DIzzIE
30th June 2005, 02:57 AM
COIN HARVESTING
By DIzzIE [c]opyleft 2005
Merely a compendium of locales wherein one can scavenge some spare change. And before you skip over this text, thinking that putzing around town looking for coins just isn?t worth your time, keep in mind that cup noodles go for 25 cents/cup, and the hot water from the faucet in the store restroom? FREE!
* Fountains. It is a longstanding tradition dating back to the ancient Greeks to toss coins into wells, or fountains as the case may be. Roll up your sleeves and start collecting. If your country has magnetic coins (for instance Canada) then your job will be easier. Search for fountains around hotels, shopping centres, parks, business parks, etc. Prudence will lead one to invest in a small net (proceed to your local hardware/gardening store and state you need some fine protective mesh netting for your garden) that one will then anchor down with four inconspicuous stones on the bottom of the fountain. If the fountain has a ?coin donations go to ____ (name of charity)? placard next to it then so much the better; if it doesn?t, make one.
* Seats. Check under every seat cushion you visit: reception rooms, library reading rooms, bookstores, hotel lobbies, furniture stores, rollercoaster seats, busses/cars etc.
* Floors. People drop change, so keep your eyes on the ground and scan highly susceptible areas: below counters, under coin-dependent machinery (Coinstar machines, money change machines in arcades and laundromats), areas under rollercoaster rides, and of course under drive-thru windows.
* Tips. Speaking of drive-thrus, numerous places now leave out tip jars in the open near drive-thru windows (for instance Starbucks drive-thrus). Tip jars on counters can be boldly swiped by dropping an object on the other side of the counter, thus diverting the employee?s attention by forcing him to bend down and pick it up, while you?re out the door. It?s silly and unprofessional, but you might even score some paper money! Walk around outdoor (or indoor?) restaurants and scarf up any tips that you see, while scarfing down the copious amounts of leftovers on the plates, ye olde ?two birds with one stone? gimmick.
* Donation Jars. When swiping the tip jar, don?t forget the charity donation jar standing alongside it. The jar can then be used to solicit donations on street-corners, door to door foot marches, or strategically placed?and secured?around locales where change use is common (i.e. around vending machines). Want an authentic donation jar but don?t want to steal the store?s and can?t be arsed to make your own? Call up the charity and say that you?re interested in collecting for them.
* Panhandling. Don?t take a passive, withdrawn stance in a slump against the wall of a shady alley. Proactively approach folks with a grab bag of tactics: milk hard luck stories for all they?re worth and use humour when riding the sign (for example, ?need $ to keep the demons at bay/to buy acid/ for strippers?). Loiter around areas where folks are bound to have change: newspaper/vending machines, food courts, outside of theaters (watch out for pigs).
* Coin-Return Slots. The one area that?s not recommended for coin harvesting is the coin return slot featured in vending machines, payphones, coin exchange machines, and the like. Aside from the annoying swing-back panels now installed on most machines that make chute stuffing an outdated relic (although some hardcore types continue to pursue this line of work through use of polystyrene foam and coat hanger wire), certain malicious types have been known to place such delectable knickknacks as used condoms and spilled ink, not to mention lye, into the slots, thus even turning the occasional slot check into a dangerous endeavor.
Thanks to all that contributed to the text!
Have more ideas for hunting down coinage? Feel free to share :)
By DIzzIE [c]opyleft 2005
Merely a compendium of locales wherein one can scavenge some spare change. And before you skip over this text, thinking that putzing around town looking for coins just isn?t worth your time, keep in mind that cup noodles go for 25 cents/cup, and the hot water from the faucet in the store restroom? FREE!
* Fountains. It is a longstanding tradition dating back to the ancient Greeks to toss coins into wells, or fountains as the case may be. Roll up your sleeves and start collecting. If your country has magnetic coins (for instance Canada) then your job will be easier. Search for fountains around hotels, shopping centres, parks, business parks, etc. Prudence will lead one to invest in a small net (proceed to your local hardware/gardening store and state you need some fine protective mesh netting for your garden) that one will then anchor down with four inconspicuous stones on the bottom of the fountain. If the fountain has a ?coin donations go to ____ (name of charity)? placard next to it then so much the better; if it doesn?t, make one.
* Seats. Check under every seat cushion you visit: reception rooms, library reading rooms, bookstores, hotel lobbies, furniture stores, rollercoaster seats, busses/cars etc.
* Floors. People drop change, so keep your eyes on the ground and scan highly susceptible areas: below counters, under coin-dependent machinery (Coinstar machines, money change machines in arcades and laundromats), areas under rollercoaster rides, and of course under drive-thru windows.
* Tips. Speaking of drive-thrus, numerous places now leave out tip jars in the open near drive-thru windows (for instance Starbucks drive-thrus). Tip jars on counters can be boldly swiped by dropping an object on the other side of the counter, thus diverting the employee?s attention by forcing him to bend down and pick it up, while you?re out the door. It?s silly and unprofessional, but you might even score some paper money! Walk around outdoor (or indoor?) restaurants and scarf up any tips that you see, while scarfing down the copious amounts of leftovers on the plates, ye olde ?two birds with one stone? gimmick.
* Donation Jars. When swiping the tip jar, don?t forget the charity donation jar standing alongside it. The jar can then be used to solicit donations on street-corners, door to door foot marches, or strategically placed?and secured?around locales where change use is common (i.e. around vending machines). Want an authentic donation jar but don?t want to steal the store?s and can?t be arsed to make your own? Call up the charity and say that you?re interested in collecting for them.
* Panhandling. Don?t take a passive, withdrawn stance in a slump against the wall of a shady alley. Proactively approach folks with a grab bag of tactics: milk hard luck stories for all they?re worth and use humour when riding the sign (for example, ?need $ to keep the demons at bay/to buy acid/ for strippers?). Loiter around areas where folks are bound to have change: newspaper/vending machines, food courts, outside of theaters (watch out for pigs).
* Coin-Return Slots. The one area that?s not recommended for coin harvesting is the coin return slot featured in vending machines, payphones, coin exchange machines, and the like. Aside from the annoying swing-back panels now installed on most machines that make chute stuffing an outdated relic (although some hardcore types continue to pursue this line of work through use of polystyrene foam and coat hanger wire), certain malicious types have been known to place such delectable knickknacks as used condoms and spilled ink, not to mention lye, into the slots, thus even turning the occasional slot check into a dangerous endeavor.
Thanks to all that contributed to the text!
Have more ideas for hunting down coinage? Feel free to share :)