Question about withdraws for note searching

News: Registration is free here at the CPMF!

Lately I have been withdrawing lots of cash especially $5 and $10 to search for any special serial number and to enter in the Serial Number Database. I have found many FFE W-P, HBG M-C and CDF W-P short-change prefixes. I am wondering if I keep withdrawing and then deposit it, will they get suspicious from the withdraw and deposit that I have been making and should I stop doing it.

I am wondering if I keep withdrawing and then deposit it, will they get suspicious from the withdraw and deposit that I have been making and should I stop doing it.

Yes, it is possible that your bank might ask you about the frequent deposits and withdrawals.  If you withdraw more than $10,000 at a time, then it triggers a red flag for money laundering.

On a practical level, you may end up paying transaction fees if you do too many transactions in a month.  If you want to continue doing this (and it seems like your strategy is paying off with treasure) you might consider switching to unlimited monthly transactions on your account.  I did this and my bank never gives me any trouble for frequent transactions.

Dean

I swap out notes at the bank almost daily.  Sometimes several branches per day.  I don't keep the funds in my account and simply swap out cash notes for different cash notes.  No deposits, no withdrawals, or related fees.

@Dean and @Breanne Thank you for your response, I have a account with Scotiabank where I can do as many transactions as I wish to do and I have only been withdrawing from $50 to $400 as my bank only allow cash withdrawals $500 per day and $1500 per week. I will continue to withdraw to find treasure

If you are using an ATM there are limits and costs ... but you are likely getting better quality notes as IMHO they stock the ATMs with newer notes so they don't gum up the machine.  Never heard of a maximum limit on withdrawing cash from a teller.  I have a self set withdraw/purchase limit of $400 per day on my ATM card in case I lose it.  Thought I would ask you TN56, what are you aiming to find/keep while you do your note searches like radars, rare or turn-over prefixes, etc.  I wonder when you say you've acquired notes simply to populate the SNDB.  Are you finding any keepers?

If you are using an ATM there are limits and costs ... but you are likely getting better quality notes as IMHO they stock the ATMs with newer notes so they don't gum up the machine.  Never heard of a maximum limit on withdrawing cash from a teller.  I have a self set withdraw/purchase limit of $400 per day on my ATM card in case I lose it.  Thought I would ask you TN56, what are you aiming to find/keep while you do your note searches like radars, rare or turn-over prefixes, etc.  I wonder when you say you've acquired notes simply to populate the SNDB.  Are you finding any keepers?

That is correct as lately I am finding new INT and INW prefix in sequences in Toronto lately. I have never withdrew cash from a teller before but most likely they would tell you to use the ATM. My goal is to find a low serial number and anything that is considered a keeper. I also try to keep the replacement notes and short-run prefix like the BSW, CDF, FFE, HBG, AMK and FTH though I am considering dumping some of my short-run FFE in circulation as they are common for me to find. I first found out about the SNDB in 2021-2022 but didn't sign up until 2024. I was interested about the amount of notes entered and I wanted to enter it just for fun and to see what notes passed on to me over the years.

Funny you should mention "low notes", because after years of swapping notes out, I found my first yesterday.  AMG0000811 in EF condition. Also, i got a really nice run of INUs today, but unfortunately no radars, repeaters, or special serial numbers.  Now that I know this branch is issuing new INUs I will go back each day for a bit to see if I can score a nice note.  But, to be clear, I do not withdraw any money from a bank account -- therefore no fees.  I simply do a "Cash In - Cash Out" transaction.  This means I walk into the branch with $1500 or $2K in five dollar notes (for example) and ask the teller to simply "swap them out" for different five dollar notes, without the transaction being recorded on my bank account.  No deposits/withdrawals = no fees.  If you are dealing with a branch that has only ONE cash dispenser, you need to ask the teller to WITHDRAW the new notes first, before depositing your old notes into the machine, as the machines load from the top, and you will get your old notes back if they deposit your old cash first.  If you drive -- ditch your car and use the subway to go from branch to branch as there is one at almost every subway stop and it's quick and easy and you don't need to find parking.    If you are going from branch to branch, you need somewhere to 'check your notes on the go'.  Personally, I stay in the bank and pull up a little table next to a chair and will go through my notes INSIDE THE BRANCH as it is the safest place to do it.  Then -- off to the next branch.    I have done transactions like this for years up to $5k sometimes.  The only time a branch has an issue is if they are short on the denomination I am looking for, but the issue is moot if I am giving them $5k of the same denomination to swap out.  But the key to finding notes in circulation is to find the notes in the best condition.  Therefore, it is good to hunt the newest issues coming out.  If you happen to find a run of new issue turn-over notes like the first issue of the $20 Lane signature notes, it's an nice idea to hang on to the ones in the best condition. P.S You can access the SNDB on your phone while your are in the bank checking notes.

