Thread: New to CRH

Just got started here at Cointalk since I got a recent bug for coin collecting now that my father gave me my coin collection as a child back.

As a new aspiring CRH; any tips and tricks before I begin the hunt?

Here's a couple "must knows".

1.Designate more than one bank for pick ups and dumps. Don't do both at one bank, the key is to build a rapport with bank tellers. This way you can easily obtain any denomination without pushback.

2.Know what you want to search for. There's a big difference in searching cents and half dollars. Generally CRH'ers look through cents to find varieties, errors and etc. These days, quarters and halves are searched through to find silver. By focusing on one type, it will make it easy to accumulate what you're looking for.

3.Have fun, don't get discouraged if you don't find anything in the first box or two. Persistence and patience is key to being successful at this growing sport.

I would start searching cents first. I have only searched cents and in ten rolls I found 3 wheats. I could almost garantee that that you would find a wheat cent in a box. Also even though you probably know this but look in the reject slot when you are returning your coins at a bank. I only returned coins once but I found a silver dime and 2 zincolns.

@kookoox10 Thanks again. I'll hit up my bank this week. Can I just ask for circulated pennies? or do I have to talk them up for a box.

@someone376 Thanks I'm on a penny binge these days. I went through a large bucket nothing older than 1960 though but I'll post my findings nonetheless. And yes the reject slot has been a goldmine for foreign coins I live by the beach in a high tourist so I get lucky once in a while.

Be very polite to the tellers and try to find out who is in charge of cash flow. Some tellers get really peeved because they have to carry boxes back and forth, and it's, obviously, not really beneficial to the bank for you to be there having them do things for you. A lot of pleases and thank yous at the my nearest location led to the woman in charge of cash flow to constantly keep at least $100 of bank rolled pennies on hand for me.

I have a thread near the top called "A year of sorting pennies" or something with info on what all I've found. Have fun, but beware, it's actually somewhat addictive

Actually go in with a mission of making friends. I have a reward programme that I tell them about, if I find 100+ year old coins they get boxes of candy. If they call me in those rare but possible instances where they find some large ie more than $100 bill type of paper money - whole branch gets lunch on me.

Common courtesy, my good looks, have a way of making things possible that are not possible for smelly rude types that tellers are used to seeing.

My best finds this year came from one box where I found over 300 wheat cents, including 146 1943 Steels in BU in. The teller could see that there was special stuff in there and wouldn't let them to just anyone. She said people came and went and demanded boxes of cents and she just stashed them in the vault til I came in. It was an instance of roll searching that is deserving of it's own thread and pictures sometime.

I think one needs to be careful of not taking advantage of a teller by offering bennies for setting aside finds. Some bank policies differ but I know some banks would terminate an employee for such practice. Its one thing to ask them for boxes of rolls but I would never ask them to cross the line. Business versus personal.

I started going to the local grocery store which has a coin machine. I asked they guy what they do with the coins that get tossed aside he said "they throw them away" I was like "Whaaat?!!" I told him to set them aside and every time I pass by I ask and get two rolls of pennies. I coin dump at another grocery store coin machine. Still haven't made it to the bank yet but maybe this weekend.