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lilyrdape
Penny Pincher Member
USA
152 Posts |
Posted - 03/20/2008 : 20:07:59
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Haha! ive only got around 5 dollars worth of pennies to sort :( |
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HoardCopperByTheTon
Administrator
USA
6807 Posts |
Posted - 03/20/2008 : 20:11:19
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quote: Originally posted by lilyrdape
Haha! ive only got around 5 dollars worth of pennies to sort :(
Go to the bank and get more. I hear they are on sale this week for only a penny each. |
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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lilyrdape
Penny Pincher Member
USA
152 Posts |
Posted - 03/20/2008 : 20:12:36
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i better get down there now and wait before the line gets very long! lol |
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PennyProspector
Penny Pincher Member
USA
212 Posts |
Posted - 03/20/2008 : 20:17:23
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quote: Originally posted by HoardCopperByTheTon
Hey, I am on the west coast so I may still be up sorting then myself. What do you want to bet that the wife cuts him off at midnight saying she can hear that clink-clink all the way at the other end of the house?
My wife thinks his wife will kick him out of the dining room by 10:00 tonight!! (unless of course his house is A LOT bigger than ours)
So her bet is 10:00 tonight to shut it down due to kids sleeping & that will be the start of sorting in the basement/garage/shed/back yard..... somewhere other than the dining room.
really you cant set up a good factory in the dining room any ways! your wife always comes in there.
PP PP |
Happy Prospecting! |
Edited by - PennyProspector on 03/20/2008 20:18:54 |
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HoardCopperByTheTon
Administrator
USA
6807 Posts |
Posted - 03/20/2008 : 20:20:30
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I think your wife might be right. He will need to set up a proper "man cave" if he is going to get serious about this sorting thing. Any room in the main house he will be getting the "Pennies, pennies everywhere!" speech. |
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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El Dee
Penny Hoarding Member
USA
547 Posts |
Posted - 03/20/2008 : 20:36:25
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Betcha he's got couch cushions stacked around the machine to muffle the noise.
That, and the discharge going into blankets or towels.
"JUST ONE MORE BOX, HON!" |
Trust the government? Ask an Indian. |
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HoardCopperByTheTon
Administrator
USA
6807 Posts |
Posted - 03/20/2008 : 20:45:42
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I have some of those never ending boxes. |
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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wolvesdad
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
2164 Posts |
Posted - 03/20/2008 : 20:55:11
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No word yet... the man is knee deep in pennies by now I'm sure, I don't even think he stopped for buckets! |
"May your percentages ever increase!" |
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Delawhere Jack
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1680 Posts |
Posted - 03/20/2008 : 20:55:56
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Must be like Christmas morning at William's place:
I want "A Red Ryder BB gun with a compass in the stock, and this thing which tells time".
Oh yeah, and a Ryedale with the counter....and LOTS of PENNIES!
Don't shoot your eye out William
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"Educate and inform the whole mass of the people... They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty." Thomas Jefferson
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HoardCopperByTheTon
Administrator
USA
6807 Posts |
Posted - 03/20/2008 : 21:00:51
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If he finds an Indian Head he will check in. |
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 - 03/20/2008 : 21:11:20
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Ok, it's official.
Andy is a genius!
In the last 3 hours, with a break for eating supper and changing a diaper and chasing a kid or two, I just sorted $250 in fresh pennies AND resorted ALL of the copper from the $250 of pennies I had previously sorted.
The Ryedale is like magic!
For the first 15 minutes I had to sort a cup at a time, stop the machine, then look through the zinc to make sure it wasn't missing coppers.
Needless to say, it didn't.
After this it was just pouring the pennies in, a few at a time for a while, then more, then finally I just filled the hopper up and let 'er rip!
Now I didn't do any statistics or percentages on these pennies, I was just dumping the zinc into one bucket and the copper into another as fast as the catch-boxes filled up.
The only real problem I had was three jams.
Two were my fault completely, I had let small pieces of coin wrap paper get mixed into the unsorted pennies and a piece got stuck in the discriminator, or enough to get a penny stuck in there.
