Apush: I have never asked

apush · May 1, 2012

Hello all,
School is winding down once again. Finds have been slim, but I am gaining a few ounces here and there. It is what it is . . . and even though finds are at a minimum, I don't plan to slow down . . . except posting, as the hours I am working are 75+ minimum.

Those things called "State Tests" are keep me jumping like a fool. MDing is my sanity along with CRH.

I am curious about teller trays as I find many posters that see a silver and ask for it. I have yet to see a single silver in a tray.

That being said, I am puzzled why tellers would keep "keepers" in their trays in the first place (?). I understand those who have no clue about silver . . . but those that do . . . would they not place those coins somewhere out of sight and buy them later instead of telling the customer, "Those are mine?"

Just can't get that. What am I missing?

apush

usernameerror · May 1, 2012

apush said:
That being said, I am puzzled why tellers would keep "keepers" in their trays in the first place (?). I understand those who have no clue about silver . . . but those that do . . . would they not place those coins somewhere out of sight and buy them later instead of telling the customer, "Those are mine?"

I've never worked at a bank but I'm assuming tellers must keep all their work currency in the tray for security and policy purposes. I'm sure it's better for the teller this way as well. I'm sure he/she does not want to accidentally lose any currency that he/she has put aside. It would be bad for an employee to come up short at the end of the day.

With that being said...I'm sure most tellers know of silver coins but they just don't care. It's like working at a McDonald's. Wouldn't you be sick of fast food if you had to deal with it all day?

I have a friend that works as a teller. I asked her if she had any halves. She told me she had about $2.50 in halves and they have just been sitting in her tray waiting for someone to purchase them. It's not a lot but she's sick of counting them every day and night. Just more currency for her to worry about. I told her I'll buy them off of her and any that are available in other teller's trays. She was so glad to be getting rid of them.

crhstreetwalker · May 1, 2012

usernameerror said:
I'm sure most tellers know of silver coins but they just don't care. It's like working at a McDonald's. Wouldn't you be sick of fast food if you had to deal with it all day?

If a teller knows about silver and stumbles upon a 90% coin, wouldn't they want to keep it? That is instant profit for the teller in addition to their salary. Being sick of it or not, if a teller knows about silver then that is instant free money for him or her. Of course they would keep it I would think.

Numismaniac · May 1, 2012

I can't explain it, but I've scored silver from teller trays tons of times! I've even had them tell me the coins are silver when they hand them to me including Walkers, Franklins and 1964s. I've also had them hand me 40%ers telling me I'm wasting my time because they already checked them for silver. I never pick out the silver ones though, I take them all. That usually puts me on the "good coin guy" list as they love to get rid of all the "funny money" so they don't have to count it.

I say............ Why ask why? Just take the silver!!!!

huricanesrul · May 1, 2012

as a rule.....I was told at a different branch.....if it's in their tray and u ask for it they have to give it to you ( its the property of the bank ). the first time i had this happen i asked for quarters and said '' i'll take the ones in your tray '' 2 silver quarters . '' no these their mine '' was the responce .....i did not argue because i did not know ( i did have an account because a month before i asked for halve and they had lots but would not give me any because i wasnt a member ) . the other day i walked into a bank ( no account ) and 4 silver quarters were just sitting there.....cant have these was the responce !!! I don t try to make the tellers mad because the always give me rolls / boxes without an account. but some tellers do know about silver but dont waste their time.........and sometimes they look for dates...like the 12 40% I got today from the same bank 2 weeks ago that gave me 42 40% because they werent old enough for the OTHER GUY !!! try being honest " it s an addiction ...i look for old coins and mint errors ..anything different . me and my 10 year old . " they always ask..is it worth it....i tell them know......i go through alot of coins sometimes to find 1 silver or 1 mint error worth $5....but its a hobbie that i can do with my kid. just dont say " yeah i found 3 rolls of halves last week and made $ 300 profit " thay know its silver just that its not woth their time because there isnt alot left out there and they have better things to do. its usually the older women and they give it to their grandkids.

usernameerror · May 1, 2012

This thread brings up a question I've been meaning to ask. At every bank I've been to, all the teller trays are locked underneath the counter. I've never actually walked up to a teller and seen a tray sitting in the open. Is it common for a teller tray to be out in the open? I've always thought that they were always locked away.

kimikiri · May 1, 2012

usernameerror said:
This thread brings up a question I've been meaning to ask. At every bank I've been to, all the teller trays are locked underneath the counter. I've never actually walked up to a teller and seen a tray sitting in the open. Is it common for a teller tray to be out in the open? I've always thought that they were always locked away.

Some trays you can see, others are in drawers. If I ever see something that I suspect to be silver I just ask to buy them all...

huricanesrul · May 1, 2012

loose change were they can just grab the change . rows . i've noticed in a couple banks u cant see the tray .

fistfulladirt · May 2, 2012

It's a power play and some tellers enjoy the extra attention, pure and simple. That's why they keep silver visible in their tray.

BillyOceansEleven · May 2, 2012

apush said:
I am curious about teller trays as I find many posters that see a silver and ask for it. I have yet to see a single silver in a tray.

That being said, I am puzzled why tellers would keep "keepers" in their trays in the first place (?). I understand those who have no clue about silver . . . but those that do . . . would they not place those coins somewhere out of sight and buy them later instead of telling the customer, "Those are mine?"

Just can't get that. What am I missing?

apush

When I was a teller in college, the vault teller or branch manager would do surprise audit counts on our tills. Anything that was not in your cash box, coin tray, or coin vault in rolls was not counted, so if you were holding coins off to the side you would be out of balance when they did the surprise count. However, I don't understand why the teller wouldn't just buy the coin(s) when they come in and take it out of play. That what we would do.

usernameerror said:
This thread brings up a question I've been meaning to ask. At every bank I've been to, all the teller trays are locked underneath the counter. I've never actually walked up to a teller and seen a tray sitting in the open. Is it common for a teller tray to be out in the open? I've always thought that they were always locked away.

It depends on the bank and their setup. My observation is that many tellers keep their trays in the drawer of their work station. The only exceptions to this are when the tellers are behind glass (becoming more common, at least around here) or their workstations have a side counter that goes several feet back where they can place the tray out of reach from the customer side of the front counter.

jarlbartar · May 2, 2012

Have had a few different experiences with teller trays, most of them postiive. I spotted a silver quarter in an older teller's tray and asked if I could have the "white" quarter. Her attitude immediately tightened up and she slapped the quarter down on the counter. I gave her an out and asked if she was saving it for herself, she says "No, I just figured nobody would want it." A likely story... Another time I was at an out of town branch of my CU and spotted a silver quarter and asked the teller for it. She paid no attention to my request, counted out my bills on the counter and then walked away, only to appear a few seconds later with a silver dime that she fished out of another teller tray and told me "I gave you a dime as well." SCORE!!! :thumbsup:

A few other times, I have asked for halves and been told that they don't have any, even though I can see them in the tray. I normally dont push the issue, as I want to remain fairly inconspicious at banks that I do not have accounts at.