problem whatsoever with that. What my gripe is in this case is that the "service" is not worth a nearly 11% charge, especially when that service is offered elsewhere for a lower or no charge.

I mean, the service they offer is this: I give a machine $20 in spendable cash and the machine gives me $18 in spendable cash. What a deal that is.

And maybe it's different where you live, but in my city a good number of banks (and credit unions) still offer free coin counting services to their members. I just don't like banks because I shouldn't have to pay a business money in the form of various fees just for them to hold my money while they are making money on my money.


Ah, but you do have a problem with it.
Thing to do, don't use machines that charge, if everyone did the same they would go out of business pronto.
But to some folks, the convenience is worth it, and thats where they make their $$.

I have a jar that holds about $100 in change, when it is full I take it in, I skim off $25 or so in quarters and use them to buy smokes or gas, that way I just saved about $2.50 for something I needed to buy anyhow. My bank [Comerica] sure doesn't offer that service. I suppose I could go fishing around for one that does, all in all not worth it just to avoid a 10.9% fee in occasional bi/tri monthly change swaps.
 

smokeythecat

Gold Member
Nov 22, 2012
20,712
40,789
Maryland
🥇 Banner finds
10
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
XP Deus II
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Nice. Sometimes they fall underneath, but it's kind of hard to remain inconspicuous getting them under there.
 

BigWaveDave

Gold Member
Nov 22, 2013
9,322
16,996
Mountain Maryland
🥇 Banner finds
2
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
4
Detector(s) used
Garrett AT Pro, AT Max, Minelab
Equinox 800
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
A tumbler is an essential tool NOT worth investing in.
Why on Gods green Earth would you spend money, to spend money?
This problem has been viciously overthought by way to many people here on Tnet for years now. Sometimes I throw up in my mouth thinking about the foolishness that people go through in order to cash in their clad.
Coinstars serve only one purpose for members of TreasureNet, and that is to scrounge random rejected coins, foreign, tokens, and the occasional silver prize if you're at the right place at the right time.
The service that coinstar provides is only to be used by old ladies, and people down on their luck who don't have the wherewithal to spend cash or use credit cards, and use loose change to buy basic necessities at a grocery store.
We, as treasure hunters, spend alot of money, and spend alot of time in this hobby....each one of us has spent 3-4 hours on a hunt, and brag to each other that amongst our finds, "also scored $2.95 in clad!"
So, why can't we spend any more time in simply wrapping those coins up in a roll?
Oh my God, it's so easy!!!
First, the banks, if you ask, will give you wrappers for FREE....yes, free.
Secondly, now this is the tough part.... take the wrappers, and put coins in them....
For you guys who play with tumblers, and donate to coinstar, here is a guide...
50 cents into a penny wrapper,...the most common. (These are the red/brown wrappers)
40 nickels... typically blue wrappers, amounts to $2...
50 dimes equals 5 dollars, green wrappers usually....
And my favorite, 40 quarters, a fat 10 bucks worth, look for the orange wrappers.

So, occasionally you will find coins that won't fit snugly, or is bent from a lawn mower, or just too crusty....don't worry about it. Where there's a will, there a way....
Finally, after you have amassed a collection of rolled coins, bring them to your bank. This is when some members get all weird and panic, don't sweat it. Wait your turn at the teller, and when your up, say "I'd like to deposit these"
Your bank account is your ticket to a smooth transaction...and if you have enough money in said account, you could even get cash money, yes, bills!!!....I know right?
So as a footnote to this endeavor, you have also provided some added benefits to society....
You have added money to our economy!.... yes, this money lost and never to be spent again, is now back in circulation! Congrats on that...also, the feds will get back all the crusty zincs, well played.
Oh, and the amusing part for me personally, is the thought of the bottom feeder CRH guys who search smaller denominations....they get a roll of brown quarters or dimes?...cracks me up at the thought of them being all WTF?

So, to quote a smart man here on Tnet, Marley230, who in post #4 stated....
"Just roll them up and take them to the bank cash them in".....great advice!
 

Top Member Reactions

Users who are viewing this thread

Top