Question: If you mark your coins before turing them back in ...

[Ben Cartwright SASS]

I have a question for anyone who marks their coins before turning them back into the bank or dumping in a coin counter

If you get a box of halves and you see one or two enders with your mark do you just skip the entire box or that roll or do you open it anyway?

I have found silver in rolls with marked enders, just saying...

Also why do you mark your coins, especially if you're going to open the roll anyway? If you skip those rolls then I can understand but as I mentioned I have found silver with marked enders

 

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[GMan00001]

In my opinion the purpose of marking coins is to determine if you are getting some of your previously searched coins back to determine if you are truly searching mostly unique coins or just searching your own dumps. I think it is also used to determine if there is a link between where you are dumping and where you are picking up.

When I was still heavily searching coins I never marked coins, so I can't be certain of my above answer. That being said, I did do something similar that essentially accomplished the same thing without marking any coins. I kept all of a handful of low mintage common coins I found even if they were not worth more than face value. If I found any of those low mintage coins in what I was searching, I knew there was unique coins in the mix. If there was none of those low mintage coins, I likely was searching my own dumps.

For cents, for example I pulled all of the S mints, 1959, 1960 and a few others. Similar with nickels.

As I mostly edge searched anything dimes and above, I didn't employ that strategy as much with those denominations, but if date searching it would be easy to pick out a few low mintage common dates that you don't cash in when you dump and either hold on to them for awhile and cash them in in bulk or spend them around town instead of cashing them in at the bank. It essentially does the same thing without marking coins if the marks were done for the reason I guessed above.

If the marks were done for reasons similar to the "Where is George" markings on dollar bills however, my strategy no longer is applicable as those markings are for the purpose of seeing how coins move around the country, but as there is no similar website for coins, I doubt many markings are for that reason.

 

[Ben Cartwright SASS]

I use Where is George and had a bill I dropped in Boston show up in Alaska!

I am about 1/3 of the way through the bag and out of 600 coins searched so far at least 100-200 with a round dot on Kennedy's ear. I ALSO found a 1968 D 40% so not a skunk.

One thing about not wanting to search your own dumps, well my feeling is that based on how many people are searching halves and how few people use them that we are simply searching each others dumps 90% or more of the time! Once in a while someone who is not a CRHer will cash in halves which is why we still find an occasional silver - but my guess is that 90% or more of the coins we search have been searched hundreds if not thousands of times, we are hoping for the occasional customer turn in.

 

[GMan00001]

I use Where is George and had a bill I dropped in Boston show up in Alaska!

I am about 1/3 of the way through the bag and out of 600 coins searched so far at least 100-200 with a round dot on Kennedy's ear. I ALSO found a 1968 D 40% so not a skunk.

One thing about not wanting to search your own dumps, well my feeling is that based on how many people are searching halves and how few people use them that we are simply searching each others dumps 90% or more of the time! Once in a while someone who is not a CRHer will cash in halves which is why we still find an occasional silver - but my guess is that 90% or more of the coins we search have been searched hundreds if not thousands of times, we are hoping for the occasional customer turn in.

I agree that most half dollar circulation is done by CRHers only. Also realize that those marks may be decades old.

Personally, I like spending halves for fast food or for other small purchases and watching the reactions. Sometimes I have to correct people who think they are dollar coins and frequently I have seen them being bought out of register as others think they are "rare" and thus those coins will be taken out of circulation for some time.

My other favorite is paying with a combination of rarely seen coins/currency such as a few halves, a couple Susan B Anthony dollars, and $2 bills. Haven't done it for awhile though.

 

[CJ9]

I agree that most half dollar circulation is done by CRHers only. Also realize that those marks may be decades old.

Personally, I like spending halves for fast food or for other small purchases and watching the reactions. Sometimes I have to correct people who think they are dollar coins and frequently I have seen them being bought out of register as others think they are "rare" and thus those coins will be taken out of circulation for some time.

My other favorite is paying with a combination of rarely seen coins/currency such as a few halves, a couple Susan B Anthony dollars, and $2 bills. Haven't done it for awhile though.

I do the same. I don't have a machine to dump coins, so its either re-roll or spend them. Just like with you, many people I give them to think they are dollars and I have to correct them (people are very appreciative when you hand back the extra 50c in change they gave you by mistake). Places that I frequent have gotten very used to them.

Easiest place for me to dump is at the self checkout at Home Depot and two supermarkets near me (they take halves)

 

[weighit]

One whole box of halves I rolled each coin though the ink pad to get the edge blue. I wanted to see how long it took to get one or many of those coins back from the bank i bought from as I was dumping across town at another entirely different banking company. About 3 years later I got a few in one box but never got any more. So yes i did mark coins, once.

 

[Tommybuckets]

I marked coins a few times after making sure there were no collectible clads like 1987s etc. I put different color sharpie lines down the edges. Last box i got I saw one of mine from 2017 right next to a 51' Franklin. It did take a while for them to come back to me but I wasn't very scientific about where I took them. If I was picking up string n sons I would leave at a loomis serviced bank, loomis to guarda on down the line to see who was most productive and where my dead coins were going. Unfortunately the best MWR halves I found in this town the banks were sneaking a coin fee onto my orders at the end of the month. A month later I saw it cost me $22 dollars or so though I got about 50 walking libertys out of the deal. My fault for inserting my card so they could track me but they wouldn't let me just hand them the cash. After I got the fee I stopped going through them. Now I order from the free bank. I would like to go back and try that brand again. With today's prices it may still pay.

 

[LooseChange]

Maybe spray paint them and dump them in Atlantic City?