Tylertut said:
The past week I've gone through about 10 boxes of pennies, only working with fifty dollars.
I think today I might drive around and try to find some loose or rolled halves at nearby banks.
However, I will have close to 500 next week, and I can't decide on 2 boxes of dimes and a few boxes of pennies, or a box of halves and the same pennies.
So my question is: lately, which has been producing more.
I don't want to get discouraged with my first silver hunt.
"Which will produce more?" is one of those CRH questions that can't be answered. Every area is different. Different banks on the same street can somewhat consistently produce wildly different results for that matter. There is no way to find out what the banks in your area might produce, or which denomination of coin produces better other than getting out there and finding out for yourself.
Basically as CRHers, we are looking for collectible/silver coins that have somehow found their way back into general circulation. There may be a few floating around out there that have never been out of circulation, but I'm guessing that number is so low its insignificant, with the possible exception of late date wheaties and pre-1960 Jefferson nickels (if you even consider those as collectible). Those coins either get cashed in for face value at banks, or spent for face value in some retail establishment and eventually make it to a bank somewhere. Asking other CRHers what/where those coins will be is a bit like asking what the winning powerball numbers will be. We have no idea, and even if we somehow did, we likely wouldn't share that info. Would you?
Generally speaking (your results may vary tremendously), if you are the type of CRHer that absolutely hates to "skunk", stick with pennies. I would venture to say that a box of cents is the least likely to be a "skunk" as any denomination out there, but even that can and does happen. If you're looking to amass as much silver as possible, then in my opinion, stick with halves - although you will likely skunk OFTEN. In most areas, dimes will usually produce more consistently than halves, but due to the size difference in the coins themselves, over the long haul you'll likely end up with more silver searching halves than dimes, but will likely have to endure longer periods of finding little to nothing. 20+ skunk boxes of halves in a row is not that uncommon to some CRHers that post on this forum. My first 11 boxes produced exactly 1 40% silver half. Quarters are the hardest denomination, statistically speaking, in which to find silver.
Again, I am speaking in generalities here. You may live in an area into which a MASSIVE CRHer dumps his rejects, in which case your odds of finding much in the denomination(s) that he/she dumps goes way down. Halves may never produce much at "your" banks. Or dimes. Or pennies. Or, you may live in an area where you have very little competition. All denominations may produce above average in your area...or all below average. You might go to a bank today, buy 10 rolls of quarters, and every single quarter will be silver. You might buy 10 rolls of quarters every day for the rest of your life and never find a silver quarter. There are no absolutes or guarantees in this hobby, and there is absolutely no way in which to predict where the good stuff will show up. You just have to get out there and find out for yourself. The only guarantee is that the more volume you search, the better chance you have at finding what you're looking for.
If I had $500 to spend CRHing and I was looking for silver, I would buy every half dollar I could find. If I ran out of banks and had money left over, I would use the remainder of my cash to buy dimes. But, thats me. You may find that you'd rather spend your time searching some other denomination(s).
Best of luck!
