How do I handle this situation??? Opinions and advice needed, please!!

[clovis97]

I ordered my first box of halves last week from our primary bank.

This is a small town bank with 8 branches in the county. We've been banking there for many years, as did my parents. This is the kind of bank that you can solve a problem with a simple phone call, and many of the tellers know us by name.

My plan was to order from the main office branch, and dump at the other branch we normally visit. The branch I normally visit never has halves, and have always said "I wish we could get some. Customers just love getting them." (I believe they are being honest and genuine when they say this.)

I called this afternoon (pronounced "s'afternoon" if you live in Indiana) and the college boy teller told me that my box was in. I just about raced down there to get the box.

"It's in the vault. Let me get 'er for ya" said the teller.

After a five minute wait, and a private discussion among all the tellers, the college boy teller sheepishly came back to the window with a bag containing 25 Brinks rolls of halves.

"Looks like the other branch took half of your box. Sorry 'bout that" he said. "You can go up there and get them if you want. Jus' tell 'em you want 'em" he replied, with the look on his face of "Oh, crapola. We screwed up. I hope this guy doesn't scream at me."

I left politely and happily, without any fuss about the situation, and DD and I opened 25 rolls when I got home. We found four 40%. I am very happy with these finds...I expected a complete skunk!

I'm not sure what to do.

I don't know if I should go in and ask for the rest of the box...or just let it be. Those four 40% are a real find for me.

They have also messed up my dumping plans. I honestly think that I would have been a real hero to them by depositing/dumping $250 worth of clad at a time. I think their customers are looking for silver, but from what I can tell, not one teller at that branch would know an old coin if it hit them in the head.

How would you handle this situation? What would you do??

Let the rolls go and still use the place as a dumping ground, or go politely ask for the rest of my box?

 

[engine 823]

First thing first don't use the same bank to dump your coin. Not even another branch in the county. It may work for awhile but the coin you dump will eventually go to the main branch then they won't want to order coins for you if they have halves in the vault.Plus it is just not a good practice

 

[clovis97]

Okay...I'll figure out another way to dump this. I knew that the first cardinal rule of CRH was not to dump at the same bank, but I didn't know that branches counted.

Learning as I go....

 

[Kantuckkeean]

I'd tell the second branch that you're a collector, and that you're trying to complete a book of different dates and mints of Kennedy half dollars that are in really good condition. Tell them that you've gone through the ones that you went through, and that you'd like to trade them for the ones that they have.

I'll second what the other fella from Kentucky said. You shouldn't dump into another branch of the same bank. The employees at both branches are certainly in contact with each other. You should open an account at another bank, specifically for dumping.

Kindest regards,
Kantuck

 

[clovis97]

Thank you for the replies and the PM's!!!!

First, please let me clear sumpin' up, if I may. I wasn't planning on dumping all my halves on that branch, or to use them as my only dumping source. I was just hoping to dump enough, maybe $250, at the most, on them, and only doing that maybe once or twice a year. I suspect those would go really fast due to all the conversations I've had with them over the past years. I realize now that would have been a mistake.

With the remaining $250 I would have...those would be easy to dump at a few retailers I know, who also are very interested in having halves on hand for change. After today, I also know that it is easy to spend halves on every day stuff.

For instance, I spent $5 in halves at Wendy's, and I thought the 23 year old woman behind me was going to wet herself knowing I was spending "old silver dollars" for a lunch. I spent another $10 worth at the gas station, and the woman didn't even count them. She literally raked them into her drawer, closed it as fast as she could, and thanked me, as if she had pulled some sort of magician's trick!!! I even saw that those clad halves had fallen into the bill slots during her speed to gather them up. I have laughed several times today over these instances!!!!

I'm just trying to learn this as I go, and not to make any rookie mistakes that would ruin for everyone. (I am a polite and conservative person that is respectful of other people.)

With all that said, my plan is to visit that branch tomorrow and buy as many rolls as I can get.

I'll figure out the dumping stuff later.

 

[silvercop]

i am from a small town too. let me tell you that the tellers all talk. they have their own social circles and word will get around if you dump in your hometown. another thing-where i am from the tellers rotate between branches so if you pick up at one branch and dump in another you might run into the same people sooner or later on both ends and this really tends to chap them real good.
the dumping is the hard part of this hobby. really hard if you do alot of volume. if you dump more than 2K-3K a week on any one bank they will balk sooner or later.

 

[clovis97]

i am from a small town too. let me tell you that the tellers all talk. they have their own social circles and word will get around if you dump in your hometown. another thing-where i am from the tellers rotate between branches so if you pick up at one branch and dump in another you might run into the same people sooner or later on both ends and this really tends to chap them real good.
the dumping is the hard part of this hobby. really hard if you do alot of volume. if you dump more than 2K-3K a week on any one bank they will balk sooner or later.

That is great advice!!! Thank you for sharing!!!!

FWIW, I don't think I'll ever be a Rich Hartford or Mojo. I'm just interested in doing this casually. I've been pondering the possibilities of dumping...hold onto your hat...a whopping $1,000 a month in halves.

For instance, at the rate I'm going, it will take me a year to do a box of dimes. I just ask for 2 or 3 rolls once or twice a week. They are super easy to dump that way at another bank.

Again, thank you for the replies!!! They are appreciated!!!!

 

[clovis97]

As an update:

I went to the branch that took half of my box of halves. At each teller window, they had signs up stating "We have .50 pieces and new Presidential dollars available, by the roll. One roll of .50 is $10."

While not the end of the world, I couldn't believe my eyes.

I bought the last $100 worth of halves that the bank had. The head teller acted like she was doing me some sort of huge favor by letting me have them. Maybe I ought to buy lunch for the next week and have dozens of roses sent to the teller staff as payment in kind for her stroll to the vault.

I'm still not sure how I feel. Again, it isn't the end of the world, and there is tons of silver still out there. I'm still a little ticked that the head teller took, without asking, half my box of halves. It is probably just the history I've had with the head teller over the past 7 years or more, and the history I had with her at another bank before that. She's the type that is quick to say "no, we don't do that here" before you even finish your question....even though that bank has said 'yes' to the same request for years.

At any rate, we searched $350 in halves, and found seven 40%.

Again, thanks for the help and ideas in this situation!!!!