I keep reading about others here buying "bags, boxes, etc" from banks & finding Wheat Cents, Nickles, etc worth collecting. I asked at my Credit Union & they looked at me like I was crazy! I live in a military town halfway between San Francisco & Sacramento, CA. Do I need to travel to towns off the beaten path to find a bank with older, collectible coins in "bags & boxes"?
I go to the merchant teller and on any given day can get a box of any type of coin....except half dollars. Those I request to be ordered and they usually show up from the main branch within a few days. If your bank doesn't have a merchant teller, you could ask the regular teller if they have any boxes of the coins you want in the vault...
Majority of banks will have rolls and boxes in stock, though most won't have dollars or half dollars around but will order them for customers. Your bank sounds like one of the exceptions to the rule. Just try another bank, most have them on hand or would be willing to order them for you (may be a small fee if they have to order them, though if you have an account at the bank they'll usually do it for free.)
I do it all the time. Just ask them to save you a bag of excess cents, for example. If your credit union has a CoinStar machine, they usually build up a supply of coins only to have them sit there until they ship them out. (usually to a federal reserve bank) Ask to speak to the vault teller. or the teller in charge. They know what is in the vault and will dig stuff out for you. Where you become a nuisance is when you take coins from your credit union and then bring them back to the same place when you are done. Some banks and credit unions don't care while others will be a little difficult to deal with. Spend an hour or two calling a few different banks in your area. Tell them that you would like to get a few bags of coins now and then. You'll find some that will be helpful and some that won't . Get them from anywhere you can and deposit them back at your own credit union. A word of advice. I love to get rolls and bags of coins from banks. Even if I am told that someone looked through them already, I still find great stuff. Don't just look for the silver in halves or the wheat cents in "penny" rolls. Learn about varieties that are worth some money and try to add those to your collection. There is a magazine out there with some good information as to how to find, and what to find in rolls of coins! Have Fun, Bill
