1916-D Dime Tip, Hypothetical!

coinmanic

You are a small coin dealer and get a part time job on weekends, working at a diner, to help pay for your wifes Rhinoplasty. A little old lady arrives, orders a cup of coffee and leaves 15 minutes later. As she is paying the $1.50 bill, she thanks you for the service and hands you 16 Dimes, telling you to keep the change.

All heart you think to yourself, as you sort through the Dimes. Lo and behold, one is a 1916-D Dime in Good condition (about $1200). Do you run out to the car and tell the woman of the coins value? Though you are a server at the moment, does your expertise in coins hold you to a higher standard?

If you choose to not tell the lady, consider the tip. She gave you 16 Dimes. Can you assume that the most valuable is the tip and keep it, or do you have an obligation to the diners owner to hand over the find?

Would the fact that you need $8000 for the nose job, alter your answer?

doh

Whoa

tightbudget

Maybe she knows how much it's actually worth and is just doing you a big favor

SilverEagles92

Is the fact that the person is a "little old lady" supposed to skew the results?

coinmanic

<< <i>Is the fact that the person is a "little old lady" supposed to skew the results? >>



Guess it could be a big old lady.

mrpotatoheadd

<< <i>Is the fact that the person is a "little old lady" supposed to skew the results? >>

Not any more than the fact that you're a coin dealer, I'm sure.

SilverEagles92

<< <i>

<< <i>Is the fact that the person is a "little old lady" supposed to skew the results? >>



Guess it could be a big old lady. >>



I mean, is the fact that the woman is elderly supposed to add to the level of ethical difficulty in not telling her about the find?

What if the person had left before you noticed the find?

What if you just found it in the cash register at the end of the day?

renomedphys

Serendipity

coinmanic

"I mean, is the fact that the woman is elderly supposed to add to the level of ethical difficulty in not telling her about the find?

What if the person had left before you noticed the find?

What if you just found it in the cash register at the end of the day?"



Whether the little old lady adds to the ethical dilemma is up to the respondent. There is no right or wrong answer.

If the person left before you noticed the find, the coin would be a 1901-S Quarter, not a 1916-D Dime.

If you found the coin in the register it would clearly belong to the owner at that point. One would have to know what policy, if any that he had regading coin exchanges

SilverEagles92

<< <i>"I mean, is the fact that the woman is elderly supposed to add to the level of ethical difficulty in not telling her about the find?

What if the person had left before you noticed the find?

What if you just found it in the cash register at the end of the day?"


Whether the little old lady adds to the ethical dilemma is up to the respondent. There is no right or wrong answer.

If the person left before you noticed the find, the coin would be a 1901-S Quarter, not a 1916-D Dime.

If you found the coin in the register it would clearly belong to the owner at that point. One would have to know what policy, if any that he had regading coin exchanges >>



Do employers have a stated policy? As long as the money in the till is what it's supposed to be at the end of the day, I don't see a problem with making substitutions (taking a dime out of your pocket and putting it in the register) unless stated otherwise.

coinmanic

As a side note. A collector friend of mine was a cashier at Walmart. If he saw a coin in the till that he wanted, he could call a supervisor over, let him know that he was making a switch, and exchange coins. He picked up an extra leaf Wisconsin Quarter that way.

JupitarCoins

I would try to catch up with the women if you had noticed what you had in hand. I then would tell her about it and make an offer for the coin seeing that you had done a good deed, the woman would probably then sell it to you for your offer.

WoodenJefferson

What if you just found it in the cash register at the end of the day?"

Once that coin hit’s the register, it immediately becomes the proprietors coin. But, you could give it out as change again, so buy a jelly donut and take the Merc as change.

morgansforever

Bring it her attention, make her an offer. Maybe she has a glass jar full of 16D Winged Liberty dimes.

LanLord

How freakin big is your wife's schnoz?

LindeDad

Do what most dealers would do.

Oh forgot to include what is 80% of the melt value of a dime now.

nankraut

IMHO, this will never happen; so why worry about what you would do?

fcloud

Sounds similar to another story.

MidLifeCrisis

Quit your job and head to the blackjack table! Woohoo!

seatedcollector

definately chase the old lady down, body check her into her car, take her purse, dump the contents in the parking lot, she may have more.

Bochiman

Maybe she went to a coin store with the dimes and was only offered melt for them, so she decided to use them for a tip instead

barbershopper

If you don't keep it, she'll just spend it somewhere else.

If you run after her and tell her what it's worth, she'll take it to a coin shop where
she'll get short-changed by a dealer who will convince her it's in ag3 grade and give her $50 for it.

Who wins? The dealer.

Still a tough question. I'd keep it.

JT

coinmanic

I would pocket the 1916-D as a tip. Not tell the boss and dutifully report it at fair value on my 1040.

Bear

Some will do what their business sense says is the smart move.

However, I would hope that most, would follow their heart and do

the right move and return the 16-D to the elderly woman. Often, the

greatest wealth can never be measured in monetary units. Integrity,

kindness and decency, are part of the wealth of the human soul and they

last beyond the ending of the world.

Dropdaflag

So, How did your wife's nose job turn out?

Overdate

I would assume it's a counterfeit.

mkman123

what a toughy! Were do you guys think of this stuff? lol

melvin289

32 years ago I was managing a restaurant and at the end of the night I had about $20 too many pennies. They were in bank rolls and as best I could tell were all new 1977 cents. I put money in the register and bought the rolls rather than try and deposit them in a night deposit bag. I still have the rolls of pennies. Am I under obligation to track down the owners of a now out of business restaurant chain to give them their $1 a roll profit?

Ron


edited for spelling

bidask

Maybe that little old lady is an angel in disguise.

InternetJunky

What if the "little old lady" (or any person) was a complete arsehole to you while serving them? Would you be so quick to tell them the value of the coin and offer to give it back or buy it from them?

Gleary

My mother raided my fathers collection about 1965 to buy a steak sub in Baltimore. She spent a AU 1916-D my father bought before he got married. He told the story for years!