Yes you read that correctly. There is a way to get free silver bullion coins from your local bank, whether in Canada or the United States. Keep reading to discover the master plan.
As some background, I used to buy boxes of rolls of coins to hunt for hours and hours looking for a few silver coins. It was always backbreaking work, dirty, definitely smelly, and yielded rather wimpy results for the effort.
I have completely stopped that because it just isn’t working anymore. Too many people have picked through the rolls and there is just too little left to make it worth it. Since the financial recession in late 2008, people have wised up and started keeping the good stuff in their pocket change. However, something rather interesting and contrary also occurred.
Notice the “One Dollar” legend on the coin. All bullion products have a legal tender status.
During that time, we have seen an explosive market take shape in the cash for gold sector. It follows with silver as well. These companies made millions of dollars off of peoples laziness to check spot prices but also because of their desperate nature to get cash in hand.
Gold skyrocketed to more than a thousand dollars an ounce. In the mid to late 90’s it often sat at $300-400 an ounce. That incredible jump allowed the cash for gold companies to offer less than the thousand the ounce of gold was worth and since the people owning the gold were going to make several hundred dollars profit off their initial purchase they were all too happy.
Here’s your Checklist Before you Get your Free Silver Coins:
- Get to know someone at the bank that is prominent – Develop a relationship with them outside of work. This can be tricky and in my case I might just be lucky to have met a bank manager at a local running club before knowing she was a bank manager.
- Go there at a slower time – usually between breakfast and lunch or between lunch and workday end. Never try this during the lunch rush, on the way home or as work starts in the morning.
- Come with Several Hundred Dollars – You could do this with as little as $20 but it’s good to be prepared for a large haul. It’s easy if you just have the money already in your account.
- Make Sure you Have Actual Business to Do – Please do not go to the bank only to implement this strategy. You will be a burden and co-workers to the worker you know will take offense. Plan to have a deposit, withdrawal or change to your account.
Once you have all of that in play you are ready to go. Go to the bank and find your favorite teller or manager working. Since it is a slower time, they will have time to chitchat and catch up with you. Talk about family, friends, the weather, whatever. Strike up a conversation and be appealing. If you can, dress well and take care of your appearance.
Next conduct your business with the bank. When you complete the transaction and they thank you or ask if there is anything else they can do for you, ask for a particular coin that might be difficult to find or would stand out. For example, many banks in Canada do not keep rolls of fifty cent coins.
This will force the worker to go to the bag of free silver. I call it that but maybe a better term is waste bag or melting bag. This is a small plastic bag that the bankers put all of the oddball stuff that doesn’t really intend to circulate but is still worth money and thus needs to be sent to the mint for reclamation and melting.
So what kind of stuff is in there? Usually it’s full of damaged coins that are obliterated beyond repair. Many times it includes some miscellaneous foreign coins that are of no value to anyone there. Lately though it has been full of silver bullion products from the mint.
Yes, you read that right. People are actually deposited silver bullion coins from the mint at face value. I attribute this mostly to desperation and the need for money. Most of these items are given as gifts that people only have short patience for and don’t necessarily care for the design or packaging. However, all of these products have a redeemable circulating dollar value. Thus they can be exchanged for cash or deposited. That’s how you take advantage of it.
Bullion coins are often given as gifts and have gimmick designs. This Canadian coin features hockey and Vancouver to try to entice buyers. When people realize they have value as money, they might get lazy and deposit them at the bank.
Just today I went to the bank and acquired four $20 silver coins, still in their original mint packaging for face value. That’s what I meant when I said free. They absolutely are free. If you decided that you no longer wanted the coins or were dissatisfied with the value of the silver market, you could exchange them back for exactly $20 each.
Trust me this does work. In many cases that bag fills up fast and gets quite heavy. Taking these coins gives the bank more cash currency to use on hand and takes away the obligation, time, and money spent in sending these items back to the mint. It’s definitely a win-win situation.
Of course, I often get a small handful of silver circulated coins that the bank teller decided was a design that is no longer used and placed it in the bag. I often take those too though they are nothing much to write home about compared to the modern mint products available.
Now, if you are interested in other coins and know what to look for there are other rarities in there. Most of the coins in the bag will be those damaged beyond use. However, some of those coins they believe are damaged, are actually error coins. I highly recommend this book to get started identifying them. There is also a chance for gold coins in the bag, though I think most bankers would trade them out themselves, it’s worth asking.
This is my alternative to hunting rolls and I’m sure I’m not the first to have thought about it. Have you tried this before? What are your tips?