Hey guys, Just starting out here, so forgive the newbie inquiries please. Thought I would pick up some fun stuff that I'd never really had lying around the house and start getting familiar with them. Had to stop by the bank today anyways... So I ask if they have any half dollars. Nope. Maybe some $2 bills? Nope. Made me feel pretty silly. I did at least get some modern dollar coins. Is it unusual for banks to not carry these items? Do they need to be specially requested? Is there an alternate place or online source which may offer easier access? I don't really want to just go bank to bank where I don't have accounts begging for coins. haha Thanks all!
My bank saves the halves for me but another collector may have pre-empted you or they just may not have had any returns. Ask your tellers to hold them aside and treat them very nice. They hate to hold onto them, much less roll them up and have to pay to ship them out. They will be grateful for you taking them off their hands. Just be sure not to bring them back to the same bank and you will have found friends for life.
I live in a pretty densely populated area, so it may be very possible that the demand is high. But I sort of got the vibe like I was asking in Spanish or something... like she had no idea what I was talking about and that it was an off-the-wall request. When asking to set aside... so they are taking them in from folks' deposits and setting aside? Or are they getting them in another way? I guess I haven't really considered how they end up at the bank in the first place. Makes sense...
You may be running into a trainee situation where they go through a lot of younger tellers who move on shortly to other branches. Most younger people today are not collectors. In my case the little country store right next door dumps their halves and dollar coins each day so I can always rely on a few. After I'm done searching I throw the ones I don't want into a baggie and then give them out as tips and it really amazes the wait staff and some of them actually say they are saving them.
It was definitely a younger teller. There are two other branches in the area--maybe I'll try giving them a call. The worst part of it all is that when I finally have time (the weekend), they're closed!
Some banks will have them some won't. Some just occasionally. If the bank is in a mostly commercial area, around a lot of retailers, your chances are better for things like halfs, SBAs, $2 bills, because the retailers will take them to the bank in deposits or to get change. In a more residential area not so, but I check those too ever so often. Bills of any type are really hard to come by at any bank as the tellers themselves will keep most of what they know is valuable. If not for themselves, then someone else in the bank. There is one bank that I bank at that orders and keeps $2 bills because they have several people that ask for them. Most won't order dollar coins because they have to order a great deal to get them and the demand just isn't there. Remember they, the tellers, have to count all that stuff, and if they aren't collecting themselves, they are glad to get rid of it. Another thing that I have learned recently is a lot of the banks are going to teller machines instead of having cash drawers for safety reasons. If you get cash from a teller, it is counted and despensed by the machine. She will get the money from the machine and count it back to you. Since she doesn't have a drawer to pull from, if there is an oddity in what the machine spit out, you get it. I have found that your chances of getting star notes is much greater at these banks.
Hommer, pretty good mix of commercial and residential around, so I guess I'll just have to try a few branches/tellers. How should I be phrasing this question? If I ask for a "half" or an "SBA" are they going to understand me? Or do I just use generic terms? Half dollars, dollar coins, etc.
They'll understand. If they say no, ask them if someone else usually comes in asking for them. If there is a regular that banks there daily, they will save them for him. Main thing is to be extremely nice and thankful for anything you get. You never know, the guy that is the regular could get on their nerves and they will give them to anybody that ask before him. If you frequently go to a bank and ask everytime you go, it will stick in their head that you want them. When I walk in the door of my regular bank, the tellers will start asking eachother what they have because they know I want it. They will sometimes have candy bars on the counter for sale to benefit a project of some kind. I always buy the bars and give them to the tellers. They definitely remember that.
As a rule, most banks can place orders for customers wanting boxes of half dollars and/or dollar coins. Sometimes, this privilege is limited to commercial customers only. Ask one of the tellers at your bank if they can order boxes for you. You might also ask them if they can order straps of $2 notes as well, but if you can't get them at the bank, you can always find them at most racetracks because all wagers are based on a $2 bet. Chris
I'm used to the tellers at my bank not having any halves. The other day, just out of habit, I asked her if she had any. To my surprise she had 12. I gave her $6, and as she was taking them from the rack, she carefully looked at the edges!
My bank doesn't carry these but will order them. If you want twos, the minimum order is $200. There's no minimum for halves, but you have to order by rolls.
Perhaps I'm echoing some of what has already been mentioned, but I find it really varies depending on the bank and branch. I bank at a regional bank branch that caters to downtown retail businesses. They will gladly let me order a box of halves and two boxes of dimes each week because they have a lot of local businesses running cash back and forth, and it isn't a major inconvenience for them to process my orders. Now, at other branches of this same bank, they will only allow commercial customers to order boxes, and/or add a $10 surcharge per box...mostly because they're serving residential accounts, but also because some of them don't want traffic from roll hunters. Banks don't really make money catering to roll-hunters, so it really just depends on how nice the bank managers are. My advice is to ask around at several banks until you find one that will let you request rolls/boxes without a fee. Having an account is usually essential, at least it is in my area, and I find it's actually convenient to have access to my account should I come up short when dumping coin and/or picking up another box. Be advised that there are limits to how far many banks are willing to go, and I've seen what happens when someone exceeds those limits: A few months back, I encountered another collector at my bank who was making large weekly orders of halves - 10-20 boxes per week. He was allowed to do this for about 3 weeks, and then they told him to get lost. He made no friends with the tellers, the manager or the Loomis drivers who had to carry the coin, dump the coin, etc. (Word is that he burned his bridges at a number of local banks.) Don't be that guy. Cheers!
I've since found a branch that had some items. I only picked up a couple rolls of halves/dollars really. I don't plan to order boxes. When the time comes to unload some, I'll probably just spend them, or grab an Amazon card fee-free at a coinstar machine.
a problem you will sometimes get with younger tellers is that they don't even know what a half is. if you REALLY want to mess with their head hand them an IKE. I use 2 different banks with 7 different branches within 20 minutes of me. some banks won't give you what you ask for if you are not a customer. find a bank that you can open account with $5 and have no monthly maintenance fee. as for the 2's some banks get them around thanksgiving to Christmas. if they get to know you they will even order things special for you or as others said hold them. if you do get them to order something for you and you don't come get it... don't bother asking again. I got some really nice paper money.
What everyone else said plus.... In populated areas, banks cluster around commercial / retail areas like malls or major intersections. Get an account at each bank in that cluster. This may seem like a hassle but it helps the teller justify helping you and you can hit multiple banks in one area and save on gas and time. I take what ever the teller has that they hate to count, usually halves, dollar coins and two dollar bills. it is like a little victory for them to get ride of all there "weird" stuff and have a clean draw. Sometimes the teller will then ask me if I want the mint roll nickels or old 1934 silver certificate someone turned in. Casinos make good dump point because they will take anything. Get a players club membership and go when they are not busy. Just don't blow all your money on video Roulette.
You'd be surprised at the number of younger people (even some bank tellers) who don't believe that there are such things as two dollar bills or half dollar coins. I once went to McDonalds and the bill was $2.12. I gave him five halves. He looked at them for a few seconds and tried to hand me back two of them. He said "These are dollars, right?" Luckily for him I was honest and told him what they were. When I told him they were halves, he thought they weren't real so he called the manager over and she knew what they were. Edit: The good thing about that is that they also don't realize the value of a silver coin, so the don't pull them for themselves. They hand them right back out to the public.
