I get halves from the banks all the time. They don't have to stock them to get them in.

I do understand about the banks. I used to get my coins from a dealer at the Flea Market in Macon GA and he would sell regular halves and dollars for face value. The hardest things I ever had to track down was English Pennies and Aussie Pennies. It took a long time but I finally ordered some of each from dealers in London and Australia several years ago.

Don't forget when you search to let your fingers do the walking... it will save you gas and the frustration of getting to a bank only to find they don't have any of the coins you want.

Twist

I have quite a collection of foreign coins that I've also picked up in the "junk bins" at coin shops....English / Australian / New Zealand pennies, a few 150 year old Cambodian coins (Morgan size), French, Mexican centavos, various European and South American, Pacific rim countries / islands, etc... If you're interested in coins for your routines, just pop into a local coin store and ask for their junk or misc stuff. I've found some VERY cool coins dirt cheap.

I build machines that smash an image on pennies... the way the law reads it is illegal to deface a coin FOR FRAUDULENT PURPOSES. basically you can mash, smash, drill for jewelrey, put it under a steam roller, or do any thing you want to a coin. What you cannot do is make a quarter look like a Susan B Anthony dollar to try to make it worth more. ps if you are using it to get money fraudulently it could be prosecuted, but in the case of stage "illusion" I doubt it would be considered fraudulent.

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