Monstarules
Full Member
Coinstar finds from yesterday. Holy cow, 18 Ikes. I had no clue how common they were until yesterday. I also was witness to another collector finding a few nice wheats, a 1943 in fantastic condition, and a 1940-S, also in fantastic condition. Good hunting!
The inspector himself came by to inspect the finds. He likes coins. I have no clue why. They say your cat acts like you and vice versa.
Ike Dollar Coin (x18)
Wheat penny (x1) 1919-D
Canadian Penny (x1) 1963
Silver Washington (x1) 1962
Now for the big question: So...how do I actually do this? I map out all of the Coinstar machines on my way to wherever I have to drive when I am going on a longer drive. To give you an idea, I stopped by 10-15 places yesterday. I usually scope out the stores too when I get there. If it's too busy, the employees will be crabby. If it isn't, they'll be amiable. So here's my big secret, and my method to getting to the dirt cup. So a fellow member, Turbo21, mentioned that dropping an Ike in the machine would be a good way to go. However, I thought about this. Since the store employees don't remember every face immediately, and they literally have no clue when Coinstar comes to clean out the machine, just the idea of lost coins in the machine will usually get them to come and open it. Here are the steps I follow:
If you WANT to be straightforward
1) Approach the customer service desk, say you are a coin collecter, explain how the machine works, and that the dirt cup are culled rejects. Ask politely, if it is of no disservice to the employee, to open the machine. Remind them that they are REJECTS and that Coinstar, and fellow employees, usually throw that entire dirt cup's contents out. They are culled objects, and are mostly trash. Sometimes people drop interesting coins into the machines and because they are foreign, old, silver or weigh weird, they are tossed into the dirt cup or reject tray.
If you DO know them
1) Hi, name, mind opening the Coinstar for me?
* If it isn't one of your friends who will do it without question, you can say "It happened again, I think I may have coins that didn't get counted and ended up in the dirt cup"
If you DON'T know them
1) Anxiously search around the machine. Option B: Breeze up to the machine. Drop an Ike into the machine.
2) Walk to the customer service desk
3) Proceed to say one of the following lines:
- "Hi! My little sister decided to get mad at me and throw my dollar coin collection through the machine. They should be in an internal reject chute. May you please open the machine for me, if it is of no disservice to you?"
- "I accidentally dropped big dollar coins into the machine. I called Coinstar and they said that you could open the machine and empty the dirt cup for me, and that is probably where the coins are"
- "Hello! I am a coin collector of sorts...and my kids threw some of the coins into the machine. I got the regular rejects back, but I know of an internal reject chute called a "Dirt cup" where heavier coins or coins that don't get sorted go. Mind opening the machine for me?"
- "Hi, I used the machine earlier and I think I may have been shorted. I checked the reject chute, and I was unable to locate anything. I called Coinstar and they said there is an internal "Dirt cup" and that is where the coins should be"
- "I used this machine a few days ago and I realized someone/wife/kids/mom/sister/brother may have mixed my coins from my collection, and my change together. I don't know how often Coinstar cleans the machine. However there is an internal reject, and I believe my coins might be there. Please, may I check the internal reject for my coins?"
If you dropped in an Ike:
- "The machine just ate a few coins I was testing in it to see if they were accepted. I called Coinstar and they said it would be in the dirt cup, inside the machine. They said you would be able to give me the contents of the dirt cup."
4) There are a few outcomes to the response:
A. Yes sir/ma'am, I will be right with you!
B. It might be a minute, I can go grab a person for you to do that however!
C. I have no clue what you're talking about, I'll grab my manager for you.
D. You need to talk to the manager, sir.
E. We aren't allowed to do that.
5. If A-D, the machine will be opened for you, possibly with a little more explanation, and lobbying. If E, you are dealing with an uninformed person. Explain that the machine rejects anything that doesn't go into the mechanism, and you called Coinstar already.
6. They open the machine, and usually give you the contents of the dirt cup, and what is on the floor. Sometimes they will question you, and you can choose how to respond accordingly. One time I just up front told the person: "Look I'm a coin collector, and these are rejected items you normally just throw in the trash. You have absolutely no reason to fear to refuse any customer access to the dirt cup. It's called a dirt cup for a reason. It usually collects well, trash." That usually doesn't happen, but it sometimes might. If you are really lucky, they might even let you look into the plastic jug that the servicemen dump coins off the floor and from the dirt cup into. If you're lucky.
There are cases of absoulte refusal and plain uh...stupidity. Yesterday, a lady literally said "Nope they aren't yours" and dumped the entire contents of the dirt cup right into the money box. She says she does it all the time and has no clue why the machine breaks several times a week.
