Where do you find your change?

I'm a new active collector- I've read some good books recently on the
subject, found plenty of info on the web- so here's my question. Where do
you get your coins (in the real world)? I'm willing to spend an occasional
$ 20 on something if it's interesting, and I like deals, though I'm not in
it for the investment returns.

Ebay a little scary for the new collector, there's seems to be too many
scams, frauds, or overgraded items. And things that would seem like a good
purchase get bidded on to the point that I'd rather visit my local coin shop
to buy it in person.

Is there a benefit to purchasing rolls of coins from the bank? It would be
great to find your coin for face value, but... you're not going to find out
of circulation coins, are you? Buffalo nickels, Franklins, Mercury dimes?
And if they are in there, does it make a difference the type of bank? Big
city bank or hick-town bank/grocery? Even prized modern coins need to be
gems to exceed their face value, right? And when you 'sell back your
change', do they claim a fee?

I was quite suprised to see how affordable most coins were at the local coin
shop (even better than taking a chance with ebay). Online stores seem good
too, but do you trust them without seeing? I'm not really interested in
buying them graded, slabbed, and upcharged another 300%. Coin shows seem
like the best place, many dealers in competition, though the shows seem rare
here in AZ. I also read that this is a good place to haggle, though the
dealers often bring the stuff 'they just want to unload'.

So again, when you want to find some change (without taking out a loan),
where do you go in the real world?

Go to as many banks as possible, branch and main. Get to know the tellers,
especially the vault teller. Be patient and friendly and it will pay off. Today
I found 15 40% and one '64 Kennedy halfs. Yesterday I found two BU rolls of
'61D and one roll of '67MS63+ Jefferson and three '39 D that grade MS60+,MS60,
AU50. The last two had some green verdigris on one side. Check the trend for
the '39 D and you will see what you can get at your bank for .15 cents. It is
alot of work to do real well at roll searching but it shure beats the hell out
of the lottrey.
Regards,
Dan
PS: Today the two young tellers that helped me with the '39 D Jeffersons each
got a Walking Liberty half for their time.

They just had old BU rolls lying around at the bank?????


"SCHMIDTL14" wrote in message
...
Go to as many banks as possible, branch and main. Get to know the tellers,
especially the vault teller. Be patient and friendly and it will pay off.
Today
I found 15 40% and one '64 Kennedy halfs. Yesterday I found two BU rolls
of
'61D and one roll of '67MS63+ Jefferson and three '39 D that grade
MS60+,MS60,
AU50. The last two had some green verdigris on one side. Check the trend
for
the '39 D and you will see what you can get at your bank for .15 cents. It
is
alot of work to do real well at roll searching but it shure beats the hell
out
of the lottrey.
Regards,
Dan
PS: Today the two young tellers that helped me with the '39 D Jeffersons
each
got a Walking Liberty half for their time.

No Brian, the coins came in last wednsday,the day before I bought them. In
the last three months i've gotten hundreds of rolls at this branch. The BU
'61,'67 rolls and '39D's were in sixteen, dark green, hand wrapped rolls. None
of the rolls had any coins dated later than 1967. Lucky find or persistent
determination? If your still skeptical I can give you a more detailed rundown
on these rolls, as soon as I finish twenty rolls of Peace Medals, a box of
older Jeffersons, and my homework.
Regards,
Dan

As a new collector myself, I love this question. I did collect as a kid
but started again 25 years later and am now obsessed with it once again.

It depends what you are trying to do in your effort. Are you filling
coin books? If so, rolls from the bank are the way to start. Like you
said, "face value", you can't beat that deal. I started by looking
through 1000's of coins from rolls. You can find most coins from the
60's on up to date that way. And you will find stuff from the 50's and
before with enough searching. Although, silver coins would be a rare
find. Then as you progress you will find that the trail runs a little
dry. However, in order to fill these empty spots in the books is
relatively inexpensive from your local coin store or a good online
store. Lincolns for example are surprisingly cheap. Most dates from 1916
on, are less than a dollar if you only seek low grades. Jeffersons,
Roosevelts, Washingtons and Kennedys are also pretty cheap. Not all
banks have Kennedys on hand, but a lot do.

Once you have exhausted your bank roll search, you may look at your
books and look at how cheap these easy dates are to purchase. I got
hooked on replacing coins that weren't quite as good as I wanted them to
be. 25 cents will easily replace a worn Lincoln with a nice one and so
on and so on...... I used to be satisfied with my full 41-74 Lincoln
book. Now they are 100% uncirculated. If I see a 1973 Jefferson in my
book with nics on it, I replace it with an uncirculated coin for 45
cents or so. But thats just me.

As far as ebay, wait until you have exhausted your real world search. As
far as cheap hole fillers, they are there. Don't worry about getting
ripped on a 50 cent coin. The key is the pictures, you know exactly what
you are getting. Also, pay close attention to the postage. If someone
wants $4.00 postage for one cheap coin, thats a red flag. Get your self
a red or blue book and don't bid above the quoted price for any coin,
postage included. Check out the sellers other items for things you are
interested in at the time as most sellers combine postage. Ebay is a
last resort for tougher dates. But believe me, I have found many great
deals with patience.

As I have recommended many times to people, here is a inexpensive site
to check out current prices and find harder dates. www.smithcoins.com
This site is ideal for simple collectors who collect common coins. I
have dealt with Mike Smith many times and am very satisfied. Besides,
one heck of a nice guy.

Another way to find and upgrade your collection is common change in your
hand. I have my head glued to my change everytime I leave a store. This
is especially useful for collecting state quarters. You can always
upgrade!

This group is an excellent reference for all questions you may have
about coins of any sort. It's filled with big time collectors, dealers,
average collectors and really nice people. Try to avoid the homo posts,
they are dangerous!

In the spirit of generosity, write to me if you are collecting common
coins. I have about 75 coins, mostly wheat cents, I will send to you for
free to get you started. Just because I'm a nice guy. And besides, I
feel guilty about being a Packer fan this week (year). I must give
something to the world.

Hope this helped, Jim