Hide Stash Cash in Coins

Changing bills into coins helps keep stash cash (hidden money) available. As many banks prefer (even require) using their own change counters as opposed to accepting rolling coins, turning coins into dollars is easier than ever. Even grocery stores and casinos now have coin counting machines. It is amazing how much money can be saved in coins, especially the higher the denomination. Thieves will avoid change jars as they are perceived low value and also heavy comparative to other items they may haul. Therefore, changing money into coins for stash cash purposes makes coins a good choice.

Penny Jar Ploy
People will not bend over for a penny. Also, when looking at a change jar the first thing people look for is silver. Any thief will think twice if a big heavy change jar full of pennies is sitting there, before considering if they should bother with it. Find a good glass container and have plenty of pennies and silver coins available. It may take a number of trips to the bank as coins can be heavy. Place silver coins in a container that can be sealed. Should be at least half the size of the jar but not larger than it and also be able to fit into the jar. Using a butter container, yogurt cup, or zippered plastic bag can fit the bill. Place and center in the jar. Fill the jar with pennies to top but not over the inner container. As you fill make sure nothing of the inner container shows, it should be nothing but pennies showing through the jar. Once to the top but not over, roll the jar back and forth between two hands, but do not tip the jar. Keep the jar's bottom flat to the surface you are using (counter, table). This is settling and packing the pennies into the jar and securing the core silver coins to keep from moving if examined. You will notice as the coins begin to receding from the top, when they stop going down you know they are packed firmly. Once done add rest of pennies and do the same again.

Remember this is a sight and weight ploy, so add pennies as often as possible to add more weight. Also, never add silver coins unless they are secured and covered in the core. Loose silver coins in the jar will signal people that there could be more silver coins and they could go hunting for them. For the silver pocket change keep elsewhere, like a piggy bank.

Garage
People keep all kinds of products in their garage and most of the time of little value. That is why they keep them there and not in the house. Along with that are nuts, bolts, nails, fasteners, etc. Keep a coffee can or two and add a zippered bag of high value coins (quarters, half dollars, dollars) to fill the can half to two-thirds to the top. Then cover with miscellaneous nuts or bolts. The reason to keep high value coins in the coffee can is that this ploy is not scalable, as a ten coffee cans of nuts, bolts, nails, and screws would raise questions. But everyone has a can of miscellaneous stuff in the garage. Need to maximize the ploy by keep handy the high value stuff if you need it in a hurry. A half can of Susan B. Anthony or Sacajawea dollar coins is real money!

The Treasure Chest
This one will take time but can be all the stash cash you need to keep at home. In almost every home there is a closet where everything is thrown and left. It is packed from floor to ceiling, and this works to your benefit. Buy a few plastic storage containers with lids, the kind that will stack on themselves. Pack one near to the brim with coins, and place it in the back corner. Because of the weight, one may have to place it in position before filling. Then place lid and fill the other containers with stuff that needs to be stored and place on the coin containers. Refill closet with storage stuff. This will unlikely be discovered even by ransack because one has essentially created a barrier with other stuff, and the perception that this is low value items. Also, should it be discovered thieves have a problem with weight. A large container filled with coins should be weighty enough no one can lift it alone, nor should the container be able to handle the weight without tearing. Again using perception against the thieves, they will know it is a lot of change, but the value of it will elude them as they consider the trouble of transporting. To add to the illusion, layer the coins by placing the high value on bottom and the low value (pennies) on top.

This ploy takes time because one has to acquire a lot of coins. This takes many trips to the bank and could raise flags. Not that it is illegal, but it could get people's interest aroused. As all stash cash is about hiding in secret, you don't want to seem unusual and be remembered. A one-time request for a large amount of coins may not seem that unusual, but many requests in a month would get people gossiping. And don't think bankers and tellers only gossip inside the bank. As this is a big investment and permanent stash cash, it would be advisable to open an account or a number of them outside of your community but within driving distance for this purpose. Open a simple Passbook savings account, wait a few weeks, withdraw all but maybe $100 on coins. You may have to pre-order with the bank so they have enough, especially for special items like dollars coins or half-dollars. Pre-order for enough coins is nothing unusual enough to raise flags. It is out of the norm but nothing a bank would be willing to do once in awhile without question. Recommend is leaving the Passbook account open for awhile (two years or more), and just enjoy having a bit in banks collecting interest. This will keep the bank content too, even though you withdrew most of your original deposit in coins.