Funny you should mention "low notes", because after years of swapping notes out, I found my first yesterday.  AMG0000811 in EF condition. Also, i got a really nice run of INUs today, but unfortunately no radars, repeaters, or special serial numbers.  Now that I know this branch is issuing new INUs I will go back each day for a bit to see if I can score a nice note.  But, to be clear, I do not withdraw any money from a bank account -- therefore no fees.  I simply do a "Cash In - Cash Out" transaction.  This means I walk into the branch with $1500 or $2K in five dollar notes (for example) and ask the teller to simply "swap them out" for different five dollar notes, without the transaction being recorded on my bank account.  No deposits/withdrawals = no fees.  If you are dealing with a branch that has only ONE cash dispenser, you need to ask the teller to WITHDRAW the new notes first, before depositing your old notes into the machine, as the machines load from the top, and you will get your old notes back if they deposit your old cash first.  If you drive -- ditch your car and use the subway to go from branch to branch as there is one at almost every subway stop and it's quick and easy and you don't need to find parking.    If you are going from branch to branch, you need somewhere to 'check your notes on the go'.  Personally, I stay in the bank and pull up a little table next to a chair and will go through my notes INSIDE THE BRANCH as it is the safest place to do it.  Then -- off to the next branch.    I have done transactions like this for years up to $5k sometimes.  The only time a branch has an issue is if they are short on the denomination I am looking for, but the issue is moot if I am giving them $5k of the same denomination to swap out.  But the key to finding notes in circulation is to find the notes in the best condition.  Therefore, it is good to hunt the newest issues coming out.  If you happen to find a run of new issue turn-over notes like the first issue of the $20 Lane signature notes, it's an nice idea to hang on to the ones in the best condition. P.S You can access the SNDB on your phone while your are in the bank checking notes.

I must say congratulation on the AMG 0000811 find as it is a semi short-run prefix and also the lowest for the SNDB! I will try that method out next time I go to the bank. I wonder how many banknote I searched through since 2021 and my best find would be INJ 9899898 which is a rotator note. I like hunting the newest issue as you are more likely to find keepers, based on my observation the serial number INT 0000001 to 1000000 may be floating around in Toronto as I've found lots of INT prefix within these ranges. When I withdraw all in $5 I searched through the bills looking for keepers and I take photos of all of the serial number and dump them back into the ATM and on my way home from transit I enter the serial number in a docs then enter it to the SNDB. Breanne I wonder how many notes you had to search through to find that $50 low serial number banknote?

I have no clue how many notes I have been through, but I do have a not bad radar and special serial number collection but not all of them are in necessarily collectible condition.  Pretty much need to be no less than AU to be keepers/resalable. The only time I might deposit money into my bank account in order to do ATM withdraws is when I am searching for signature premier turn-over notes, like the Lane/Macklem $20 FZT which should be surfacing at some time in the near/far future and luckily we both live in a large city where the may be issued.   Long weekends are also a good time to hunt ATMs as they are usually well stocked, with a higher likelihood of new(er) notes.  Of the 84 INY $5 notes in the SNDB I think more than half of them are mine as there is one branch I visit that I found ALL of them at.  Don't dump your FFEs if they are in good shape.  Depending on the serial numbers/signature combination they have value in the Charlton Guide.  Do you have a Charlton Guide to Canadian Paper Money?  If not, it is good to have one to show you the current value of banknotes depending on condition.  Also, lots of valuable info for a newer collector.

