Are Road Trips Worth It?

MentalUnrest · Dec 18, 2010

I have seen many posts about people doing road trips and wondered if they have better luck at small town banks than the ones in big cities. Are the road trips because there are not many banks near them or is the main hope to get some halves at banks that may have been sitting there for a long time? I am in a suburb of a major city and there are hundreds of banks within 30 minutes of me, so I have no problem with the quantity, but also am sure there are many people CRH as I am and are hitting all the same banks I am so the thought of going to some small towns sounds appealing. No matter what bank I go to, all the rolls are String & Son rolls and boxes.

I was just curious if the road trips are paying off and people are finding older things they probably would not have in a big city.

favored papa · Dec 18, 2010

My wife and I love to go for drives, always have. My only challenge is doing it when banks are opened and having enough cash to get all the halves the banks have. Hit one bank 50 miles from home, It had $800.+ in old rolls. laced with silver. had to make 2 trips total was about 45 keepers. Hit another bank 20 miles out of my way 32 40%. Every Road trip I have done has paid off.

yes I love road trips.

ArkieBassMan · Dec 18, 2010

I "hit the road" because my boxes failed to produce. 50 or so boxes produced about 60 keepers, and over half of them came from 2 boxes. At least 3 out of every 4 of my boxes were skunks, and most that produced only contained 1 lone 40%er. To find silver, I have to go run it down. I enjoy the road trips, but I would much rather just order boxes if they would produce. Much easier, and much cheaper.

While my best score came from a small town (2 banks produced 12 90% and 218 40%), in general the small towns don't produce as well for me. In my experience, those "1 bank towns" usually produce nothing. In fact, almost ALL banks produce nothing. Usually 1 or 2 banks will produce the majority of the day's take. There is a much better chance of finding "that" bank in a bigger town with more banks to choose from. The more banks you hit, the better your chances.

Keep in mind that I am in a VERY rural area. A "big" town here is one with more than 4 or 5 banks.

To hit 100 banks, I'd have to hit every bank in the state! :laughing9:

Syrys · Dec 18, 2010

My advice would be to get away from the city. When I went to "the big city", one bank said I was the 3rd person that day to ask for halves, and another asked if I wanted to be put "on the list."

While my boxes are ok, they aren't great. Roadtrips are MUCH more productive for me. I almost always come home with at least a roll or 2 of silver, and sometimes much more. I seem to have the best luck in medium sized towns (5-10 banks or so), but small towns can be good too. The best thing is to find an area that isn't hit by other hunters and get friendly with all the tellers :thumbsup:

Good luck and HH!

fistfulladirt · Dec 19, 2010

I might do a road trip a couple times a year. If I break even on finds/gas I did great! It's usually no better than that for me.

gordon and tanner · Dec 19, 2010

We have never made a road trip just for coins. It is always work related. We seem to do better with coins and rolls from a teller than with boxes. It does not seem to matter if the rolls come from big towns, cities or small towns. Our biggest score came from a town of 700 with two banks. I believe a lot has to do with the amount you search and a little bit of luck. If your are not searching you are not finding. More than once I have said to my self, "I will skip that bank", then I stop and find a little bit of something.

Keep on searching.
Gordon and Tanner

Kantuckkeean · Dec 19, 2010

If it's just the silver that you're after, then the answer is: sometimes yes, sometimes no. Most times that I do a roadtrip, it takes up the entire day and around $25 or so in gas. I've taken a couple of roadtrips that netted somewhere around $2,000 in rolled and loose halves and both of those trips yielded 2 40%ers each. I've had other roadtrips that lasted most of a day and gotten nothing. Other times I've done fairly well. I think that it often depends on timing.

If you like to see the sights, then they're always worth it. I wish my wife and I had more free time, so that we could grab a few thousand and hit the road.

Kindest regards,
Kantuck

JD-GA · Dec 19, 2010

Every coin you have gotten ordering them from a bank has first sat in a banks vault and had other hands on them increasing the likely hood its been searched. If you happen to go in a bank that has recently gotten some rolls and no one knows to search them and no other people have asked for them then you just got lucky. If you are the type to get upset or depressed going into 35 banks only to hear NO at everyone of them then this isnt for you. You will put mileage and wear and tear on your car that has costs.

The good part is you should find more silver per coin searched this way. You can meet lots of new people and possibly befriend some who will keep an eye out for you again increasing your odds. My worst day i burned an entire tank of gas going 450 miles stopping in 42 banks and not finding a single silver AND having an extra $1500 to dump the next day. My best day was stopping in 2 banks and getting 195 keepers out of 300 coins. Dont ask us is it worth it. The only person who can answer that question is you.

gotgot · Dec 20, 2010

I'm, in the minority here but I think road trips solely for the purpose of hunting is a waste of time and fuel. You could spend the gas money buying .999 bullion one eagle at a time.

I also despise asking for halves or large dollars. Yes there may be some out there but considering how just I myself spread my dumps across ~25 bank/branches I can't imagine I am getting anything but someone else's dumps. I know personally people who are successes at finding silver that way so I am not saying it doesn't happen; but to me its just not worth my limited time searching someone's dumps. That's why my everyday hunting is all machine bags or boxed coin.

I will sometimes road trip if for by some miracle the following occurs: 1) I have a day off that is not a Sunday 2) My wife has not already planned something for me that day and 3) I have a reason to be in another part of the state or region. Its pretty rare. Last road trip was on a day I took off to go get a birth certificate. I hunted every bank in that city that day.

One thing I like to do on my limited road trips is "drill test wells" - I will go and buy 10 rolls pennies, 10 rolls nickles, and 10 rolls dimes. Separate each bank into a different bag etc. At mid-day I break and hunt through coin; any "test wells" that come up good, (If the Cu yield is high, the pre-60 yield on the nickles is high, or if I find silver in the dimes) I go back to that bank and buy all the change they have from pennies to halves (no small dollars) Doesn't matter if it is machine wrapped, if there is something good in the area I will strip that bank of all coin they are willing to sell. Then, haul it all home to dump and the cycle is complete

A lot of people have pointed out the side benefits of road-tripping: you can enjoy the travel, the new city, see the sights - I agree.
In fact I agree so much I would say if you have a day off and can travel by yourself or with someone special to a new city and adventure, why the heck are you spending your whole day in the bank?? For a few dollars of dirty metal? Screw that, buy your metal from the dealers, and spend the day doing something that celebrates life.

Now, back to searching filthy pennies and rerolling my halves :tongue3:

kd5txx · Dec 20, 2010

That s pretty much all I do. And I have had some really good scores too. But when I road trip I cover LOTS of banks. Best ever was last month with a score of close to 240 40% . Another produced 5 rolls of walkers and Franklins. Today I got 3 64s and 5 40% so you have to avg. Also I travel for work so company pays gas and wear and tear. I lunchtime hunt...