How do you store your bulk searched pennies?

[Guest]

Hi, everyone. I wanted to hear about how you store your, searched, bulk copper pennies. Do you have a system? Why do you like your method, or think it's the best? What do you do with the ones with a tiny bit, or a lot, of verdigris? Sorry if this question has been asked before couldn't find it in searches.

[cimperialis]

I store them in coin-counting bags that my bank gives me. I drop them off when I got too many bags.

I don't separate my copper out. I tried it once, and then sold the coppers. For the amount of time it took to sort, sell and ship, I made about $4.75/hour. Ended up not being worth my time.

[mustbebob]

I store mine in bags and rolls in an environmentally controlled storage unit. I do not take the time to worry about them if they have verdigris on them. Once they are searched for varieties/errors, chances are they will never see the light of day again until after I am gone....but that's just me.

[hasfam]

I store them in large green buildings that say REGIONS BANK on them.

[Maineman750]

I use my bank bags too...and I seperate the coppers and sell them...I guess I'm doing something different than Sean because the sorting takes no extra time for me since I'm searching them anyway...coppers go to the left,zincs to the right. I made some pretty easy money when copper prices were up.All zincs are returned to my bank.

[kloccwork419]

I use my bank bags too...and I seperate the coppers and sell them...I guess I'm doing something different than Sean because the sorting takes no extra time for me since I'm searching them anyway...coppers go to the left,zincs to the right. I made some pretty easy money when copper prices were up.All zincs are returned to my bank.

Exactly what I do....

[flyhi3]

Exactly what I do....

Me too, I think it works best.

[Coppertop]

Hello, 5 gallon buckets and surplus ammo crates seem to work well for storage by the masses, if you're doing coppers . Usually one would do plastic bags or canvas bags within, but they are claimed to be completely sealed and waterproof

[flyhi3]

Hello, 5 gallon buckets and surplus ammo crates seem to work well for storage by the masses, if you're doing coppers . Usually one would do plastic bags or canvas bags within, but they are claimed to be completely sealed and waterproof

LOL I have one of those with coins in too!

[daviscfad]

Those Bakery buckets work good b.c they are not so heavy you cant move them

[Levi]

Exactly what I do....

This seems like a great idea to cut down on all the pennies I have lying around. Can you tell me how you go about getting bulk pennies from the bank and then returning the zincs? Do the banks give you a hard time? I've been curious about this.

[penny man]

I trade them away for other coins on the realcent forum. I usually get east coast zinc or BU rolls for them.

[Chugly]

I re-roll and box all my copper using the rolls and the $25 boxes they came in. I have started stacking them along the walls of my bedroom and I now have a sturdy bullet/x-ray shield built up to hide behind.

I keep any of the nicer zinc's in glass containers or in clean plastic bank bags. This was no big deal at first, but recently I was forced to rent a storage unit to store all of them. At least I don't have a hoarding problem or anything like some of you!

Does anyone want to start a charter membership for Lincoholics Anonymous?? This thread reminds me that I may be needing treatment before this is all said and done.

[Chugly]

This seems like a great idea to cut down on all the pennies I have lying around. Can you tell me how you go about getting bulk pennies from the bank and then returning the zincs? Do the banks give you a hard time? I've been curious about this.

This can be tricky and will involve some leg work from you. Here are some of the techniques I use when I come to a new area:

First, check with any bank branches that you already have an account with (You may need to upgrade to a business account in some cases - usually not worth doing unless you are a total addict). Simply tell them that you are interested in purchasing X number of boxes of pennies per week and see if that will be a problem. Most banks are fine to sell you up to 1 or 2 $25 boxes of cents per week at face value, but they usually freak out with higher $ requests. Spread your requests out to multiple branches if necessary. They may allow you to order boxes to be picked up the next week on a certain day. This is a nice option as long as its free. I have a standing rule to never pay any fees for rolled coin. So far I have never had to break this rule. Be sure to pick-up any weekly orders exactly when they tell you too. Many banks have miniscule vaults and can't afford to sit on customer ordered coin that is not picked up on time.

If your regular banks won't order or sell you coin without a fee, simply ask the same questions at the other local banks. Be sure to check with any local Credit Union's as they often have coin counters and can sell you $50 bags which are much faster to search because you don't have to open any rolls. Get an account, if necessary, at any banks that will sell you free coin. I also reward my good pick up banks with candy or other gifts from time to time to let them know they are appreciated. As long as you find a bank that will sell you coin without any fee's, you now have established a "Source Bank" or "Pick-up Bank." Try to tread lightly and not make the employees at your pick-up banks upset or you might get "cut off(banned from ordering coin from that bank)" This is another tricky area, but over time you will learn what is acceptable and what is not for your locality.

Next comes the searching part, which has been explained in depth by others on this thread. You simply need to decide what you are going to keep and how to store it.

Finally, once you have searched everything, its time to return the "rejects" to the bank. For me, these are 100% zinc cents (I keep all my copper). Your best option for this step is to establish a "Dump Bank," or multiple Dump Bank's. In my case, this is a Credit Union with a free coin counter in the lobby. Ok, technically its not free as it charges 2% for any transactions over $200, but with pennies, its easy to stay under this limit. These "Penny Arcades (free coin counters)," are excellent ways of quickly returning your reject coins without having to re-roll them before you can cash them in. If you can't find a free coin counter, some people use CoinStar coin counters which seem to be in nearly every supermarket. These have a disadvantage of charging you around 9% of your total deposit unless you choose to take your cash back in the form of a gift card. This can work out nicely if you can select a card that is useful to you - like a grocery or gas card. If not, never pay the 9% fee (see above rule). You last option if you can't find a coin counter, is to re-roll your coins and exchange them at the bank. Sometimes they will let you swap re-rolled and re-boxed coins for fresh $25 boxes - this can be a nice time saver.

My final advise, is to go at a pace which you are happy with. Never rush through anything, as you will miss things. Start small and really learn what to look for, then ramp up your searching as your experience permits. Above all, enjoy the hunt! Cherrypicking can be a very rewarding treasure hunt! I'm amazed it hasn't been outlawed yet.

[BadThad]

Hi, everyone. I wanted to hear about how you store your, searched, bulk copper pennies. Do you have a system? Why do you like your method, or think it's the best? What do you do with the ones with a tiny bit, or a lot, of verdigris? Sorry if this question has been asked before couldn't find it in searches.

I unload them ASAP, I try not to have a mass hoard laying around.

Most of the coins with verdigris are discarded unless they are copper. I keep those in a 5 gallon pail. When the pail fills, I sell off the copper and usually make about 1.5x face. When I find a coin with light to moderate verdigris, I save those separately as test pieces for VERDI-CARE™ and include them with the large bottles I sell so the user can see the results.