Coin Harvesting

[DIzzIE]

COIN HARVESTING
By DIzzIE [antikopyright 2005]

Merely a compendium of locales wherein one can scavenge some spare change. And before you skip over this text, thinking that putzing around town looking for coins just isn’t worth your time, keep in mind that cup noodles go for 25 cents/cup, and the hot water from the faucet in the store restroom? FREE!

* Fountains. It is a longstanding tradition dating back to the ancient Greeks to toss coins into wells, or fountains as the case may be. Roll up your sleeves and start collecting. If your country has magnetic coins (for instance Canada) then your job will be easier. Search for fountains around hotels, shopping centres, parks, business parks, etc. Prudence will lead one to invest in a small net (proceed to your local hardware/gardening store and state you need some fine protective mesh netting for your garden) that one will then anchor down with four inconspicuous stones on the bottom of the fountain. If the fountain has a ‘coin donations go to ____ (name of charity)’ placard next to it then so much the better; if it doesn’t, make one.

* Seats. Check under every seat cushion you visit: reception rooms, library reading rooms, bookstores, hotel lobbies, furniture stores, rollercoaster seats, busses/cars etc.

* Floors. People drop change, so keep your eyes on the ground and scan highly susceptible areas: below counters, under coin-dependent machinery (Coinstar machines, money change machines in arcades and laundromats), areas under rollercoaster rides, and of course under drive-thru windows.

* Tips. Speaking of drive-thrus, numerous places now leave out tip jars in the open near drive-thru windows (for instance Starbucks drive-thrus). Tip jars on counters can be boldly swiped by dropping an object on the other side of the counter, thus diverting the employee’s attention by forcing him to bend down and pick it up, while you’re out the door. It’s silly and unprofessional, but you might even score some paper money! Walk around outdoor (or indoor…) restaurants and scarf up any tips that you see, while scarfing down the copious amounts of leftovers on the plates, ye olde ‘two birds with one stone’ gimmick.

* Donation Jars. When swiping the tip jar, don’t forget the charity donation jar standing alongside it. The jar can then be used to solicit donations on street-corners, door to door foot marches, or strategically placed—and secured—around locales where change use is common (i.e. around vending machines). Want an authentic donation jar but don’t want to steal the store’s and can’t be arsed to make your own? Call up the charity and say that you’re interested in collecting for them.

* Panhandling. Don’t take a passive, withdrawn stance in a slump against the wall of a shady alley. Proactively approach folks with a grab bag of tactics: milk hard luck stories for all they’re worth and use humour when riding the sign (for example, “need $ to keep the demons at bay/to buy acid/ for strippers”). Loiter around areas where folks are bound to have change: newspaper/vending machines, food courts, outside of theaters (watch out for pigs).

* Coin-Return Slots. The one area that’s not recommended for coin harvesting is the coin return slot featured in vending machines, payphones, coin exchange machines, and the like. Aside from the annoying swing-back panels now installed on most machines that make chute stuffing an outdated relic (although some hardcore types continue to pursue this line of work through use of polystyrene foam and coat hanger wire), certain malicious types have been known to place such delectable knickknacks as used condoms and spilled ink, not to mention lye, into the slots, thus even turning the occasional slot check into a dangerous endeavor.

Thanks to all that contributed to the text!

Feel free to share your own techniques! :ph34r:

Check http://www.dizzy.ws & http://www.rorta.net for more knowledge...

[Goatse]

Interesting, but the whole pretending to be a beggar thing is pretty cheap. Generally, the poorer people are the ones who will give you their change. You're exploiting their sympathy.

[RNK]

Yeah, I'd have to agree with Goatse. I can't count how many times I've given away my last bit of (usually very needed) change to a homeless guy, only to realize later that I needed that change for the bus, or to pick up some milk on the way home, or something.

Everything else sounds good, though.

[razboz]

Originally posted by [email protected] 05, 2007 01:14 pm
Yeah, I'd have to agree with Goatse. I can't count how many times I've given away my last bit of (usually very needed) change to a homeless guy, only to realize later that I needed that change for the bus, or to pick up some milk on the way home, or something.

Everything else sounds good, though.
This happens to me too. I usually just beg for money.

[fashbash]

Nicking tips from workers? Thievin charity boxes? Dizzie, you are an arsehole.

