Hypothetical...What would you do if...

D · September 27, 2010 8:05PM

...You were in a 7/11 or some kind of convenience store and you looked at the donation box on the countertop and saw circulated silver coins? Not a dime or a quarter, but dimes and quarters. In this scenario, the box is easy to tilt and get the coins out of, even though it's not directly owned/moderated by the store itself.

I only ask because it happened to me tonight at the store and I'll share what I did after.

-D

tightbudget · September 27, 2010 8:09PM

Sigh and just leave. Too awkward asking the clerk to take them out. I see this happening sometimes with wheat pennies and simply let it go.

ambro51 · September 27, 2010 8:44PM

Semi Sealed donation box is off limits. Tip cup.....thats cool if you make it obvious you are putting in a few dollar bills for a few coins.

delistamps · September 27, 2010 9:06PM

The silver coins may have been intentionally deposited in the tin. (seems every year around here there is a story about a gold coin being dropped in a Salvation Army kettle. The best move is to stick a note with an offer of 10X face value and my phone number into the cup. This way the organization would be aware of the silver and less likely to deposit it in a bank for face value!

llafoe · September 27, 2010 9:09PM

I wouldn't have even looked in the donation box.

fcloud · September 27, 2010 9:13PM

They belong to whichever organization the donation box is for. In my book they are off limits no matter what. Maybe they were put in there on purpose. For example Salvation army gets gold coins every year and they know what to do with them.

PerryHall · September 27, 2010 9:20PM

Ask permission from whomever is in charge. Otherwise, leave well enough alone. You don't need to get arrested for theft. If they let you take the coins, leave a lot more than what you took---it's the right thing to do.

TwoSides2aCoin · September 27, 2010 10:39PM

The recipient should at least understand the "extra money" that's in there and hidden in a few denominations.

A simple note like "THERES PRECIOUS METAL IN THIS BOX in the form of SILVER coins"
Or write it on the back of a business card with a dollar attached.

Kindness can come in a box, too.

D · September 27, 2010 11:55PM

This actually happened to me this evening when I was at 7/11 and I asked the clerk if it was cool for me to swap out the coins for others. She looked at me and said "Sure, I'm not stopping you." I took out close to two-dollars in change and she said "Just throw a few dollars in" and I looked at her and smiled as I stuffed two dollars into the box...

...and then I unfurled the twenty in my right hand and winked as I left.

Edited to add: I have no shame in what I did, so for those who think or believe it's an issue of ethics; there's no need to be vociferous. I put in much more than would have been obtained for the few quarters and dimes and I actually felt good about it.

Edited again for the sake of clarity: I put in twenty-two dollars. Not two dollars.

-D

GRANDAM · September 28, 2010 12:04AM

<< This actually happened to me this evening when I was at 7/11 and I asked the clerk if it was cool for me to swap out the coins for others. She looked at me and said "Sure, I'm not stopping you." I took out close to two-dollars in change and she said "Just throw a few dollars in" and I looked at her and smiled as I stuffed two dollars into the box...

...and then I unfurled the twenty in my right hand and winked as I left.

Edited to add: I have no shame in what I did, so for those who think or believe it's an issue of ethics; there's no need to be vociferous. I put in much more than would have been obtained for the few quarters and dimes and I actually felt good about it.

-D >>

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Had a dealer in a shop done this to "A Little Old Lady" this board would be getting a rope ready for the hanging

RyGuy · September 28, 2010 12:06AM

<< 

<< This actually happened to me this evening when I was at 7/11 and I asked the clerk if it was cool for me to swap out the coins for others. She looked at me and said "Sure, I'm not stopping you." I took out close to two-dollars in change and she said "Just throw a few dollars in" and I looked at her and smiled as I stuffed two dollars into the box...

...and then I unfurled the twenty in my right hand and winked as I left.

Edited to add: I have no shame in what I did, so for those who think or believe it's an issue of ethics; there's no need to be vociferous. I put in much more than would have been obtained for the few quarters and dimes and I actually felt good about it.

-D >>

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Had a dealer in a shop done this to "A Little Old Lady" this board would be getting a rope ready for the hanging

>>

Well duhhhh....all dealers are satan's spawn!

D · September 28, 2010 12:07AM

<< 

<< This actually happened to me this evening when I was at 7/11 and I asked the clerk if it was cool for me to swap out the coins for others. She looked at me and said "Sure, I'm not stopping you." I took out close to two-dollars in change and she said "Just throw a few dollars in" and I looked at her and smiled as I stuffed two dollars into the box...

...and then I unfurled the twenty in my right hand and winked as I left.

