jeffbuckes's Last 20 Posts
| Is It Worthwhile To Hoard Copper Pennies?
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jeffbuckes
Pillar of the Community
United States
776 Posts |
 Posted 08/19/2024 11:36 pm
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Hoarding copper pennies is not worthwhile and doesn't really make sense. Do I do it anyway? Of course I do
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I do it because it is cheap fun and will give future collectors something to collect.
True collectors!!! I'm the same way with other coins. I'll never get rich with my hobby but it makes me happy. |
| | Forum: US Modern Coins |
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| Is It Worthwhile To Hoard Copper Pennies?
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jeffbuckes
Pillar of the Community
United States
776 Posts |
Posted 08/17/2024 12:16 pm
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Hi kingell -
It is illegal to melt or export for melt pennies and nickels. Thus no market for copper pennies.
Please read thru all 9 pages of this thread including links to other sites. You'll see many stories of hoarders and stackers with buckets and pallets filled with pennies. Just like you, they all got them at face value (or less) and they're all waiting for the law to change. But meanwhile the opportunity and storage and shipping and smelting costs all eat away at any gains. Inflation outstrips all.
So what can you do? You can list them on ebay for sale but shipping costs and ebay fees eat away at that profit till you're lucky to break even. You could try to sell them at a flea market or coin show but then you still have to haul them to the show and pay table fees etc. So no profit there either. But even dumping them at Coinstar is a problem for 2 big reasons:
(a) Coinstar charges about 12% to redeem for cash. Ouch! You can redeem coins for gift cards at Coinstar for 0% fee but then you'd have $5,000 in gift cards to spend.
(b) Coinstar machines can't hold the $5,000 in pennies you have! You'd have to dump a few thousand at a time before the machine gets full.
If this were my stash I'd go the Coinstar route. I go to the grocer about once a week anyway, and I'd take $50 in pennies with me each trip. Cash those in for gift cards and spend the gift cards as I go. That way I don't have to take extra trips and I don't have a ton of gift cards hanging around, getting lost, etc.
PS: CoinStar gift cards are really just a paper receipt with a code on them. They are sensitive to heat and light and can wear out in days or weeks so don't hang on to them too long.
PPS: Fun fact, CoinStar Canada still accepts Canadian pennies for redemption at face value though Canada stopped using pennies in 2012. They sell them for scrap metal.
PPPS: To all hoarders: go ahead and hoard your pennies, have fun, but be realistic, you're not going to make any money doing this unless and until that law changes and in that time you could have used that same money to pay off a bill with high interest etc. Whether it's $50 or $50,000 in copper pennies you are wasting your time if you're in this for profit. But have fun anyway. |
| | Forum: US Modern Coins |
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| Spending Dateless Buffalos
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jeffbuckes
Pillar of the Community
United States
776 Posts |
Posted 08/06/2024 09:18 am
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@Lugie -
In my adventure of spending these nickels I quickly learned that most people don't even look at them. I got not one single comment when spending them. I think they just look like nickels to most people.
But half dollars look like ... well, they look like half dollars and those stand out because people don't use half dollars much anymore.
There are a couple threads on here about spending dollar coins and two dollar bills. The most interesting part to me is the folks who spend Ikes! Now those stand out!
Here's a link:
http://goccf.com/t/247505 |
| | Forum: US Classic and Colonial Coins |
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| Annual Baystate Coin Show (Marlborough, Ma)
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jeffbuckes
Pillar of the Community
United States
776 Posts |
Posted 08/04/2024 7:48 pm
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I've been to this show many times, starting way back when it was still held in downtown Boston years back.
This year I went on Saturday Juy 27. I got there a little before the doors opened at 10. At least 20+ people in line ahead of me. But as the day progressed I was surprised by how slow it was. I asked a few dealers and they all said they were SLAMMED on Friday with customer 3 or 4 deep at every table. Wow! Glad I went on Sat. I like to sit and dig thru boxes and binders. But just like years before I was disappointed that so many dealers packed up by 2PM tho the show was on till 4. One dealer said everyone was just anxious to go home after such as a busy Friday but I still had money to spend. Oh, well. I acquired quite a few small pieces, re-starting my 7070 type set and was happy to fill lot of holes with starter pieces.
100 tables, 50 or so dealers and something for everyone as always. A good show and recommended for next year. |
| | Forum: Numismatic Calendar | Coin Shows, Release Dates, Etc. |
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| Spending Dateless Buffalos
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jeffbuckes
Pillar of the Community
United States
776 Posts |
Posted 07/30/2024 10:02 am
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Put my last 5 dateless buffs into a fare vending machine in Boston yesterday.