Still, it didn't take more than a couple of minutes to figure out how to unplug the in-feed chute, release the latches and remove the discriminator, and shake the pennies loose. From now on I will be extra careful in making sure that no paper gets into the unsorted penny pail.
The third jam was in the cube hopper feeder. This one I have a slight suggestion about.
When the Ryedale is unpacked there is tape holding the removable panel in place with "Remove Tape" written on it in clear letters.
Unbeknown to me (perhaps from not carefully reading the instructions) there is also a piece of tape to be removed from the cube hopper feeder, but as this is set inside the chassis I didn't see it until the jam and I started looking closely at it.
Now I can't say that my failure to remove this tape in any way caused the jam, in fact I'm still not sure exactly how it jammed. But the rotating feeder was stuck and wouldn't turn. After jiggling it around a bit and working with it I freed the feeder so it would turn again, so I'm guessing a particularly nasty piece of gunk got stuck between it and the lower face of the hopper. Anyway, I got it to turning again and it was fine. I'll just have to make double sure to clean the machine regularly.
So it's a little after 9:00 P.M. and I'm done for the night. My wife was very considerate of me and my new toy, she didn't get on to me about not bathing the little kids, which is normally part of my routine. And she is allowing me to use the dining room table in the living room for now, although as many of you have commented on this is most certainly a temporary situation. As luck would have it I do have a room in the garage where my rock tumblers and supplies currently are stored. I'm sure in the not to distant future I'll have to make some room out there for my penny sorting as well. Alas for a serious workshop, but hey, maybe in a few months I can pay for one with the proceeds from my copper sales!
Thinking optimistically and sorting myself silly, that's all for tonight :)
Tomorrow I'll break open the other 30 boxes of pennies, sort some of them, weigh up at least 20 bags of zinc (I ended up getting the small coin bags that will only accept up to $25 of pennies so that would only be $500) to use for my first zinc dump, and pick up my next order of 50 boxes from my primary bank. Looks like I'll have a busy weekend!
And I'll try to do a good sorting report on at least $100 to give us all a good idea of my percent copper yield too.
Now it begins... |
Sorting In Northwest Mississippi |
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HoardCopperByTheTon
Administrator
USA
6807 Posts |
Posted - 03/20/2008 : 21:19:42
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You stopped to eat?!!! I thought you were hard core, William.. LOL. We thought we lost you.. this has been the most active topic all night. Those are all the normal jams most of us have experienced. One suggestion. Prior to dumping the zinc in the bag be sure to do a quick manual check for old wheats and Indians. This is where the Indians end up on the normal setting. I have found a few this way. They really jump out at you.
Congratulations on your new toy! |
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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Epaphras
Penny Collector Member
USA
382 Posts |
Posted - 03/20/2008 : 21:45:03
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I have two things I use to help jams: undone paper clip and tweasers. That way I don't have to shake the machine. I also put a little oil on the plastic shute so the coins can move more freely. Be sure to wipe it off afterward, else dirt and hairs will build up even more. Another suggestion would be not to dump your unsorted cents on the carpet or floor where hairs and other particles can be picked up. I did a good clean of the machine yesterday and it was not pretty. I also found another 'remove tape' sign when I removed the cube...woops. |
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Art Tatum
Penny Collector Member
USA
400 Posts |
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El Dee
Penny Hoarding Member
USA
547 Posts |
Posted - 03/20/2008 : 21:55:16
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Hint for coinwheel jams:
Remove loose pennies, then push the red latch down on the side of the hopper.
Press the cup UPHILL until it releases. This also releases the pressure on the coinwheel.
Then remove the two stuck together that are causing the jam, reassemble. |
Trust the government? Ask an Indian. |
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Art Tatum
Penny Collector Member
USA
400 Posts |
Posted - 03/20/2008 : 21:57:15
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5 dollars of pennies may be enough to find a 14-D! I know one guy who did! |
my machine is running! |
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NDFARMER
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1197 Posts |
Posted - 03/20/2008 : 22:14:31
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What works well for me is to do a quick presort before I run the coins through the machine. I get my pennies in $50.00 bags so I set the bag on the table and just push the pennies off the edge of the table into a pail. That gives me a chance to remove all the pennies that are bent or have glue on them, and take out any dimes or foreign coins that are in the bag. Plus I am able to find most of the wheats that are in the bag. By doing this it eliminates just about all the jamming problems that these problem coins create. |
COPPER - the "poormans" precious metal!!!