Edited to add: I have no shame in what I did, so for those who think or believe it's an issue of ethics; there's no need to be vociferous. I put in much more than would have been obtained for the few quarters and dimes and I actually felt good about it.

-D >>

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Had a dealer in a shop done this to "A Little Old Lady" this board would be getting a rope ready for the hanging

>>

I'm not sure why that would be. I'm not 100% sure what coin silver trades for but I think I made an excellent counter-offer to the clerks required two dollars.

-D

GRANDAM · September 28, 2010 12:13AM

So I am unclear here,,,,, did you leave $2 or $20 or $22?

Did you leave the $2 and wave the $20 under her nose as you left? That is the way I took it?

Just wondering, GrandAm

D · September 28, 2010 12:14AM

<< So I am unclear here,,,,, did you leave $2 or $20 or $22?

Did you leave the $2 and wave the $20 under her nose as you left? That is the way I took it?

Just wondering, GrandAm

>>

It was told like that to be facetious. I left $22 in the box. It probably increased the total haul in the box to...$24.

-D

GRANDAM · September 28, 2010 12:16AM

OK, I'll hang the rope up,,, that RIP only requires "TAR & FEATHERS"

tydye · September 28, 2010 12:22AM

2sides2acoin has the right idea

TwoSides2aCoin · September 28, 2010 12:26AM

Capitalism isn't just a figment of our imagination and from my perspective, you didn't do wrong (this after reading your follow up post). On the contrary, you were excessively generous. Yet, it's a donation box authorized by the owner of the store or manager. There's a bond of trust between the person accepting the donations and the store manager. Since it is IN the box already, I would not "feel" right doing what you did, but given the same situation, it is an opportunity to capitalize on and you probably paid a "fair price" for the silver. However, I was taught "if it is not yours, keep your hands off of it unless you're allowed permission from who owns it".
as a coin guy, I can say : "good eye" .

No stink eye from me ... I ain't The Judge, or THE man.

TwoSides2aCoin · September 28, 2010 12:32AM

...oh, and P.S.

It's not such a hypothetical anymore

messydesk · September 28, 2010 12:42AM

I was watching Seinfeld last night after a travesty of a football game. George had been having timing issues with the guy behind the counter at Paisano's not seeing him leave a tip in the tip jar after picking up his calzones. He finally made sure to announce it, the guy turned away and didn't see him, so George tried to retrieve the dollar so he could redeposit it while being noticed. Of course, the first thing the guy saw was George taking the dollar out of the jar, leading him to be banned from Paisano's.

Anyway, you gave 10x face for the coins that were going to end up being given to a bank at face, on top of a $2 donation after making it clear what you were doing. You saved the recipient the trouble of figuring out what to do with them, assuming they'd have noticed the coins were silver in the first place. I don't really have a problem with that.

llafoe · September 28, 2010 12:49AM

You never have said what the "close to two-dollars in change" were... you mentioned dimes and quarters; any good dates? mintmarks?

Billet7 · September 28, 2010 1:01AM

There is a good chance that the person who left the coins was an old person who has had the coins in his/her sock drawer for years and didn't know the difference (or didn't care) between silver and clad. Additionally there is also a good chance that the donation company wouldn't pickup on the silver coins, and would deposit them as regular coins. My wife used to work at a bank, and the most common places to find silver coins are from elderly clearing out their SDB, donationary cups, and lunch money deposits. It is very possible that by "buying" the coins from the donation cup is the best course of action for yourself, AND for the donation company. They ended up with their money's worth, and they didn't have to go through the channels to have the silver converted to currency (which would cost them additional money.) So long as you paid near silver value, it is likely that the situation is a win-win. They get their money out of it (which the may not have if you left the coins) and you get some old silver.

The situation is a bit different if the coins are obviously from a bygone era. If it was a Morgan dollar or something like that, then the person obviously meant to donate that specific item to charity. The same goes with gold coins. They weren't dropped by accident, and the company wouldn't accidently miss them when they were counting. In this case I guess it's up to you, but either way you aren't doing the charity any favors, unless you overpay for the coin (more than market value.)

Just my musings.

tahoe98 · September 28, 2010 1:10AM

...i think i might have mentioned that i am a coin collector and recognized the coins made of silver and would

ask if i could buy/exchange the coins for the current spot of silver. it certainly would benefit them and me.

kurtdog · September 28, 2010 2:19AM

<< I left $22 in the box. It probably increased the total haul in the box to...$24. >>

I think that's a hell of a good thing you did, D. Listen, it pays to tip your luck.

Hypothetical...What would you do if...

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