Hi, hopefully I can shed some light....Congratulations by the way on venturing into this side of the Journey Series
The Journey series, since the first bricks of FEP $10s were issued in May 2005 have seen CBN send bricks that were not in order 000-999. There are many jumps from here to there sometimes (See my $20 posting next Thursday night). Why? Not sure, but has to do with the assembling of the bricks from the already printed and numbered sheets.
When you say brick, make sure you reserve that term for getting a full Brick of 1000 notes.
A group of 100 notes is a bundle, and the relevant information can be innacurate.
The following statement is fact and not opinion: The INSTANT new money hits bank employee hands, they are subject to mix up and shuffling. Therefore reliability is diminished.
The largest factor I would say is from a counting machine that jams, so they take what has been counted and put it back on top. Thus the information in the bundle is useless. They often put the original waxy white banding (or BOC banding) back on them, thus making them appear to be untouched. Just approach that situation with caution.
You still may find insert notes- but that would be based on what is already known. The reliability of the new possibly mixed bundle to give
new information is next to zero. We have to treat it like that in order to maintain the accuracy of reporting from place to place. Otherwise the integrity of the research would be damaged. It is quite a process.
X-savior, me, bwjm, manada, and suzee all could potentially find critical points with exactly the same sheet info, even though our bricks come from accross the country. Getting the info from new bricks ensures this.
EVERY critical point, whether itis a QCIN or an insert, should be congruent with the findings from the rest of that brick family. (the other 39 or 44 bricks made from the sheets). If you get a bundle, and report a finding based on that bundle alone, there is a chance that it matches, but there is the risk that it does not match properly based on how the sheets are printed. This is why there is a confirmation process of findings, and this is why the confirmed findings must come from true undisturbed bricks.
All you have to do is ask your friendly bank teller if you can order a full brick. (Cost is $11). The purpose is for research on replacement notes.. and go on if neccessary. This is true and be clear on that. If they say they "can't", understand that they either don't know how, or that they don't want you to do it through them. The BOC has confirmed to me in a prior phone call that ALL Big 5 banks have the capability to specify new notes for an order (and the $11 charge is what THEY get charged, so they only pass that on, which is a pretty good deal). Ifyou get a "no", try another branch. It ultimately comes down to who you are talking to and if they know the procedure. Not all of them do. In fact, you might know alot more about bricks and bills and all that than they could imagine. To many, it is just another chunck of paper money.
Make sure to say thank you, and there is nothing wrong with a nominal gift - that is one that will not change their decision about how they handle you as a client. Start bringing them steak dinners and 24 packs of donuts, and then they might wonder if you have alterior motives (which could be a security threat). And always, a Christmas card, with names. get to know them as people, and take the time to recognize them. Spending 33 cents on a card with a personal greeting will go alot farther than picking up a pack of timbits.
Oh!! At first it might be wise to just take them when they come in. Don't hassle them with re-depositing it there unless they make it clear that that is okay. When they get it, they want it gone in most cases.
Hope this helps (for anyone).
Good luck and happy hunting!!
H
PS: I am PM ing you some more info re: Gilles list.