SELLING - $100.00 face copper shipped to you for $189.00 machine rolled or bagged - PM me if your interested. |
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PennyProspector
Penny Pincher Member
USA
212 Posts |
Posted - 03/20/2008 : 22:54:05
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quote: Originally posted by Epaphras
x I also put a little oil on the plastic shute so the coins can move more freely.
I use dry silicone then kind of polish it in since it dries and doesnt leave any slippery oil I find it collects gunk slower than oil.
But the same concept. either way the cleaner the better she runs.
pp |
Happy Prospecting! |
Edited by - PennyProspector on 03/20/2008 22:56:00 |
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NotABigDeal
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
3890 Posts |
Posted - 03/21/2008 : 06:38:14
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Officially part of the Ryedale club....Welcome!
Deal
p.s. I do agree, "You stopped to eat?" Can't believe it. Your body will soon get used to the mostly Ryedale diet.... |
Live free or die. Plain and simple.
"If you love wealth more than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, depart from us in peace. We ask not your council or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you. May your chains rest lightly upon you and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen." - Samuel Adams |
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WilliamC
Penny Collector Member
USA
471 Posts |
Posted - 03/22/2008 : 04:59:12
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Well I spent the better part of yesterday working with the pennies.
Just to summarize, I've now made my first significant zinc dump of $400 in weighed bags of $25 each, I've picked up a second batch of 50 boxes, and I've sorted 25 of the 100 total boxes I've gotten in the last two weeks.
Picking up the pennies is a bit of a chore and I can see where using a dolly and my minivan would be easier than loading them into the trunk of my Saturn 4-door. The weight is enough to make the car ride low on the back tires but since I only live 2 miles from my bank it's not too bad. A couple of people in the bank asked me what I needed with all those pennies and I told them about the copper and zinc and the value of the metals and how Fed is devaluing the dollar and how Congress is thinking to eliminate the penny altogether. They both very much related it to what happened with the silver in coins during the late 1960's.
Taking the zinc to the dump bank (a Bancorp South branch in Southaven, MS) was easy. I weighed out 13.6 lbs of zinc into each bag on my postal scales, then added a handful more pennies but not quite to 13.8 lbs. The plastic bags I laid in the back seat of my car so the weight isn't directly over the back tires like the boxes in the trunk. And there were only 16 bags of them this time. Then I drove them the 25 miles to my dump bank, well it would have been 25 miles but there was a wreck on the interstate and I ended up getting off and taking the back way which added half-again the distance. When I got to the bank I took one bag in to ask them how they wanted the bags labeled, and all they need is for me to put my name and account number on the top white strip of the bag. The best part is that they have a red wagon specifically for customers to use in bringing in large amounts of coins, so I got to pull the wagon through the lobby of the bank out to my car, load up, and pull it back inside. It's kinda fun and like being a kid again to use a wagon to bring your money to the bank, I told the teller next time I'd make sure and bring my soda bottles to return for the deposit too. So I left the bags in the wagon for them, they credited my account, and that was that. I think I can squeeze up to 24 bags in the wagon without them spilling over the sides so maybe $600 at a time will be my limit for a single deposit. Of course there are other branches of Bankcorp South and I can call them about their coin deposit requirements too if I need to up this amount in any given day.
By far the biggest bottleneck now seems to be breaking open the penny rolls and emptying them, especially the machine wrapped rolls. Yes the Ryedale can sort the pennies faster than I can break the rolls and no it's not a good idea to break the rolls directly into the hopper. Too much paper falls in and there is no chance to grab particularly nasty or bent coins.