Next up: I have a bag of common date Buffs and V nicks ... I like them more than the dateless buffs but I think I'll spend those too...! |
| | Forum: US Classic and Colonial Coins |
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| Project $100k - Circulating US Dollar Coins
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jeffbuckes
Pillar of the Community
United States
776 Posts |
Posted 07/30/2024 09:59 am
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Slightly off-topic:
I was browsing at a small coin shop in Boston yesterday when a young couple came in (mid-20s), the woman asked the dealer whether he buys coins... Dealer said "maybe, what do you have?" The young woman opened her bag and put a dozen or so dollar coins on the showcase. They were all presidential and Sac dollars.The woman had read "on-line" that some were worth money and asked the dealer to take a closer look, but he just "spend those". She was disappointed but pleasant. Weird thing to me is that in Boston we use dollar coins every day. If you put a $5 bill etc in the fare vending machine it will spit out dollar coins all day long. So not sure why anyone here woud think they might be valuable except for all the misleading Youtube videos. Oh, well, keep them circulating! |
| | Forum: US Modern Coins |
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| Spending Dateless Buffalos
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jeffbuckes
Pillar of the Community
United States
776 Posts |
Posted 07/28/2024 08:57 am
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| At the Bay State Coin Show yesterday, guy next to me asked the dealer for some dateless buffs to release into the wild. Dealer had rolls of partial dates (no dateless) that he sold to this guy for $8 a roll. The guy bought 4 rolls so thats another 160 buffs on their way back into circulation. Just a fun coincidence that I was there to overhear that... |
| | Forum: US Classic and Colonial Coins |
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| Junk Silver Prices Thread - Report In Here
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jeffbuckes
Pillar of the Community
United States
776 Posts |
Posted 07/28/2024 08:54 am
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@NumisEd -
I was at that show yesterday and I saw the same dealer selling at 21x. He had a good quantity of bagged 90% at 21x which is a great price at today's spot ($28). Coincidentally, I talked to this dealer for a few minutes outside while we waited for the doors to open, didn't know him from Adam, we were just both waiting to go in, but he's a cool guy, been in the hobby many years and yup, had great prices on 90%...
At another table I sold some US 90% for 20x, just a few hundred dollars worth for spending money at the show. But that really tells you what a great deal the other guy offered by selling at 21x
Silver bullion coins were selling for 32 to 38 for common stuff (Eagles, Pandas, Libertads), and common silver bars etc were going for 30. |
| | Forum: Precious Metals and Bullion - Gold, Silver, Copper, Platinum |
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| Spending Dateless Buffalos
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jeffbuckes
Pillar of the Community
United States
776 Posts |
Posted 07/22/2024 4:14 pm
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@NumisRob -
Boston is my hometown so I know all about the "T"... a lot has changed since you were here. I bet the T fare was 75 cents on your visit in the early 90s. It's $2.40 now. And no more tokens, they switched to "Charlie Cards" about 20 years ago. The T got rid of the token clerks and installed fare vending machines that sometimes work, sometimes don't. In fact they're already replacing those machines with a new system for a cool BILLION dollars. But the first iteration of fare vending machines accepted tokens as partial payment at their face value - I think it was $1.75 - for a few years. I miss tokens because I never had to guess whether I had enough money for a ride. I just stuck my hand in my pocket. Either I had a token or I didn't. Now we have these cards and they look the same whether they have $20 or $0. That makes a big difference when I'm running for a train... And for some reason the cards "expire" after 5 years, even if you use them evey day and have money on them. Then you have to go downtown, stand in line, and exchange the old card for a new one.
As for the cull V nickel, nice to see the machine took that, same dimensions as our current coins so makes sense!
@ijn1944 -
Nice! There are some happy coin roll hunters out there. Your buffs migh be featured in a youtube video. I've seen more than a few of them, happy collectors spilling a roll of coins and showing us what they find. Customer rolled coins like yours are always the most interesting! |
| | Forum: US Classic and Colonial Coins |
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| Spending Dateless Buffalos
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jeffbuckes
Pillar of the Community
United States
776 Posts |
Posted 07/22/2024 3:40 pm
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Went hiking out in Western Mass yesterday. Beautiful country out there, beautiful weather too.
Got lunch at an old-fashioned hamburger stand afterward, the kind of place that only accepts cash so had no trouble tucking a few buffalos in with my payment. Got some ice cream afterward and tucked a few more buffalos in that payment too. Later on went to a farm-stand, got fresh peaches, corn, early-season plums etc. Paid cash and snuck a few more buffalos in with my exact change. Was a very warm day and a long hike so the wife wanted some iced coffee after that... We found a local coffeeshop down the road, hadn't been there in 15 years but it's still there, got drinks and a couple pastries, paid cash, exact change as always, and there went a few more buffalos.
Overall I put 12 buffalos back in circulation yesterday, nobody said a word, which no longer surprises me. All of the cashiers were younger, probably local teens with summer jobs, and they seem to have no interest in the coins, but they also didn't bat an eye or complain or fall apart when I paid cash. Happy to see there are still competent people out there in the world who can count and make change when needed! And I know those buffs will make someone smile when they eventually get noticed so I feel pretty good.
