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WilliamC
Penny Collector Member
USA
471 Posts |
Posted - 03/15/2008 : 07:40:36
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Oh, as far as getting the bags from the banks, the only ones I've gotten so far have been used. My understanding with the new bags is that they can be sealed so that they are tamper-proof. I just didn't feel right asking for free, unused bags right after opening my account.
At least they don't have to be canvass, those run $2.50 each!
And I think the bank wants $25 per bag but I'll double check. Most likely this is simply because of weight, they don't want the ladies trying to pick up a 28 pound bag of pennies, and I can't fault them for that. |
Sorting In Northwest Mississippi |
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WilliamC
Penny Collector Member
USA
471 Posts |
Posted - 03/15/2008 : 07:53:51
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The machine is in Toledo, Ohio this morning.
Just 3 days and 715 miles away.... |
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HoardCopperByTheTon
Administrator
USA
6807 Posts |
Posted - 03/15/2008 : 10:33:41
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Those $50 bags are only 27 pounds each. Surely they can lift that much.. heck the Post Office allows you ship up to 70 pounds. My standard package is only 52 pounds though.
Never hurts to ask for free bags. Think of how much those banks made last year.. they can afford it. Also, if they provide the bags then you can be sure they will be happy with the bags you are using. They usually prefer to see the pennies in their own bags.
The Canvas bags only run $1.10 each. They are great for storing you own copper hoard. You can sometimes find large lots of used bags even cheaper since most of the banks have switched to the plastic bags for shipment. I get free canvas bags at some of my banks sometimes. |
If your percentages are low.. just sort more. If your percentages are high.. just sort more.
Now selling Copper pennies. 1.6x plus shipping. Limited amounts available. |
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Tourney64
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1035 Posts |
Posted - 03/15/2008 : 10:54:14
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HCBTT - Think of how much those banks made last year.. they can afford it.
A lot of those big banks are in trouble right now due to stupid lending practices. They will be looking to squeeze money out of every place they can. What was free yesterday may not be free today. |
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HoardCopperByTheTon
Administrator
USA
6807 Posts |
Posted - 03/15/2008 : 11:00:05
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Too true Tourney. I have already had a couple of my major banks say they can't order pennies any more. Corporate has taken over and decides how much coin each branch gets.
When the free cookies are gone it is time to start worrying. I expect their will be more than a few casualties this year. |
If your percentages are low.. just sort more. If your percentages are high.. just sort more.
Now selling Copper pennies. 1.6x plus shipping. Limited amounts available. |
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WilliamC
Penny Collector Member
USA
471 Posts |
Posted - 03/15/2008 : 12:44:57
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Just finished eye sorting the last of the $80 in pennies I got Thursday with my son.
Seems to be a pretty consistent 20% copper, I hope this percentage holds for a while.
Now I've just got 50 boxes of unsorted stacked in my living room waiting for the Ryedale to arrive. I think my eye sorting for copper days are over, except for a bit of quality control looking at the zinc rejects.
The 50 boxes will be joined by 50 more next week. My wife is quite cross with me for wanting to have $2,500 tied up in pennies, so I'd best get to sorting and dumping the zinc ASAP!
I've got about $75-$100 of sorted zinc in bags now, I may go ahead and buy a few more bags of cartridge rolls just to get them cleared out before the large scale sorting starts.
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wheeler_dealer
Penny Collector Member
USA
402 Posts |
Posted - 03/15/2008 : 14:04:39
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WilliamC,
Regarding the cross wife and $2500. in pennies. My wife is the same and I told her with banks in trouble isn't it better to have our money out of the bank anyway. Better pennies at home
than digits on a machine in the bank. Someday, hopefully, for your sake she may come around.
20% not bad. I see you have an apprentice has he asked you to make him a partner yet. |
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WilliamC
Penny Collector Member
USA
471 Posts |
Posted - 03/15/2008 : 16:57:48
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Well when I say the wife is cross I don't mean she's ready to kick me out or anything. She at least understands about inflation and how the copper is worth more than the face value of the penny. I think as soon as I actually can sell some copper for a profit she will be much more accepting of this.