I had multiple jams yesterday, they all seem to occur at the bottom of the chute right as the pennies go into the discriminator. I know at least two of them were caused by bent coins that got caught inside the discriminator, and I'm guessing the remainder are caused by sticky coins that hang up for a moment going through the top feed latch as they drop into the discriminator, just long enough for a second penny to come and double-up. I had 4 or 5 jams in a row over a half-hour period but then they seemed to drop off significantly. As I get more of a routine I very well may start trying to do a little more pre-sorting to remove the bad pennies. For now I've taken to running the machine with the front panel off so I can watch the pennies drop and turn it off as soon as I see a jam start to happen. This way at least I don't get more than a couple clogged in the chute and usually I don't even have to completely remove the discriminator, just (after turning off and unplugging of course) use tweezers to remove one of the doubled up pennies and the other then drops through. I will for sure be getting some of the recommended cleaning solvent and pipe cleaners in the next couple days and start keeping the penny path clean.
So all is going good so far, I've sorted $625 in fresh pennies and $100 in eye-sorted copper since I got the machine and have another $1875 of fresh pennies to sort. As it is Easter weekend I do have family things to do so I will be lucky to get another $500 done in the next two days, but this will include weighing and bagging the zinc for dumping. As long as I don't leave a mess I should be good to keep this in the dining/living room for a while. It's not like we do any formal entertaining, most of the living room has big cabinets holding toys for our 3-year old and 18-month old. So it's only fair that Dad gets to keep a toy in there too! And of course I unplug the machine and put it away when not in use to keep little hands from messing with it, it's bad enough the kids wanting to play with the pennies and unsort what I've already sorted!
As it stands I have one tide cat bucket full of copper and am starting on my second. Give me a moment and I'll weight it...ugh, 110 lbs of copper in one pail. Darn me for being out of shape but I can hardly pick it up and move it! Alas for my weight-lifting days and being able to dead-lift 400 lbs or squat 325 or bench press 240, that's many years in the past. Now I have to be careful of my back when I bend over to pick up pennies!
That's what growing older and raising a family does to you, makes you weak and real concerned about pinching pennies :)
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Sorting In Northwest Mississippi |
Edited by - WilliamC on 03/22/2008 05:03:22 |
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wheeler_dealer
Penny Collector Member
USA
402 Posts |
Posted - 03/22/2008 : 11:19:33
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William, Congratulations. I have been watching and enjoying your post. Feel glad for you that you have finally received your "TOY" and are enjoying it. May your sorting experiences be plentiful and profitable. P.S. Word of caution. Pennies can be dangerous for the digestion system. Wrong kind of copper for the diet. |
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El Dee
Penny Hoarding Member
USA
547 Posts |
Posted - 03/22/2008 : 12:11:10
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quote: Originally posted by WilliamC
A couple of people in the bank asked me what I needed with all those pennies and I told them about the copper and zinc and the value of the metals and how Fed is devaluing the dollar and how Congress is thinking to eliminate the penny altogether.
Shhh- you COLLECT them. Don't ruin a free thing.
For jams:
Keep the chute clean. Mineral spirits works great.
Also, lube the little pawl roller like Andy says. Use DRY lube like Andy says. |
Trust the government? Ask an Indian. |
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n/a
deleted
15 Posts |
Posted - 03/22/2008 : 16:56:19
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I enjoyed reading this alot. Not a factory operation here but a bucket full makes me a little envious. I'll get there sooner or later too. |
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WilliamC
Penny Collector Member
USA
471 Posts |
Posted - 03/23/2008 : 08:43:25
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I'm glad to be contributing to other sorters entertainment. Part of the fun of any hobby is being able to share the enthusiasm, and this forum makes that easy.
I'm amazed to see the number of new people since I joined just a month ago, this idea is catching on I tell you!
Won't be able to sort any today, family things to do. I did get $175 of zinc bagged from my sort last night, and I may be able to sneak in an hour to break open rolls to get a bucket full of pennies for my next sort.
But I won't be able to keep the pace up I have for the last couple of days. I'll be lucky to do over $500 in a normal week from here on out.
But in May the wife and kids are going to her sister's house in Florida for a week. I'll have to be sure and stock up on boxes and sort a couple of thousand dollars worth while I've got the house to myself!
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Sorting In Northwest Mississippi |
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knibloe
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1066 Posts |
Posted - 03/23/2008 : 20:45:13
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The ideal certainly is catching on. The guy on e-bay selling comparitors says he sells 40 per month to people sorting pennies. |
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