Also, since you are going to the bank branches it doesn't hurt to ask if they have any "old paper currency" in their "mutilated notes".  "Mutilated notes" are the ones they send back to the distribution center for shredding and all paper notes have been recalled. Many, many bank branches have stopped allowing customers from reclaiming paper notes, but every now and then you may find one that does and score some old paper.  Also, when you bank hunt don't forget to ask if they have any 50 cent coins, foreign coins, or anything that's just odd.  You will be surprised when you are actually successful.

I have no clue how many notes I have been through, but I do have a not bad radar and special serial number collection but not all of them are in necessarily collectible condition.  Pretty much need to be no less than AU to be keepers/resalable. The only time I might deposit money into my bank account in order to do ATM withdraws is when I am searching for signature premier turn-over notes, like the Lane/Macklem $20 FZT which should be surfacing at some time in the near/far future and luckily we both live in a large city where the may be issued.   Long weekends are also a good time to hunt ATMs as they are usually well stocked, with a higher likelihood of new(er) notes.  Of the 84 INY $5 notes in the SNDB I think more than half of them are mine as there is one branch I visit that I found ALL of them at.  Don't dump your FFEs if they are in good shape.  Depending on the serial numbers/signature combination they have value in the Charlton Guide.  Do you have a Charlton Guide to Canadian Paper Money?  If not, it is good to have one to show you the current value of banknotes depending on condition.  Also, lots of valuable info for a newer collector.

Also, since you are going to the bank branches it doesn't hurt to ask if they have any "old paper currency" in their "mutilated notes".  "Mutilated notes" are the ones they send back to the distribution center for shredding and all paper notes have been recalled. Many, many bank branches have stopped allowing customers from reclaiming paper notes, but every now and then you may find one that does and score some old paper.  Also, when you bank hunt don't forget to ask if they have any 50 cent coins, foreign coins, or anything that's just odd.  You will be surprised when you are actually successful.

For me from 2024-07 to 2025-02 I searched through 2.7k notes over that time period. The number is probably way higher but I regret not entering to the SNDB because there was no place for me to enter at that time but I now have some place to enter those bills into the SNDB. Yes I do my banknote searching in Downtown Toronto on the weekends and for last week I didn’t find any but I did almost find some finders but not worth keeping. I will keep in mind as majority of them are in good condition so I’ll dump 2-3 back to circulation. Also I don’t have the Charlton Book but I will consider getting one I’m just saving money up for school but I will keep that in mind if I have some money to spare.

I like finding old banknotes and keeping them but I will check some banks out to see if they have any old paper currency as I seen Dean’s post finding lots of finds. I saved some notes from the mutilated pile before but I took a break from it. In regards of asking for any coins I rarely collect 50 cents coin and the nickel dollar.

I have a 2022 Edition I would be wiling to donate (free) to a starving student jr. collector.  The prices have gone up a tad for some notes, but there hasn't been many significant changes in the rest.

DM me if you're interested.  I can meet you at a subway station on the weekend.

Also, I ask for the 50 cent coins because one time a bank gave me about 40 pre 1965 which have a silver content.  I had a coin dealer offer me $10 each for them, but I still have them.

Breanna

I have a 2022 Edition I would be wiling to donate (free) to a starving student jr. collector.  The prices have gone up a tad for some notes, but there hasn't been many significant changes in the rest.

DM me if you're interested.  I can meet you at a subway station on the weekend.

Also, I ask for the 50 cent coins because one time a bank gave me about 40 pre 1965 which have a silver content.  I had a coin dealer offer me $10 each for them, but I still have them.

Breanna

I must say Breanne I am very grateful for your 2022 copy of Charlton Guide and I don't mind about the prices or changes that happened over the past 3 years since it was released.

You must be lucky for that and even if you sold it you would've made at least $400 from a bank visit but I would keep it as silver prices will continue to rise. I will send you a message to your inbox