One thing to keep in mind is that several years ago I got big into rock tumbling as a hobby. Ended up having 4 nice rock tumblers (Lortone QT12's for those in the know) and a bunch of grit and polish. But after spending a couple of hundred dollars on Ebay buying rocks (no rock shops anywhere near me, Hot Springs Arkansas is the closest and that's ~4 hours away) I realized that it would be much much much cheaper to buy them in bulk.
So I ended up buying 2 metric tons of rocks (well lapidary rough to make it sound a little less stupid) from Gerdus in South Africa. At the time I actually worked with a girl from South Africa and her parents lived just a couple of hours from Gerdus' yard. They went and visited him and sure enough he's a legitimate person with a legitimate business so 4,400 pounds of rocks got delivered to me for less than $1 per pound.
The only caveat is that these are some big rocks, and in order to work with them I'll need to get a rock saw with a 36 inch blade. Those run several thousand dollars and you need a shop to put it in. So now I have lots of polished rocks, lots of rough, lots of grit, and a backyard full of big ole rocks that are quite pretty to look at but sort of useless without the right equipment.
The only saving grace is that rocks don't really go anywhere or wear out or need much attention or anything, so in a few years or decades when I get back to them they will still be there unchanged, waiting for the saw.
What I'd really like to do is make spheres out of them. Maybe if I sell enough copper I can get the lapidary equipment I need with the profits.
Anyway, the point of the story is that (and a few other less expensive) is the main reason my wife is skeptical of my new penny sorting hobby. She has known me nearly 20 years so she isn't completely off in her judgement.
Just gotta start selling copper.... |
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WilliamC
Penny Collector Member
USA
471 Posts |
 Posted - 03/15/2008 : 19:27:37
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quote:
Originally posted by wheeler_dealer
WilliamC,
Regarding the cross wife and $2500. in pennies. My wife is the same and I told her with banks in trouble isn't it better to have our money out of the bank anyway. Better pennies at home
than digits on a machine in the bank. Someday, hopefully, for your sake she may come around.
20% not bad. I see you have an apprentice has he asked you to make him a partner yet.
If by an apprentice you mean my 9-year old son well he's more of a reluctant part-time helper. He's ok with doing some pick-ups and he's sorted a little bit for me but he's not willing to be an apprentice yet.
Now when I need someone to start sorting the copper for wheaties I'll see if I can persuade him to help. Hopefully he will be willing to do some work with me :) |
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HoardCopperByTheTon
Administrator
USA
6807 Posts |
 Posted - 03/16/2008 : 00:43:56
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Guys need their hobbies. My brother just bought one of those saws. His is only 24" though.
Maybe you shouldn't have stacked them in the living room. They tend to notice them more if they are in a place like that. I used to hear it all the time about how there were pennies, pennies everywhere! I shifted to storing them out in the garage out of her way so she wouldn't notice them as much.
One day she wonders out into my man cave in the garage where I have all my coin machines set up now and she sees that stack. She says "Oh My God! There must be about a thousand dollars in pennies out here!" I didn't say anything.. sometimes it is best just to remain silent.  
Good thing she didn't see the other two stacks, huh?  |
If your percentages are low.. just sort more. If your percentages are high.. just sort more.
Now selling Copper pennies. 1.6x plus shipping. Limited amounts available. |
Edited by - HoardCopperByTheTon on 03/16/2008 01:08:38 |
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WilliamC
Penny Collector Member
USA
471 Posts |
Posted - 03/16/2008 : 07:04:58
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Wish your brother and his 24 inch rock saw were a bit closer, I sure have plenty of rocks that could get cut with it.
It's just the really big boulders that will need a 36 incher.
Even as I type I'm hearing how these pennies are going to be just like my rocks, just sitting there and a waste of money.
The wife has a point, I was naive to buy the rocks without having access to the equipment needed to work with them, but the equipment needed for the pennies is so much simpler.
The stack you have looks to be about 150 boxes, are those all copper?