[Fidel Follower]

I'd have to agree.

Taking tips?

Man when you work 12 hour days for afew £$ an hour, tips seem like such a relief! The only thing i think about when i work, is the tips, that fellow comrades will give me. So i can live.

Did you think about that? Mr Trendy Lefty Jerno.

[Red October]

dizzie is fucking evil

[Question everything]

...dizzie you are fucken messed up, I mean charities aren't perfect but at least there money is going some where. and pan handling!?! if you're accually desparate for coins maybe, but to scam some change to get into a movie that's messed up.

better ways to scam change.

1. Rob Buck or Two ( :lol: )

2. If you see a school run booth (run by your school) they ussually have no security, once the guy running turns his head grab a dollar and free chocolate!

3. Take a penny leave a penny jars. Kinda self explainitory.

but each of you have different way to scam money. my school has a busted vending machine that if you hit hard enough in the right spot it will give you change (or if there is none in there a gym teacher will give 2.50), My school is a virtual gold mine for change scamming.

[redcannon]

i once made 30 bux in a single hour doing panhandling. that was my main source of income over the summer (and it pays a hell of a lot better than my current job)

of course, you are then looked down upon by everyone, but i was already in that situation (being a commie and all)

[Circle A]

If I was hard up for money, I would rather sell my labor power even to parasitic casual labor brokers for rock bottom wages than to impersonate or deprive the destitute thru panhandling, rob charities and the tip jars of underpaid workers.

But thats just me.

[Nothing Human Is Alien]

Fuck "chairities"; but don't steal from fellow workers tip jars. What the fuck?

[classwarveteran]

Originally posted by Compañ[email protected] 06, 2007 12:40 am
Fuck "chairities"; but don't steal from fellow workers tip jars. What the fuck?
Yeah. Tip jars or from table...definately not cool. Charities is a rather broad catch-all. Some are complete scams, others partial scams, and I've got to believe some of the local coin jars for "Pete the kid from the neighborhood with leukemia" are legit. Now, what about money my kid gives me that he gets by fishing around the change return compartments in kiddie arcades? These kids today are so ADHD from the capitalist media they just shove in the coins and don't notice when they fall back down.

[bcbm]

A lot of this shit was up on crimethinc.net in its previous incarnations, I wonder if this is the same fellow... in any case, we reamed him them and he deserves a thorough one now. If somebody stole my tip jar and I caught them, I'd probably break their face. That's just fucked.

[Vanguard1917]

People drop change, so keep your eyes on the ground and scan highly susceptible areas

Or go look for a job like everyone else.

[Fidel Follower]

Originally posted by [email protected] 07, 2007 10:15 am

People drop change, so keep your eyes on the ground and scan highly susceptible areas

Or go look for a job like everyone else.
Most of the stuff Dizzie says is gash.

But fuck me, picking up coins, or notes?

Mann that's not bad at all, could buy you a coffee in a nice independant coffee shop.

Or even better, money towards a fucking shovle. Not that i'd personally want to break some nazi's ribs. ;) Oh no not me. ;) I'm clean ;) ....

[Raúl Duke]

hmm, did he mention trying to have your own "charity can", place it somewhere, and than come back to collect it? I think that would be a cool idea.

However....stealing tips? hmmm

[anarchista feminista]

I wouldn't like people to think they were donating to a real cause only to use the money myself. I mean, they are often worthy causes for people usually in a worse situation than someone needing a couple of dollars for a train. I understand most comrades will use the money they have sparingly and share it with those who need it. But exploiting people's compassion is not the way to go. It's just plain deceitful.

[bcbm]

Originally posted by [email protected] 07, 2007 04:15 am

People drop change, so keep your eyes on the ground and scan highly susceptible areas

Or go look for a job like everyone else.
Work sucks.

[Vanguard1917]

Scavenging pennies off the floor for a living must 'suck' a lot more.

[Fidel Follower]

Originally posted by [email protected] 08, 2007 11:50 am
Scavenging pennies off the floor for a living must 'suck' a lot more.
I don't think he means, as a way-of-life.

Jusyt for spare cash comrade?

[Vanguard1917]

Originally posted by Fidel Follower+April 08, 2007 12:59 pm--> (Fidel Follower @ April 08, 2007 12:59 pm)
[email protected] 08, 2007 11:50 am
Scavenging pennies off the floor for a living must 'suck' a lot more.
I don't think he means, as a way-of-life.