PS: our lunch spot in Sunderland, Mass:
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| | Forum: US Classic and Colonial Coins |
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| Spending Dateless Buffalos
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jeffbuckes
Pillar of the Community
United States
776 Posts |
Posted 07/20/2024 1:42 pm
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| I'm not talking about the 1950s, I'm talking about 4 years ago before POS companies like Toast put their greasy little fingers into every last transaction. Toast and UberEats and Doordash etc all get a cut of the profits, tacking on fees left and right while reducing service and telling us how lucky we are. Look up the % that these companies get from each sale; on top of the fees that credit card companies charge. That makes inflation worse than it already was, but they tell us it's more convenient and we're all supposed to smile and say OK... And the stores want us to use kiosks to order food and phones to scan QR codes and self-checkout registers all for what? To save on labor and to crush your consumer rights. Read those T&C's sometime. None of this is for your benefit. Sure, I use credit cards when it makes sense to me, but cash is still king. To each his own. |
| | Forum: US Classic and Colonial Coins |
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| Spending Dateless Buffalos
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jeffbuckes
Pillar of the Community
United States
776 Posts |
Posted 07/20/2024 10:17 am
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Yup, my hobby is a lot harder than it should be!
It ain't easy being a customer anymore. All these stores pushing customers to use credit cards and phones and wrist watches and anything other than cash. To them I'm a pain in tuchus... They all want me to order on-line or pay at a kiosk. Nope, not me! Cash please!
And I've walked out of a few restaurants because so many now want me to scan a QR code for the menu. Instead I ask for a menu and if they say no, I leave. I can't imagine a world in which a business won't tell me what they sell, instead now they say look it up on-line. I still pay cash, almost every day, and on most everything under 50 bucks or so. And whenever possible I use exact change. But I tell ya, half the time people roll their eyes at me. I'll keep spending my Buffalos and $2 bills because I know they will EVENTUALLY be loved, but many stores, especially the big stores sure don't make it easy.
PS: I could go off-topic very quickly and mention cashiers who check their phones WHILE I'm paying which has happened many many times, etc etc. But I bite my tongue.
PPS: OK, now I will go off-topic... Here's why I never order on-line or at a kiosk: all those websites and machines have a little checkbox for their "terms and conditions". You ever read them? They always include arbitration clauses and waivers and disclaimers that restrict your rights. If you get hurt or sick or don't get what you paid for too bad! You checked that little box. Pay cash and you don't have to agree to anything. |
| | Forum: US Classic and Colonial Coins |
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| Spending Dateless Buffalos
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jeffbuckes
Pillar of the Community
United States
776 Posts |
Posted 07/19/2024 4:48 pm
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Went to a bookstore today and picked up a copy of the latest "VOLKSMANIA" - it's a magazine for VW enthusiasts. My buddy is a "bus-nut" and he's featured in an article so I had to get a copy.
Magazines aren't cheap and with tax this cost $10.62! But it was a good opportunity to pay cash and spend 4 buffalos. Clerk didnt seem to care at all, she was too busy trying to convince me to sign up for the membership club blah blah. But at least that's 4 more buffs in the wild...! |
| | Forum: US Classic and Colonial Coins |
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| Spending Dateless Buffalos
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jeffbuckes
Pillar of the Community
United States
776 Posts |
Posted 07/17/2024 11:02 am
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Two more buffs back in circulation as of yesterday.
Went to a burger chain here in town, that was my first mistake. They want me to order at a "kiosk". I say I'm paying cash. Well there are two registers but no cashiers. Somebody finally comes over but... there's no cash in the drawers! The manager forgot to put in new trays between shifts and they ask me again to use the kiosk. I should have left but the guy was nice and trying really hard to keep it together. The guy even says I'll put your food on my card and you can just pay me. What the heck? He was trying so hard, not being a bad guy, but the manager really messed up. Young guy, no experience. So I said, how about I place my order and pay EXACT so you don't have to make change? He says ok. So I paid exact including a couple buffalos but by then then he didnt care about anything, he just wanted to go.
Anyway, a couple buffs back out there, but a sad day for retail in America when these stores are trying to kill cash all in the name of saving a buck on labor. |
| | Forum: US Classic and Colonial Coins |
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| Junk Silver Prices Thread - Report In Here
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jeffbuckes
Pillar of the Community
United States
776 Posts |
Posted 07/11/2024 11:11 am
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Spot around $31+ today and NGC says 90% melts around 22.5x. My next show is coming up in 2 weeks so not sure whether I'll be buying or selling or a bit of both.
I bet a lot of collectors and stackers are getting priced out at this rate. How much upside is left? Politics and economy definitely playing tug of war here so the next few months should be interesting. Will silver fly high or crash and burn? I don't have a magic eightball, I just kick back and watch the show.
PS: back in Feb I mentioned that one dealer was paying 15x on 90% at a show, at the time he predicted silver would drop to $18 by summer. Boy was he wrong... |
| | Forum: Precious Metals and Bullion - Gold, Silver, Copper, Platinum |
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| Spending Dateless Buffalos
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jeffbuckes
Pillar of the Community
United States
776 Posts |
Posted 07/03/2024 10:23 pm
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| A few more dateless buffs dropped in the tip jar at a lunch place in Harvard Square. Very busy in there so nobody saw the coins but I'm sure they'll catch some eyes tonight... |
| | Forum: US Classic and Colonial Coins |
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