What a hoard! Your name becomes you sir! |
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wheeler_dealer
Penny Collector Member
USA
402 Posts |
Posted - 03/16/2008 : 11:37:23
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William,
You might try and tell your wife what I do mine. Remember "HONEY" It's a marital asset 50/50
any time you want to do something with your half go ahead. In your case however you may want to hide your half in copper and let her take the zinc. |
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HoardCopperByTheTon
Administrator
USA
6807 Posts |
Posted - 03/16/2008 : 12:20:53
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See how easy it is to store pennies? They don't take up nearly the space folks think and volume can be deceiving. That stack is a actually a little over 200 boxes. I usually do it 8 high by 5 wide to make counting easier. Unfortunately that is not all copper.. it is one of my unsorted stacks.. about 20% copper. The stack is even bigger now.. that picture is sooooooooo last year. I really need to shoot some new pics.
I'm not married.. "It's all mine!" heh, heh, heh. |
If your percentages are low.. just sort more. If your percentages are high.. just sort more.
Now selling Copper pennies. 1.6x plus shipping. Limited amounts available. |
Edited by - HoardCopperByTheTon on 03/17/2008 22:03:30 |
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WilliamC
Penny Collector Member
USA
471 Posts |
Posted - 03/17/2008 : 20:41:11
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No update on the FedEx tracking number since Saturday at 12:51 P.M. when the Ryedale left Toledo bound for parts known.
I hope to see it hit Memphis by tomorrow morning and my house in the afternoon or by Wednesday.
Meantime I've unwrapped 5 boxes into a tidy cat pail, and yes it does take some time to do this. I'll have it full by the time the machine gets here so I can start sorting right away.
Almost there.... |
Sorting In Northwest Mississippi |
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HoardCopperByTheTon
Administrator
USA
6807 Posts |
Posted - 03/17/2008 : 21:05:36
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| That will only cover you for an hour.. LOL. Standard tidy cat pail holds 18,000 cents. Ryedale eats 18,000 coins per hour. You need more buckets! Also, make sure the tidy cat pail is where you want it to be.. they get a little hard to move once they are full. |
If your percentages are low.. just sort more. If your percentages are high.. just sort more.
Now selling Copper pennies. 1.6x plus shipping. Limited amounts available. |
Edited by - HoardCopperByTheTon on 03/17/2008 21:07:27 |
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WilliamC
Penny Collector Member
USA
471 Posts |
Posted - 03/17/2008 : 21:06:35
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I've got plenty of buckets in the back yard.
Just have to dump the rocks out of them and clean them up some first :) |
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HoardCopperByTheTon
Administrator
USA
6807 Posts |
Posted - 03/17/2008 : 22:02:07
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| Good thing you had those rocks in them so the wind wouldn't blow them away. Excellent planning on your part. |
If your percentages are low.. just sort more. If your percentages are high.. just sort more.
Now selling Copper pennies. 1.6x plus shipping. Limited amounts available. |
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WilliamC
Penny Collector Member
USA
471 Posts |
Posted - 03/18/2008 : 09:14:34
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Just place my second order for another 50 boxes, will pick them up Friday.
With any luck (and a bit of work) I'll have the first 50 boxes sorted by then and the zinc bagged and ready to be dumped.
If so I can order another 50 boxes next week, and keep the cycle going until I've got several thousand dollars in copper.
Of course before that happens I'll try to start selling some copper, I think I'll post an ad on Craigslist.com first off, and perhaps in my local paper.
I'll ask for 2X the face value for them with delivery of the pennies to the buyer (as long as they are within 60 miles or so of where I live).
Maybe split the difference between the melt value and the face value if the buyer wants to come pick them up from me. |
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Ryedale
Administrator
USA
523 Posts |
Posted - 03/18/2008 : 12:10:08
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quote:
Originally posted by WilliamC
Just place my second order for another 50 boxes, will pick them up Friday.
With any luck (and a bit of work) I'll have the first 50 boxes sorted by then and the zinc bagged and ready to be dumped.
If so I can order another 50 boxes next week, and keep the cycle going until I've got several thousand dollars in copper.
Of course before that happens I'll try to start selling some copper, I think I'll post an ad on Craigslist.com first off, and perhaps in my local paper.
I'll ask for 2X the face value for them with delivery of the pennies to the buyer (as long as they are within 60 miles or so of where I live).
Maybe split the difference between the melt value and the face value if the buyer wants to come pick them up from me.
