Kickstarter perhaps? All the preliminary work is going to be grueling but I'd give you props. It's the Pompeii of coin machines!
Not sure I've been approved to post here yet or not. But I was wondering if you had any updates for us with this wonderful machine you're talking about. I'd definitely be interested in both buying one and kicking some money into a kickstarter to see it happen.
This brought up a memory of asking my dad when were we going to get a dishwasher, his answer: "You were born with two."
It's an interesting idea and would get some attention but I don't see it making you rich with sales. Perhaps, maybe, with what it could find and sales to collectors. Just don't see a market for it.
It's an interesting idea but don't think there would be enough collectors able to afford it! I would just like to have a machine that would count and wrap coins!! Kind of like a small coin star but with the ability to wrap too, and at an affordable price!! Not asking for much am I?
Sounds interesting if for other reasons that just by date...someone was getting close with technology to scan and ID VAMs...but where big business is concerned, why would Brinks or others need to sort/know by dates...? Denoms, yes...but dates within denoms...? Maybe I'm missing something (more goes out the ears the older I get).
Maybe the mint will switch to the QR coding on coins rather than ABC letters so even your cell phone could read them as they slide past. Easy to build . Also easy for people to alter. I think that close to 95% of my monetary transactions do not use coins. Jim
Yeah, I'm EXTREMELY late to the party, lol. Thanks for the welcome! Long story short, I'd pay 10k for one without batting an eye at it. Not that I think I'm going to get a million dollar coin (they're million dollar coins for a reason after all . I buy a ton of change off the public. I bought a sorter/counter from a bank a while back and it's been a life saver. I'm pretty quick and rolling them, but I still plan to buy a roller. The reason I'd want this machine is to automate the process of separating out the silver. My claim to fame that gets people to come in with their change is I don't charge a % to do it and if there is any silver, even nickles (which is a huge pain to sort), I pay them extra. Lately, what I've had to do is pay them for the face value first then put all their non penny coins in a ammo can with their phone number then call them later when I've had time after hours to go through it. I profit 4 times face off of each silver coin after paying them Which covers the cost of doing that (electricity, upkeep on the sorter, wrappers, gas to get rid of them, etc etc etc..). Where my real profit off this is selling the rolled change to the gas stations and fast food joints in town who can't ever seem to get a reliable source of coin change. I don't charge them a % either, but I get to meet the employees, managers and workers and teach them how to quickly identify the silver ridged coins and give them the "dealer" price if they sell them to me. I tell them to keep a pocket full of coins so that they can simply swap them out. The register stays spot on, nobody's stealing anything, and I get to make 4x profit off of every thing they bring in. Just the networking alone has been a huge boon.
One to just rap them isn't as bad as you'd think. I've been to a few places in Vegas that refurbish old casino equipment. And they do a great job - I've bought a few things from them. Last roller I looked at would only roll one kind of coin at a time, but it could roll anything. It was pretty fast and it was only 1200. Big and heavy though. Oh, and I bought my coin sorter/counter (from a bank, they'd upgraded) for a little under 500. It's pretty awesome!
Man. I wish I was smart enough to build something like that.. The points about who would want it where made, and they where good points. I'm the only guy I know who would have a use for it. I have one buddy who is in a similar business, but he only buys the 90% and 40%, nothing else and only if it's already been sorted out. I think he knows something I don't, lol. (Because he's loaded!)
Ah, but you don't want or need to check the dates for that (except maybe War nickels). The weight difference alone of the silver coins is probably enough to make the machine; combine that with a strong magnet (silver coins will slow down more than clad as they pass), and you're in good shape. As I understand it, that's why coins in a CoinStar reject bin are more likely to be silver -- the machine rejects them. And if you relied on dates, you'd miss later-date silver proofs, too.
That's a REALLY good point about the proofs. I already use a pretty stout magnet to suck the steel pennies out of the stream as they pour into the bucket. They're basically worthless, but I use them for trade sometimes since they're cool. And I give them to kids when they come in talking about starting their first coin collection. I never thought about a super strong magnet for anything else. (Again, I'm kind of a dullard.) Thank you so much for your thoughts. I'm going to look into what you said later when I get home. I'm not smart enough to make it happen, but I'll dang sure try. Maybe I'll be able to make a pretty strong case for how something like this could be made and marketed. Then, possibly, some smart young guy fresh out of engineering school will jump on it and I can just put some bread in his kickstarter. Buddy, you've REALLY got my thinker smokin'!
If you want to make money just rent the device out. A lot of people would rent it every few years. The Chinese would steal the design very quickly. You should brainstorm the design there is a lot of stuff to hash out.
That's true. Between customers, I have been watching videos about how strong magnets interact with silver. I'm going to have to get a book for dummies to really get a handle on it. But that might be the key. I'm definitely up to my waist in this rabbit hole now!
So, I was talking to a friend of mine about this big idea I had for a chute that used a big spinning disk with super powerful magnets.. And he suggested something that made me feel silly. Ever notice how the older soda machines that take quarters and dimes won't take the silver ones (80's -90's models)? They'll kick right out in the return tray! So, what do you guys think about taking out the coin accepter from an old soda machine and rigging it up so that it doesn't stop taking coins after a certain amount, but instead just drops ones that don't pass the electrical 'fake coin' test? Alternatively, do any of you know if something already exists, like as a stand alone part, that just has that little metal thingy in it to test the coins, dumping the duds? I think my friend is on to something.. If a person could rig up a chute that continuously feeds nickles, dimes, quarters, halves and dollar coins into that little gadget.. Problem solved!