one of my fellow tellers found this $20 bill in his drawer this morning. i really want it, but i'm not sure what a fair offer would be. i've checked ebay completed listings and the prices there range from $50 to $300. what would you offer?
So the teller is charging you to buy it for more than $20? If you plan on keeping it make him a fair offer but nowhere near retail. If he wants top dollar make him find the buyer. Maybe see where he was before you threw a number at him. If he only wants $50, better than you offering $150 right? As long as he's happy with what he sells it for, it's fair. IMO
I have dealt with tellers over time and all have said that they could not sell any, but they could exchange for same value, inside the bank or sight. Check their manager out on this. Now, if a teller exchanges the currency or coins to you, then you could buy them lunch or give them a gift if you want to as you feel. Not out side of the bank is another thing. I still ask today when I go to ant bank or store if they have any coins or currency that is unusual and do they want to get rid of it, most do, because they do not want it or know what to do with it. I am always spending half dollars that I do not want and have fun watching people trying to figure out what they are. I had one teller that had many old bills and she was going to exchange with me later. She would always that them with her to her post as not to loose them. One day she was going out to the car window and a dye pack went off and all the currency was messed up, so she had to send them to the feds to be destroyed. In that group was Brown, Red Blue , Gold, and old green ones, and a few North Africa and Hawaii of all values. Sad Sad.
the teller was already looking at ebay when i first heard about it, so he knows a ballpark figure what he might be able to get for it. i offered him $50 on the spot, and he chose to try his luck at an auction instead.
@searcher64 ouch. it hurts to see so many awesome old notes go to waste. at least you have tellers that see good stuff and hold it for you though! i usually vacuum up anything interesting that comes into my bank, but it's pretty rare that any really old or rare items come along. i did find a 2006 serial misprint star note in my teller drawer about a year ago, but that's the best i've found by far.
In the past, I have acquired a 1928 $100.00 Gold note in XF, many old and star notes, Red seal notes $2.00, $5.00 and $100.00 and also stars. Many Blue seals of $1.00, $5.00 $10.00. You just have to talk and be friendly with any tellers. I also order boxes of halfs when I can get them and later with ones that I do not keep, spend them around so as not to get them back later. I also got a 1934A FRN $500.00 note at a bank once. About two months ago I miss out on a deposit of $300.00 of sliver coins. One teller has a young customer come up and say the the cashier would not take his coin. It was a $20.00 gold coin, the date was one in the 1920's at face value. She would not part with this one. Keep looking, things are out there to find, I MD too and find coins and other interesting things of value.
all good advice, thanks! i don't get a chance to visit other banks because i'm stuck in mine during bank hours. the advantage to that is i (usually) get first crack at anything that comes in. i've made some decent scores, but a couple of the tellers have become wise to the value of the stuff they get because i'm always asking them for their goodies. now they sometimes choose to keep it, like the guy that got the $20 at the top of this thread. my "reputation" as a coin/currency guy has helped me out within the bank too though. if someone comes in with items they want to get rid of or find the value of, i'm usually called up to the front to talk with them. sometimes it allows me to get stuff on the cheap. i get all sorts of foreign coins, old notes, and other oddities for pretty good deals (sometimes even face value). i actually have a metal detector also, and have been out several times. i never have found anything valuable though. must be looking in the wrong places...
I have heard more often than not currency searchers hearing of or coming upon great deals but for some reason they always miss the deal or it just turns out bad like yours. Sorry may just be a coincidence but a highly disturbing coincidence...
The first time that I ordered two boxes of halves, I found 19 rolls of 90%, and 15 rolls of 40%, 2 Panama 50cent silvers, one of the 90% 7 were walkers, and several Franklin, some impaired proofs, and a real bad die clash Kennedy. Since then the searches, I have found some 90%, 40% and impaired proofs, but in very samll amounts. Just talk to the tellers.
Nice finds . Then again I guess i should of said the bad luck seems to happen specifically with valuable paper currency.
