What would you do?

[frankendime]

My main dump bank requires me to roll my dumps to accept them, but they do have a coin counter and charge 8.5% even for account holders such as myself for use of it. Have been unable to locate a free machine anywhere near my area, so I reroll, and have become quite fast at it, if I do say so myself.
I did 3 boxes of pennies this weekend and decided to pay for their machine service instad of rerolling. When I went in the little room there the teller had to change bags twice. When she opened the cabinet I saw that the half bag had, by a quick glance to have about 30 or 40 dollars worth in it, by my guesstamite. I asked the teller that I sure would like to buy that bag if possible. She told me it had to be full, and I think she said $500 worth. I asked her if I brought in enough loose halves to fill the bag would she sell it to me then. ( I have 2 boxes coming Wednesday.) She said she would hafta talk to her manager. I let the issue drop so I could ponder the situation. I'm pretty sure that machine does not get used that much with the 8.5% charge and no telling how long those halves have been sitting in there. What would you do? Pay the upwards of $40 dollars just to see what was in there, or not? I'd hate to pay that to get skunked, trying to stay on budget. The curiosity is killing me! Thanks for your input!

 

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[Xiao en]

now thats gambling! 20 dollar fee to buy 20 dollars face value =)
or
Have the bank call you when it gets full.

 

[Piledriver]

Silver is less than $40 per ounce at the coin shop.

In 70 or eighty halves, there not likely to be more than an ounce.

I'm not the speculating type, so I would be buying from the coin shop instead.

But that's just me.

Keep on Rollin' !

 

[fistfulladirt]

Not to be a buzzkill, but I just topped off the machine at my CU, it held about $300 in halves, so I topped it off with $200. Bought the bag. Not a single keeper, not even a guitar pick! WTF?

 

[BCD11]

Have the bank call you when it gets full.

This sounds like a good move if the bank will go along with it. At least let the bank accumulate a few more halves before you fork over $40+ for the counting fee.

 

[waseeker]

Another option would be to dump some more and if/when the teller has to change out the bag, ask if you can look in the half dollar bag. sometimes they will let you swap out from the bag if you see anything interesting.

 

[MIhunter]

If you want to gamble go to a casino.
If you want to buy silver go to a pawn shop/coin store.

I won't pay dump fees, not worth it
If I had to re-roll, I would only be interested in loose halves (that's where I get most of my silver halves these days).

 

[BuffaloBoy]

One of those situations that could have a great outcome, but the risks outweigh the benefits, afterall, you did not see any silver!

 

[quiksilver]

listen grasshopper if you cant grab the marble out of my hand before it closes you need more training,-- you should have been able to see if there was some silver in the bag when you spotted the amount,--- but no the chance of silver probably isnt worth the price.

 

[frankendime]

listen grasshopper if you cant grab the marble out of my hand before it closes you need more training,-- you should have been able to see if there was some silver in the bag when you spotted the amount,--- but no the chance of silver probably isnt worth the price.

Oh I can spot silver in the teller trays, just didn't get close enough or get a good look at the contents. The bag was hanging in the back of the machine in the shadows. My eyes ain't what they used to be.

 

[CW3(ret) US Army]

I wouldn't do it. You don't know how long that bag has been actually been on the machine. You would almost be filling the bag to try & get some silver & paying some $40 to boot. I would ask the teller who handles the machine, how much halfs are in there now & how long the bag has been on the machine. They keep a running tally of the coins in the bags on the machine each night. Make your decision based upon their answer. Let us know how things shake out.

Good Luck & HH

 

[frankendime]

This sounds like a good move if the bank will go along with it. At least let the bank accumulate a few more halves before you fork over $40+ for the counting fee.

Yes it does, maybe wait a week and bring some more pennies to dump, and get a closer look. My thinking is no half hunter in their right mind would pay that fee to use the machine as a dump, so they came from who knows where.

And MIhunter, I do love to gamble. Winning the prize gives me the same kick as finding the prize. Thats one of the reasons I buy storage units at auction.

Thanks for the input!

 

[jarlbartar]

It depends on your cash flow situation. On one hand, it's $40 you would simply be handing the bank and never seeing again. On the other hand - the great unknown! I say go for it, nothing ventured, nothing gained!

I wouldnt count on the tellers to notify you when it get filled, I have made such arrangements at several banks in my area to be called when certain bags fill up but have not received one yet. These tellers have all sorts of other things to worry about and to be fair, something like remembering to call "that coin guy" when the bag fills could easily slip their mind.

 

[BillyOceansEleven]

I would agree with the general consensus. It isn't worth paying $40 in fees to look at $40 in halves that may or may not have silver. Even if there was silver, there would need to be 4 90% halves just to make your money back. I would make note of it and check back periodically to see how close the bag is to full.

 

[quiksilver]

lol i know that feeling , knees and prostrate too