Coin Star JACKPOT!! 4 Silvers & Other Cool Stuff......

[Garrett424]

I had no time to hunt today after work but I did decide to take a big bag of clad to the CoinStar machine in my neighborhood.

I accidentally mixed an old 12 gauge shell cap in the bag of coins. I'm SO glad that I did because the machine jammed. A screen came up that said that the transaction was interrupted and to ask for assistance; so I did.

I know most of the girls who work in the store. Luckily, the one who came to help is really friendly with me. We talk all the time. When she opened the machine up I looked down and saw a PILE of coins under the machine. I was practically drooling.

When I asked her what they do with all of those rejected coins, she explained that the CoinStar people take care of that; but that I was welcome to take whatever I wanted.

So, I did. I got 4 silver coins; 2 Washington quarters, 1963 & '64, a '57 Rosie, and a '45 Merc; plus a 1943 Steel Wheatie:



There was also a cool Camp David Presidential retreat button (or lapel pin or whatever) :



And then there were assorted foreign coins from all over; 1 from Aruba, 2 from Africa, a 2 Pence coin and a penny from the UK (I guess), one from Romania, a couple from India, one Asian coin with a dude with a beard on it, a DAV Honor Guard token, a(nother) Chuck E. Cheese token and a few Canadians for a total of 18 pieces. That's the best day I've had in over a week and I didn't even get dirty.



There were many more coins I couldn't reach without a broom or something so I had to walk away. I have to admit it wasn't easy.

Before I left the store I asked the girl if I could give her some cash to let me just sweep out from under that machine once in a while. She said to come back and talk when she wasn't so busy. I'm pretty sure I'll be able to work something out. She's really friendly so I have a good feeling. Either way, I made out like a bandit tonight so I'm happy.

I had a similar deal at a Food Lion store a few years back after schmoozing with a few of the girls there. They let me come in and check for silver whenever I wanted and I picked up quite a few nice coins. Then someone in management got wise and put a stop to it but it was fun while it lasted.

This is one time I'm actually happy I didn't get a chance to hunt after running into this score. I also walked away with 54.67 in cash from my clad. That's a really good day in my book.

The big question now is, although I didn't dig these coins, do they still "count" as treasure??
I'm thinkin' "hell yeah they do".......

 

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[cjon455]

wow, that's really cool *mental note, jam coinstar machine next time*

lol, awesome finds!

 

[UnderMiner]

Great score! Some fine additions to the silver pile

 

[Garrett424]

wow, that's really cool *mental note, jam coinstar machine next time*

lol, awesome finds!

You're reading my mind.

A nasty old 12 gauge shell cap does the job really well. I'm thinking about going all over town and trying this now. I would highly recommend schmoozing with the help beforehand though. You can never make too many friends.

I'm also wondering if the Camp David piece is worth anything.

I haven't dug a single silver coin yet this year and today I scored 4 BECAUSE I had no time to hunt.
Oh the irony.......

 

[basque-man]

That is way awesome! Nice saves on everything!!!

 

[sutphin]

CAMP DAVID LAPEL PIN COOLLLLLLL ....

 

[Garrett424]

CAMP DAVID LAPEL PIN COOLLLLLLL ....

I'm thinking it could be from a Secret Service agent or something. That would be kinda' cool.

Living in MD so close to D.C., there are MANY Federal workers around here. If we didn't have all of the state and federal jobs that we do here, our economy would be almost dead last in the country.

I also live only about 40 miles from Camp David. I've driven by the place many times. You can't get back into the compound of course but you can get relatively close. It's inside Catoctin Mountain State Park near Thurmont, MD. It's a really beautiful area.

 

[AugustMoose87]

So I'm still new to the coinstar game... I take it these coins were not in the the normal "reject" shoot? I've checked there and found a few Canadian coins, but it sounds like these were either inside or underneath the machine... Yea?

 

[Garrett424]

So I'm still new to the coinstar game... I take it these coins were not in the the normal "reject" shoot? I've checked there and found a few Canadian coins, but it sounds like these were either inside or underneath the machine... Yea?

Yes.
She had to open up the machine. Most were actually under it laying on the floor. When the door is opened you can see right under the front of the machine.

 

[CoinandRelicMan]

Cool synchronicity there bud ! !

Sent from my XT830C using Tapatalk

 

[Garrett424]

Cool synchronicity there bud ! !

Sent from my XT830C using Tapatalk

Ah yes. Gotta' love those synchronicities when they show up.

 

[Turbo21]

Another way to get access inside is to throw an Ike in your pile. It won't count the large dollars. And there is another reject box inside the machine. Kindly explain you put a large dollar and it didn't count it. And coin star tech support. Said to have them retrieve it. If the cashier is nice they will give you everything in the box

 

[Trezurehunter]

Great finds. Our Coinstar machine isn't that good to me. Probably because its always empty when I get there.

 

[Garrett424]

Another way to get access inside is to throw an Ike in your pile. It won't count the large dollars. And there is another reject box inside the machine. Kindly explain you put a large dollar and it didn't count it. And coin star tech support. Said to have them retrieve it. If the cashier is nice they will give you everything in the box

A fantastic idea and duly noted.
Thanks for the hot tip.

She actually dumped the internal reject box into my bag. That's where all of the foreign coins came from.