IT also goes without saying, that you should probably wait until a guy services the machine again (Which is about 2 weeks) before returning to the same store.
The inspector himself came by to inspect the finds. He likes coins. I have no clue why. They say your cat acts like you and vice versa.
Ike Dollar Coin (x18)
Wheat penny (x1) 1919-D
Canadian Penny (x1) 1963
Silver Washington (x1) 1962
Now for the big question: So...how do I actually do this? I map out all of the Coinstar machines on my way to wherever I have to drive when I am going on a longer drive. To give you an idea, I stopped by 10-15 places yesterday. I usually scope out the stores too when I get there. If it's too busy, the employees will be crabby. If it isn't, they'll be amiable. So here's my big secret, and my method to getting to the dirt cup. So a fellow member, Turbo21, mentioned that dropping an Ike in the machine would be a good way to go. However, I thought about this. Since the store employees don't remember every face immediately, and they literally have no clue when Coinstar comes to clean out the machine, just the idea of lost coins in the machine will usually get them to come and open it. Here are the steps I follow:
If you WANT to be straightforward
1) Approach the customer service desk, say you are a coin collecter, explain how the machine works, and that the dirt cup are culled rejects. Ask politely, if it is of no disservice to the employee, to open the machine. Remind them that they are REJECTS and that Coinstar, and fellow employees, usually throw that entire dirt cup's contents out. They are culled objects, and are mostly trash. Sometimes people drop interesting coins into the machines and because they are foreign, old, silver or weigh weird, they are tossed into the dirt cup or reject tray.
If you DO know them
1) Hi, name, mind opening the Coinstar for me?
* If it isn't one of your friends who will do it without question, you can say "It happened again, I think I may have coins that didn't get counted and ended up in the dirt cup"
If you DON'T know them
1) Anxiously search around the machine. Option B: Breeze up to the machine. Drop an Ike into the machine.
2) Walk to the customer service desk
3) Proceed to say one of the following lines:
- "Hi! My little sister decided to get mad at me and throw my dollar coin collection through the machine. They should be in an internal reject chute. May you please open the machine for me, if it is of no disservice to you?"
- "I accidentally dropped big dollar coins into the machine. I called Coinstar and they said that you could open the machine and empty the dirt cup for me, and that is probably where the coins are"
- "Hello! I am a coin collector of sorts...and my kids threw some of the coins into the machine. I got the regular rejects back, but I know of an internal reject chute called a "Dirt cup" where heavier coins or coins that don't get sorted go. Mind opening the machine for me?"
- "Hi, I used the machine earlier and I think I may have been shorted. I checked the reject chute, and I was unable to locate anything. I called Coinstar and they said there is an internal "Dirt cup" and that is where the coins should be"
- "I used this machine a few days ago and I realized someone/wife/kids/mom/sister/brother may have mixed my coins from my collection, and my change together. I don't know how often Coinstar cleans the machine. However there is an internal reject, and I believe my coins might be there. Please, may I check the internal reject for my coins?"
If you dropped in an Ike:
- "The machine just ate a few coins I was testing in it to see if they were accepted. I called Coinstar and they said it would be in the dirt cup, inside the machine. They said you would be able to give me the contents of the dirt cup."
4) There are a few outcomes to the response:
A. Yes sir/ma'am, I will be right with you!
B. It might be a minute, I can go grab a person for you to do that however!
C. I have no clue what you're talking about, I'll grab my manager for you.
D. You need to talk to the manager, sir.
E. We aren't allowed to do that.
5. If A-D, the machine will be opened for you, possibly with a little more explanation, and lobbying. If E, you are dealing with an uninformed person. Explain that the machine rejects anything that doesn't go into the mechanism, and you called Coinstar already.
6. They open the machine, and usually give you the contents of the dirt cup, and what is on the floor. Sometimes they will question you, and you can choose how to respond accordingly. One time I just up front told the person: "Look I'm a coin collector, and these are rejected items you normally just throw in the trash. You have absolutely no reason to fear to refuse any customer access to the dirt cup. It's called a dirt cup for a reason. It usually collects well, trash." That usually doesn't happen, but it sometimes might. If you are really lucky, they might even let you look into the plastic jug that the servicemen dump coins off the floor and from the dirt cup into. If you're lucky.
There are cases of absoulte refusal and plain uh...stupidity. Yesterday, a lady literally said "Nope they aren't yours" and dumped the entire contents of the dirt cup right into the money box. She says she does it all the time and has no clue why the machine breaks several times a week.
IT also goes without saying, that you should probably wait until a guy services the machine again (Which is about 2 weeks) before returning to the same store.
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