What would you do if....

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You walked into a bank, paid off some bills, you had a couple of old bird series 20s in ratty condition, the teller puts the Journeys into her drawer, the older 20s go to multilated.... and just then as she's pulling out the multilated notes, you spot a 1935 French BOC $25 note in perfect condition. You ask to see it and she actually has 4 of them, all UNC in sequential order to boot.  She shows you them, you ask how she got them and she says she got them earlier today from a customer, a senior. You ask if you can buy them but she says they have to get sent back to the BOC. What do you do? You can't tell her they are worth a fortune because she might keep them for herself. On the other hand, if you don't tell her, she hasn't got a clue they are worth so much, and doesn't know why you want them? And she turns out to be one of those crabby tellers who have an attitude. You beg and plead with her for a few minutes and nothing will convince her to let you buy them, even when you offer her something for her trouble, nothing doing, they are going back to the BOC for destruction. And they get shipped out at the end of the day. So close, yet so far. You even go to the bank manager/head teller, but they stick with policy, they will get shipped away no matter what. Wouldn't you just want to cry for a week?

So what would you do in this situation?  

I would suggest trading the four $25's with the teller for a couple of obsolete circulated $50 1937 notes ... that way the teller could still return some notes to the BOC for destruction and thereby retain her honour ...

Personally, I'd cry myself for a week. Stupid policies. I think the Canadian Currency Muesum will get thoese notes in the end.

I think the Canadian Currency Museum will get those notes in the end.

Yes, just like the three VG-F $500 1935 notes that walked in from the general public in the Summer of 2005 ....... However, the BOC needs notes like these for trading purposes in order to be able to secure rare notes for its collection.

If it was me... I would keep on telling them am a collecter and I really need those notes for my collection. I would be there trying to get them till they kick me out!

Did this happen to you d_polo?

So what would you do in this situation?  

You have literally asked the $64,000 question: four UNC French $25 notes that book for $16,000 apiece!

I might try the following tactics:

1) Say that your parent/grandparent was born on May 6, 1935 (the date of the notes) and this would make the perfect Christmas present for him/her.  Or, your parents/grandparents were married on May 6, 1910 and celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary on May 6, 1935.

2) Going along the lines of Ottawa's idea, buy 10 ratty old 1935 English $10 notes on eBay for about $1,000 and offer the bank a trade (thus getting rid of 10 obsolete notes rather than 4 ).

3) Threaten the bank manager saying that after x years as a customer with $y worth of assets with that bank, if they can't accommodate one small request on your part, you will take your business elsewhere and have your family do so as well.

4) Research the Bank of Canada's organizational chart, figure out who is the head of the area that will receive these notes, get really friendly with them REALLY FAST!!!

5) Send an imposter to this branch tomorrow posing as a Health Canada or CSIS rep., saying that a deranged old man is known to have brought some 1930s-era banknotes to a branch in the immediate area that were laced with Anthrax.  If any of the bank's employees have information as to the whereabouts of these notes, they are required by law to turn them over for proper disposal, as they are biohazards.

6) If all options fail, I would definitely cry for more than a week!  I might even go insane, send one final nasty e-mail to the Ombudsman of this bank, and then do as follows:



BTW...which bank was this?  Not BMO I hope?  If so, which branch of BMO?

NO, that didn't happen to me, I just wanted to know, given an awkward situation, what people on this forum would do? I know a lot of people here would be crying. BTW, I thought that BMO recirculated older type notes, but I found out from one of the tellers that their policy is to ship them out, but since all the tellers know I collect, they let me pick out the notes I want before they get sent away, they even let me have $1000 notes too. Most of the $1000s weren't in that great of shape.  

OFF topic, a lot of people are saying the 2006 no "P" nickels are worth a lot, some dealers selling rolls for $19 a piece! They say there is low mintage on those particular nickels. But if the mint won't release mintage figures for 2006 until next year, how do people know they didn't make a lot of them? I got tons of them, I bought rolls from mostly department stores like Zellers, McDonalds, some banks. Found a bunch in change too. So if they are that rare, why do I have so many and don't have that much problem finding them? I got like 20 rolls so far. I'm keeping them just in case they are rare. Everybody was saying the 2002 "P" pennies were low mintage, but they weren't in the end.

http://canada-store.gatewestcoin.com/Canadian_Circulation_Coinage/2006_BU_Rolls/11977.html

http://canada-store.gatewestcoin.com/Canadian_Circulation_Coinage/2006_BU_Rolls/index.html


Look for item #11977 - RARE!!! Roll of 2006 (No P) 5ct BU.

I think venga50 has it right

5) Send an imposter to this branch tomorrow posing as a Health Canada or CSIS rep., saying that a deranged old man is known to have brought some 1930s-era banknotes to a branch in the immediate area that were laced with Anthrax.  If any of the bank's employees have information as to the whereabouts of these notes, they are required by law to turn them over for proper disposal, as they are biohazards.

Might work but.... I would for sure cry for a month.... I am sure it happens more then one would think.

Arthur