Hi Im a newbie! any tips on purchasing penny boxes?

[lucas1889]

I have never done any coin roll hunting before, but I love to collect and fill albums. Im thinking of purchasing a $25 penny box soon. It looks like a blast! I heard that the percentage of copper is 20-30 percent, and theres a good chance of finding wheats. Who knows, I might take up the hobby.

Any suggestions on how to go about ordering a box of pennies without looking crazy? Haha
Do you normally have to place an order for a box of coins, or do they have it in stock?
Most importantly, how do you make sure that it is all circulated, and not mint-rolled?

I want copper! not zinc!

 

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[Coinfucius]

I was where you are now at one point. Believe it or not, it's as simple as walking up to a teller at your bank and nicely asking for a box of pennies. They'll generally be very nice about it. On the off chance they're not, just politely say thanks and try another branch. Most banks have some in stock, but you can also place orders if you plan on doing it regularly. When you open the box at first, you'll know if it's all new or not. If it is all new, pick a designated branch for dumping, and just hand in the box, they're not too weird about that either. Just don't go trying to pick up more coins at your dumping branch. HH

 

[lucas1889]

Cool thanks Coinfucius. I guess there is a zero failure rate when buying coins because if the whole box is all new, its guaranteed money back.

 

[FormerTeller]

If you run into trouble finding boxes, you can always ask for rolls. Just about every bank has penny coin rolls available, customer or not.

 

[Rosco53]

Hey, welcome to CRH! I was recently in your shoes, now firmly addicted! Best advice I could give would be to talk to your bank. Find a time they're not really busy and ask the teller. Just be honest about what you're doing and see what works best for them. Be as polite as you can. I did this, found out when they swap out coins, what days are best, and their preference. My bank preferred I not do rolls or boxes, as theres a lot of paper waste, so I do bags. Obviously, your budget will affect what you can do, but thats how it worked out best here. I've been extremely fortunate enough to have a bank that is willing to help me with my addiction. The tellers know me by now, do their best not to give me coins I've done. With work, I just usually pick up/drop off once a week so as not to be too big of a nuisance. Or, vary it up. I started with just pennies, now I've done each denomination besides halves. If I dump pennies, try to only do so once a week, but can cycle through others in the mean time to avoid getting my already sorted ones. Also, if your bank has other branches, try to vary it up, or ask tellers how coin transfers work too. This way you could spread out your dumping/collecting, and not wear out a welcome at any one place. As far as simply wanting copper, over the course of my first 100,000 cents it came to about a 26% average, but varied between 15-32%, and I also recently found a bag that had 0 copper, so its kinda luck of the draw. If you REALLY only want copper, maybe look on craigslist or even ebay. Will definitely pay more for it though... Best of luck and happy hunting!

 

[srcdco]

If you get a good relationship with a specific branch, in particular the head teller, you may be able to set up an exchange. Once you get your first box, exchange it with them for another box. I do this weekly (stick to a schedule, it makes it easier for everyone). That way, you get a new box to look at each week and they don't have to order anything special, so it doesn't cost anyone anything. The bank ends up with the same amount that they started with. In my case, the teller gets rid of the ones I brought in first, so they are gone by the next week. I do 1 box of quarters, 1 box of dimes, 1 box of nickels, and 2 boxes of cents each week. I mark each roll with XX, so they know I've seen them. Initially, they thought I was strange, but after awhile they started asking what I find. The downside is when the head teller leaves, you have to work with the replacement and hope they are willing to do the exchange. I've never had a problem with that, other than trying to explain what I want to do.

Good luck,
Scott

 

[lucas1889]

Hey! thanks for good tips guys! Im going to set up an account at a bank next week that looks promising. I know I probably won't do it that frequently. Maybe start out at once a month or so. I'll make sure to be forthright and tell them what exactly I'm doing. marking the ones you look through is smart.I'll do that.

happy hunting,
-Lucas

 

[Dozer D]

If the boxes are the ones with see-through holes on top, I ask for "NO BRIGHT SHINNY SPARKLERS, PLEASE". Look for the dark & dirty coins instead. I run about 8-10 Wheaties, and only 12-18% coppers. If your bank sells bags off the machine, by all means buy the bag instead, your chances are good to get a collection dump. Your off to a good start, welcome to the TN & CRH.

 

[enamel7]

If you get a good relationship with a specific branch, in particular the head teller, you may be able to set up an exchange. Once you get your first box, exchange it with them for another box. I do this weekly (stick to a schedule, it makes it easier for everyone). That way, you get a new box to look at each week and they don't have to order anything special, so it doesn't cost anyone anything. The bank ends up with the same amount that they started with. In my case, the teller gets rid of the ones I brought in first, so they are gone by the next week. I do 1 box of quarters, 1 box of dimes, 1 box of nickels, and 2 boxes of cents each week. I mark each roll with XX, so they know I've seen them. Initially, they thought I was strange, but after awhile they started asking what I find. The downside is when the head teller leaves, you have to work with the replacement and hope they are willing to do the exchange. I've never had a problem with that, other than trying to explain what I want to do.

Good luck,
Scott

Dumping where you eat isn't a very good idea. I suggest buying from one bank and dumping at another.

 

[lucas1889]

so I ended up visiting two banks today. The first was a credit union, and the teller told me that all their rolls come directly from the fed reserve. The second had the same issue, but luckily, the teller was very nice and gathered up 13 customer rolled rolls from her coworkers and the back room.

Didn't have great luck on the copper, but got some surprisingly good wheat cents to fill my folders; 1945 plain, 1946 plain, 1953-d, 1957-s, as well as a canadian, and two extremely fine 1960 large date plain. They look like they could have originally been dumped from an uncirculated roll of 1960 penny.

can't wait to try again soon!

 

[FormerTeller]

Don't pay any attention to them when they say they get their coin "from the fed reserve." You've got just as much chance of finding old coins there as anywhere.

 

[lucas1889]

The woman actually showed me one of the half-empty boxes, and I could see that they were all 2018 rolls.

Im a bit coin-fused. So the brand new rolls are only directly from the mint, or can they be from the fed reserve?

 

[MotherOfGeeks]

I absolutely love getting customer wrapped rolls from credit unions, or community banks. I have found all 6 of my indian head pennies from one CU.

 

[enamel7]

The woman actually showed me one of the half-empty boxes, and I could see that they were all 2018 rolls.

Im a bit coin-fused. So the brand new rolls are only directly from the mint, or can they be from the fed reserve?

No. The coins are sent to the couriers and rolled. Loomis, Brinks etc. When the banks need coin they order from them.

 

[cyberdan]

so I ended up visiting two banks today. The first was a credit union, and the teller told me that all their rolls come directly from the fed reserve.

That's what they tell people but don't believe it. The federal reserve does not deliver coins in an armored car. Yes, there are Federal Reserve Banks but there are only 12 in the entire country and I feel they have more important things to do than roll coins. Brinks, Loomis et al are in the business of moving cash and coins. I once visited a smaller armored car company (to buy a bag of big dollars) one of their services was to pick up bags of coin and then process them into rolls.