Good post Nick. Really enjoyed reading about your methods. Done it from time to time with mixed results. My best success in finding unexpected silver came when I had part interest in a laundromat. Amazing how many dimes showed up in the dryer money. Raiding the sock drawer hide-away I guess.
(03-25-2016 10:49 AM)Nick A Wrote: [ -> ] (03-24-2016 11:39 AM)NjNyDigger Wrote: [ -> ]Very nice! I tried my luck with a few rolls in the past, with no winners, but it's really the kind of thing one has to do regularly, or even semi-regularly to have any decent success with. A lot of people think you can just go and buy a couple rolls of dimes, quarters & halves, and they'll magically find gobs of silver. While I'm sure it happens from time to time, the reality is, banks have wisened up, and most now pre-sort the coins when someone brings them in. In addition, once people start dumping large amounts of coins back at the counter, it can raise red flags, which is why many hardcore CRH's have quite a few banks they dump at. I think the best shot of success in CRH now lays in the small, independent banks that are located in tiny towns and rural areas.
You're in the minority, as you obviously know what you're doing, have experience with it, and probably try your luck on a fairly consistent basis, which is why the odds have caught up with you, and you ferreted out 6 fantastic silvers. Congrats, Nick 
Joe
I agree and disagree, People do think they can buy a few rolls and make out, which can happen, but really reduces your odds. I searched a little over $600 in coins to find these. I never search quarters, and rarely do nickels. My suggestion is to always ask for customer wrapped or hand wrapped rolls. I find that most people at the banks here do not care about old coins, except a few old tellers who remember he silver rush of the 80s.
I disagree that small town banks are the way to go. My experience has been that big city banks produce better. More people, more houses, more coins stashed, more estates being cleaned out means that you have a bigger influx of new material coming in all the time. All it takes is one coin roll hunter in one small town to have searched and re-searched all the coins in that area, and the turnover of new coins is very low.
I think coin counting machines have helped us too, as people just dump whatever is round and metal in there, so coins that might have been picked out if someone counted them by hand, instead just end up in the machines and get rolled.
I have searched a lot of half dollars, processed by the banks and found plenty of silver. While they may cull some of it out, they're not getting everything, but competition from other searchers is really intense in halves, and banks are definitely annoyed with all the people doing just halves. I was able to complete a good part of a set of Franklin halves for face value when I was doing more searching.
Large coin dumps can be a problem, yes. Especially if you're doing halves, as the $ amounts add up fast. For me, I'm just doing this occasionally, when the mood strikes me, so dumping the $600 in coins at two banks yesterday while I was running other errands was no issue at all, and I really only split it up because I only had one bucket handy to carry the coins in. If I were doing it every week or few days, yeah, they're going to make a fuss. Processing coin costs them money, so if you go outside what's "reasonable" it makes sense that they'd restrict it or want to charge you for it.
I've had plenty of times where I've found nothing worth keeping, but those days are rare. There always seems to be something interesting I'll squirrel away, silver, wheats, foreign coins, counterstamped novelty coins, etc. Generally, I want a quick "fix" I'll search some pennies. Most $25 boxes of pennies (machine wrapped or hand wrapped) have at least 10-25 wheats in them, usually at least one or two in the teens, and a few interesting foreign coins. And that amount is easy enough to reroll quickly and deposit anywhere. Dimes are hit or miss, but $250 in hand wrapped rolls often seems to produce a silver or two for me.
If you're at a bank for any reason, always ask for halves and big dollars. I've been handed more silver this way than any other and then the clad ones are fun to spend and leave for tips.
Also, if you go to one bank regularly and they know you're into old coins they may ask you if you're interested in some old bills...that's how I got this little pile.
Hope that helps anyone thinking they might try their luck! It's like detecting, you never know what you might find - you have good days and bad days.
Well, whatever it is you're doing, Nick...it's working!
Thanks for the intel, as I know there are many here who may be interested in trying their luck, too. Great post
Joe
Cool finds, congratulations.
I haven't roll hunted in a long time. Usually I did it in the winter but this past few I was busy with family matters like I am now, baby sitting and a kitchen rebuild for my son.