Coin Roll Hunting Checking Account

Success is not easy.  There is an element of luck involved, but after owning and operating several businesses I've learned that much of the luck can be replaced with planning.  Even with a solid plan, a little luck now and then sure does come in handy! 

An early experiment with making motivational posters

I recommend, as part of your Coin Roll Hunting Plan, that you open a dedicated checking account with the sole purpose of handling your coin purchases and sales.  There are not many downsides to this and plenty of advantages.  If you are new to collecting or CRH you may not be ready or have a need for a dedicated account.  As you progress you may find one pretty handy.  If you get into selling coins, you'll find it indispensable. 

Setting up a dedicated account is the same as your personal checking account-the one you use to deposit you paycheck and pay your bills.  Your household account is a Put And Take account: you put in your paycheck, then take out to pay your bills.  Treat this as a Hands Off account:  if it's not for coins, you keep your hands off it.  If you are not in a position to keep these funds separated from your day to day living expenses, then it may be best to hold off opening an account until you are in a more stable financial position.  Most banks require a minimum initial deposit of $100.  There is usually a requirement to maintain a minimum balance of $100.  As long as you NEVER drop below the minimum balance, you'll be fine and there is no monthly service charge.  The initial deposit is about the only downside.  You let them borrow a hundred bucks and they will treat you like a customer.  In towns with more than one bank, its a good idea to open your coin account at a different bank than you use for your personal checking account.  The advantage of having an account at a second bank is being able to pick up rolled coins at one bank, drop them off at another.  If you have several banks in your area, you would do well to shop around, try out their rolled coins, see which bank seems to offer the best rolls.  Approach the branch or bank manager and explain what you are doing.  If they are favorable to serving your needs, open your account at once. 

With this dedicated account you are able to separate your household finances from your coin project.  There is no put and take with your coin account.  You are not paying the rent or light bill or a soda at a convenience store with this account.  It serves the single purpose of holding your coin cash.  Modern electronics allow you to handle just about all of your affairs without paper checks.  Unless you absolutely have to have them, you need not order checks.  Get a debit card for the account.  Take the next step by opening a Paypal account solely for your online coin transactions.  With all this in place you can buy and sell coins at your pleasure.  If you have a computer and printer, you can pay for postage and print shipping labels from your desk.  This saves you a trip to the post office and you can post the tracking number immediately.  Make a sale, print the label, it's in the mailbox 5 minutes later and the customer can track the package.  This offers a step up in professionalism, improves customer service and most importantly, gets your money faster from Paypal-a few days instead of a couple weeks.  I usually have my money within 3-4 days of the sale.

Coin collecting can be an expensive hobby.  If all you are doing is searching through rolls, there are still expenses to cover and equipment to purchase.  Wrappers are $6 per thousand.  If you don't wrap the coins yourself when you take them back, coinstar fees are 9%.  If you by a box of cents for $25, pull out a bunch of coins, take the rest back, you don't have $25.  You'll need to replenish your funds to make up for what you take out so you can get another $25 box.  There are loupes, 2x2 holders and boxes, stereo microscopes and scales, and shipping supplies to pay for.  A dedicated coin account helps you keep track of expenses and can keep you from overextending yourself.  Rather than come out of pocket for every purchase, it seems to me the hobby should be able to take care of itself.  If you are not yet at the point of selling coins then treat this account as a savings account, setting aside some amount each week or each month to keep up your hobby and save for some of those larger equipment purchases.  When you are ready to start selling your coins, or if you are already doing so, consider the following:

Make measurable progress in a reasonable amount of time or make significant changes.

To make progress, you've got to have an objective towards which progress can be made otherwise you are peddling awfully hard and not getting anywhere.  It may be that the purpose of the account is to make it easier to pick up and drop off rolls.  That's already a step forward.  If that's the point at which you are comfortable and have no need or desire to go further, it's fine with me...more power to you.  Jonathan Seagull shows us there is always one more level for which to strive.  If you want to enhance personal development or advance your coin endeavors, you probably have an intended use in the back of your head.  Define it.  Let's look at some specific uses...

Savings Account
It's a fact that half of Americans have less than $500 in savings.  This is a miserable statistic that sheds light on the predicament many families face.  If all you can do is put together some extra savings over time it would be an achievement.  Give this objective dimension.  What exactly are you saving for?  How much do you want to save this year?  Where do you want to be in 5 years?  Coming up with an extra 10 bucks a week puts you ahead of half of people in the country inside of a year, but you've got to SAVE that 10 bucks (or more) per week.  Keep it apart from your 'regular' money and it has a chance of building up.  It breaks my heart to see people in their 30s or older who have nothing to show for years of hard work.  Stick with it, in a few years you can put together a tidy sum, perhaps enough to improve your situation in a significant way.  I bought my first house with $1600 down.  I bought my current home with a downpayment of only $5000.  Saving money is a decision.  At $40/week you would be able to find an IRA.

Target Fund
You are putting in lots of effort into coin roll hunting, finding some interesting and valuable errors and varieties, and selling some here and there.  It would be nice to earn a reward from time to time.  It may be that your objective is a specific target: a stronger loupe, a superior camera, a certain coin, a stereo microscope, a laptop and printer.  Reach one target, move on to another.  Find a coin worth a few bucks, sell it, put the money towards something specific.  It does not have to be coin related.  How much do you need for that vaction in Hawaii?  At any given time you have a goal to work towards.

Coin Business Account
While the initial plan may be to pick up a few bucks to pay for some incidental expenses, specific items, or set aside some cash, your hobby will evolve over time.  As you gain knowledge and experience you will, from time to time, come across some pretty good deals.  Buying and selling coins for profit may be out of your league right now, but in the future it may be a regular part of your routine.  Having cash in an account specifically intended for buying coins, you put yourself in position to take advantage of those opportunities you find. 

What ever may be the intended use of the account, having a defined objective makes it easy for you to to measure your progress towards it.  I suggest you start with a realistic, attainable target such as a camera or $100 in additional savings or a 1931-S Lincoln cent in AU or better.  Make it personal.  Something you've wanted that has been just out of reach.  Coin Roll Hunting gets you product to sell. The coin account keeps the money separated.  All you have to do is sell a few of your finds and you can have that thing you want.