Numismatic Ethics

hmm so you have Nigerian relatives interesting

 

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Haven't you gotten emails from your Nigerian relatives?

 

It is actually dependent upon the procedures of the individual bank. I have bank accounts at three local banks, and each has a different practice. At my "main" bank, the coins are unrolled (if rolled), verified, then run through the change counter. At my "first" local bank, they have a similar practice, except that they take the rolls (if rolled) out of the room first, then unroll them directly to the change counter. At my business bank, they will take the roll in tact, write the account number and name on it, then deposit it as a check into the account. Later, the roll will be unrolled, verified, and then dumped into 5 gallon bags for re-roll at a later date.

This is one of the areas in banking where each bank may institute their own policies and procedures. As long as the practice is consistent, the P&P for such is alright with the regulators.

Some banks do have policies against purchasing from the drawer or change bin. Other banks allow it but, of course, there must be supervision in the process. In fact, about three or four months ago, I went into my business bank and bought a bunch of half dollar rolls. The tellers were standing around one window looking at something on the counter and as I approached I noticed that they were looking at some half dollar rolls.

Of course, they all looked up in dismay as I approached and said, "Looks like you have something interesting over there." They were looking at two rolls of halves with (common date) Walkers on one end of each. They let me look at them and I told them about the end pieces being common date Walkers and approximately how much each was worth. I asked if I could have them, and since none of the tellers had purchased them from their drawer yet, they let me take them. There were four Walkers in the rolls. I sent them over a nice little gift of truffles as a thank you (about $30 worth).

Now, the tellers could have denied the rolls, and they would have been perfectly within their P&P to do so. This was my business bank. And since the rolls had not been opened, verified, and placed into the bag, they had every right within their duties to say no, I could not have them. They would have also been well within their P&P to purchase the rolls directly from their drawer without verification. Their P&P also allows customers to purchase other customer rolled coins upon request, but at their own risk.

So, whether they had given me the rolls at face value, purchased them from their drawers, or left them there to be later verified and bagged, the teller would have done the job they should have, and none of it would have been in any way immoral or unethical. Sometimes, things are not so cut and clear, and the decisions people make are simply those, decisions. These decisions may benefit one person or another or nobody at all. But, there are some situations where such a decision is neither unethical nor immoral in and of itself.

Actually, that situation could have opened a Pandora's box. Remember that P&Ps must be applied equally across the board in order not to be in violation of safety and soundness. The moment exceptions are made, regulatory violations occur. That is why the P&P manuals for even the smaller financial corporations are usually larger than a novel. Now, if someone in an authoritative position (such as the manager) did intervene and did try to get the lady to take the coins to a coin shop, you would have had the same possible scenario as if the teller had done it, but on a much larger scale. The regulators will generally make a bigger issue over something done by someone with authority in the corporation than simply somebody lower on the "food chain".

And, also, to try to negotiate a business transaction between the teller and customer could open up even more problems for both employees involved because of possible P&P violations as well as other "legal" problems such as conducting commerce without a license, evasion of taxes (some States tax coin transactions), and much more if at a later date the lady decided that she got a bum deal and filed a complaint.

This is why I made the comment a few times already along the lines that a person at work is there for exactly that - to work. The employee has an ethical obligation to conduct his duties in accordance to whatever employment agreement he may have with his employer, and should not skew his resources to personal use while "on the clock" for his employer.

Except that the P&P requires such verification and allows for a "change out" by the teller.

Actually, it would be more akin, I believe, to a valet doing such. It would all depend on the policies of the company the valet is working for. In fact, some places have a policy to actually take the vehicle to a (usually on-site) car wash if the car appears to be dirty. Some very ritzy country clubs do this. All the facts of the matter are important in order to make any form of determination on the matter.