 

[srcdco]

Be careful putting things in there to jam the machine or putting Eisenhower dollars in because they aren't supposed to let you have what's in the inside reject cup. I talked to the technician about a year ago when he was fixing the machine and he told me that what goes in there, stays there. It even warns you that you might not get everything back and you won't be reimbursed for anything that the machine can't process (large dollars, jewelry, etc.). They are not supposed to give anything from that cup out. The way the machine works is that there is an interior chute that the coins go into. They pass a sensor that decides if they are good or not. Good ones go into the two bins inside the machine, rejects are sent to the external reject bin. Not all of them make it there, as they may fall out inside the machine or onto the floor under the machine. Coinstar considers those theirs, even though they were never counted and paid for. Once no more coins fit down the internal chute, if the sensor in the rotating drum still senses that something is there, it will stop and a trap door opens dropping whatever is left into the internal reject cup. You don't get that back, either. They periodically empty it and sort out what's there. Jewelry is sold for scrap (gold, silver, platinum), large dollars and other internal reject coins are cashed in, whenever possible. Copper and brass junk is scrapped. Pure junk is tossed.
If you find someone willing to open the machine and give you what's in there, it won't last long as they aren't supposed to do that. There are sensors everywhere in the machine and they have to log every time it's opened and why.

Scott

 

[thrifty76now]

Whenever I check coinstar machines they are more bare than Mother Hubbards Cupbard

 

[Turbo21]

Be careful putting things in there to jam the machine or putting Eisenhower dollars in because they aren't supposed to let you have what's in the inside reject cup. I talked to the technician about a year ago when he was fixing the machine and he told me that what goes in there, stays there. It even warns you that you might not get everything back and you won't be reimbursed for anything that the machine can't process (large dollars, jewelry, etc.). They are not supposed to give anything from that cup out. The way the machine works is that there is an interior chute that the coins go into. They pass a sensor that decides if they are good or not. Good ones go into the two bins inside the machine, rejects are sent to the external reject bin. Not all of them make it there, as they may fall out inside the machine or onto the floor under the machine. Coinstar considers those theirs, even though they were never counted and paid for. Once no more coins fit down the internal chute, if the sensor in the rotating drum still senses that something is there, it will stop and a trap door opens dropping whatever is left into the internal reject cup. You don't get that back, either. They periodically empty it and sort out what's there. Jewelry is sold for scrap (gold, silver, platinum), large dollars and other internal reject coins are cashed in, whenever possible. Copper and brass junk is scrapped. Pure junk is tossed.
If you find someone willing to open the machine and give you what's in there, it won't last long as they aren't supposed to do that. There are sensors everywhere in the machine and they have to log every time it's opened and why.

Scott

I called coin star with the number listed on the machine. And it was their tech support that told me the cashiers would retrieve it. Of course a tech doesn't want to give you what's in the cup. That's an extra bonus for him on every machine serviced. And the company never knows what was in there

 

[srcdco]

I called coin star with the number listed on the machine. And it was their tech support that told me the cashiers would retrieve it. Of course a tech doesn't want to give you what's in the cup. That's an extra bonus for him on every machine serviced. And the company never knows what was in there

That's nice of them to tell you that. That's not what the tech that was working on the machine told me. He said that once it's in the machine, it's theirs. They even had a report of stolen coins being put through one of the machines and their response was "too bad, they are ours now". I'm sure a court order could make a difference there, but by then the coins would have been processed. I'm sure that in your case, they were being nice telling you to have the cashier get it out, but they won't do it on a regular basis.

The other day, the machine was jammed, with a small total already processed. There was no one around. I pulled out the coins stuck in the input chute and went to the service desk. They opened the machine and gave me the cash that was displayed. There were coins everywhere. I asked if I could have the ones on the floor and they said those belong to Coinstar and I couldn't have any of them. She picked them all up and put them in the machine, then closed it and it went out of service.

Scott

 

[pepperj]

Nice score, the lapel pin will buy a lunch.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/US-Secret-Service-lapel-pin-Presidential-Retreat-Camp-David-/171736063743

 

[Garrett424]

That's nice of them to tell you that. That's not what the tech that was working on the machine told me. He said that once it's in the machine, it's theirs. They even had a report of stolen coins being put through one of the machines and their response was "too bad, they are ours now". I'm sure a court order could make a difference there, but by then the coins would have been processed. I'm sure that in your case, they were being nice telling you to have the cashier get it out, but they won't do it on a regular basis.

The other day, the machine was jammed, with a small total already processed. There was no one around. I pulled out the coins stuck in the input chute and went to the service desk. They opened the machine and gave me the cash that was displayed. There were coins everywhere. I asked if I could have the ones on the floor and they said those belong to Coinstar and I couldn't have any of them. She picked them all up and put them in the machine, then closed it and it went out of service.

Scott

They weren't just being nice.
An error screen on the machine itself came up with instructions to go get an employee/attendant to finish the partial transaction. It's the only way to get your cash receipt printed out.
It makes it very clear that your coins are "safe". The girl knew exactly what to do. She opened the machine and un jammed it. She told me she does it all the time.

Yes , she was "being nice" to me because we're already on friendly terms but had I not known her I still would have asked the question. It's a 50/50 shot at worst.

The real key here is to first make friends with the help. That way, you're already in a great position to get some nice coins.

Maybe Coinstar has changed their policy since your talk with the tech. I personally can't see how the coins become theirs if their machine malfunctions. I'm certain I'm not the first to think that way.

Then again, who knows what's in that agreement you have to accept before using it.