William,
I'd be a bit cautious of the Craigslist, and even the local paper. You could be opening yourself up for problem. If you can do it in an untraceable or annonomous way, then I'd say sure. I posted some coins on on craigslist once, and the only response I got was from somebody wanting to know if I had "other" items, perhaps they were Pfishing, I did not respond. Be careful is all I'm suggesting. Andy |
Ryedale
GET YOUR DRI-SLIDE FROM IRONBRAID
http://www.ironbraid.com/driside.html
Used with permission from Ironbraid.
Quote
"The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right place, but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the most tempting moment."
— Dorothy Neville-Rolfe |
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WilliamC
Penny Collector Member
USA
471 Posts |
Posted - 03/18/2008 : 12:16:25
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Thanks for the warning Andy.
I will make sure and exercise all due caution in dealing with anyone while trying to arrange for copper sales.
Even as to go so far as to do transactions in the parking lots of police stations and such.
After all, I'm not trying to do anything dishonest. |
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WilliamC
Penny Collector Member
USA
471 Posts |
Posted - 03/18/2008 : 18:04:00
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As of 1:59 P.M. the Ryedale is in Olive Branch, MS, only 30 miles away!
Due to be delivered tomorrow.
I wonder if their office is open...
Rats! No listing for a Fed Ex in Olive Branch, MS. Must be a non-public distribution center.
Guess I'll have to wait until tomorrow after they try to deliver it with no one home, then take the drop off slip to the pick-up center in Batesville.
So hopefully tomorrow night it will be in my copper-coated hands :)
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JSutter
Penny Pincher Member
214 Posts |
Posted - 03/18/2008 : 18:47:10
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My girlfriend was the same way, she thought I was crazy. Then she was bitching about losing $2000 on stocks in her 401k. I told her that's why I was putting my money into copper pennies because you already get them at 2/5 their worth and it's impossible to lose money on them because they're always guaranteed to be worth what you paid for them.
When she told me she is putting her $600 rebate check in the bank to have money to fall back on I told her I'd get her $600 in CU and that it'd be like the government giving her a $1500 rebate and that if times got hard she could get the $600 face value. She said ok. So come August I'll have $1200 in CU to round up on top of what I already do every week.
She thought I was nuts for taking my savings from the bank and putting it in gold and silver last year until she saw gold hit $1000 last week then she had me get her a few Krugerrands with some money from her savings account. Luckily I scored a few on ebay below melt value. |
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WilliamC
Penny Collector Member
USA
471 Posts |
Posted - 03/19/2008 : 12:59:54
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Well FedEx tried delivering the Ryedale at 10:15 today but as my wife and I both work no one was home :(
I'll have to hope they have a phone number on the delivery slip so I can call to pick it up tonight.
Otherwise I'll have to sign to have them leave it tomorrow.
Almost here.... |
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HoardCopperByTheTon
Administrator
USA
6807 Posts |
Posted - 03/19/2008 : 13:12:24
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| Look them up on the website and call the local office up and give them the tracking #. Arrange with them for you to stop by there and pick it up. They know exactly where that truck is going to be and when.. you might get lucky and even be able to pick it up tonight. Then you can stay up till the wee hours of the morning sorting like the rest of us. |
If your percentages are low.. just sort more. If your percentages are high.. just sort more.
Now selling Copper pennies. 1.6x plus shipping. Limited amounts available. |
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WilliamC
Penny Collector Member
USA
471 Posts |
Posted - 03/19/2008 : 14:57:49
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Just called FedEx, basically there's no way to get the package tonight.
I'll have to sign the slip and have the package left on the back porch tomorrow.
I'm in a good neighborhood, so this shouldn't be any problem in terms of theft.
And I can get my wife (who works literally 1 mile from our house) to go get it once I see it has been delivered (I work ~50 miles from our house. Wish me luck 'cause next week I should be interviewed for a new job in the town I live in, I would love to eliminate the commute and I'm tired of the work I now do anyway. Time for a change if possible).
So tomorrow night will be the earliest I can do some sorting. And I actually have Good Friday off from work (I think, I'll have to double check. At least where I work is closed so I can't imagine I need to come in).
And I'd like to once more thank Andy for his great customer service.
THANKS ANDY!
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Taking The Plunge!
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