Jusyt for spare cash comrade? [/b]
Has everyone gone mad?

[Red October]

Originally posted by Vanguard1917+April 08, 2007 01:36 pm--> (Vanguard1917 @ April 08, 2007 01:36 pm)
Originally posted by Fidel [email protected] 08, 2007 12:59 pm

[email protected] 08, 2007 11:50 am
Scavenging pennies off the floor for a living must 'suck' a lot more.
I don't think he means, as a way-of-life.

Jusyt for spare cash comrade?
Has everyone gone mad? [/b]
apparently dizzie has if he thinks stealing fellow worker's tips is a good thing for a leftist to do. you may as well pick their pocket while you're at it.

[Fidel Follower]

Okai.
Let us end this thread.

Dizzie, is a capitalist-pigdog.

Endof.

[DIzzIE]

Originally posted by black coffee black [email protected] 07, 2007 06:15 am
A lot of this shit was up on crimethinc.net in its previous incarnations, I wonder if this is the same fellow... in any case, we reamed him them and he deserves a thorough one now. If somebody stole my tip jar and I caught them, I'd probably break their face. That's just fucked.
Why are you so willing to lash out at someone who takes "your" tips, but are showing no indication of directing this violence towards your boss?

[Fidel Follower]

I don't want to speak for anyone.

But Dizzie doing that would end your job, rendering you with no income.

[Sadena Meti]

1. Buy a set of lock picks, a 12" bolt cutter, and a 12" all-steel claw hammer
2. Learn to use them.
3. Hit vending machines, parking meters, parking "boards" (where people fold up bills and slip them through the slot, nature-park entry fee boxes.

There's a million places out there full of money that people think are safe because they are locked. And usually in places with no one around.

Need some food? Find a vending machine, smash the plexiglass, clean it out.

Need some cash? Pick the lock box on the newly smashed vending machine.


Be brazen, be fast. Go to a pay-n-park lot in the middle of the city, 10am or 2pm are usually good times, stand by the pay-n-park board examining it (people will just think you are a clueless parker), then either pick the lock, break the lock, or break the hinges. Clean it out in a matter of minutes, and you are looking at $100+

[Question everything]

What happened to the Fifth amendment Rev? :P

[Sadena Meti]

Think the statue of limitations has passed since my wilder days (hey, you've got to get through college somehow!)

[Question everything]

Originally posted by rev-[email protected] 17, 2007 11:46 pm
Think the statue of limitations has passed since my wilder days (hey, you've got to get through college somehow!)
Okay but don't blame me if the Feds come to you're door :P but I still want to know what you did to the company computer...

also wouldn't that seem very obvious, I doubt you could get away with it (definitly not more than once)

[dez]

hey rev
where do i learn how to lock pick?

[Question everything]

Originally posted by [email protected] 22, 2007 06:33 am
hey rev
where do i learn how to lock pick?
... He got arrested a few days ago... :(

[bcbm]

Originally posted by [email protected] 11, 2007 02:55 am
Why are you so willing to lash out at someone who takes "your" tips, but are showing no indication of directing this violence towards your boss?
I don't work in an industry where I get tipped, in fact I don't even have a boss in any meaningful sense, but I've been there before and I was certainly no "model employee," but when you fuck with my beer money, I fuck with your face.

[crimsonzephyr]

Originally posted by [email protected] 05, 2007 02:28 pm
Nicking tips from workers? Thievin charity boxes? Dizzie, you are an arsehole.
exactly what i was thinking, mainly for the stealing from charities...and making up your own? Cumon man! thats low

[anarchista feminista]

I'm happy to work for my money. It is satisfying in more ways than one, and I would certainly never take money that's not mine. Property is theft but right now under our laws and all of that it's a punishable crime. I'd rather have my own money than money someone else has had to work for and not risk having to deal with the consequences. In our ideal world we should be able to share what we have. Unfortunately, for now, some people don't feel the same way.

[marxist_god]

Originally posted by [email protected] 05, 2007 07:20 am
COIN HARVESTING
By DIzzIE [antikopyright 2005]

Merely a compendium of locales wherein one can scavenge some spare change. And before you skip over this text, thinking that putzing around town looking for coins just isn’t worth your time, keep in mind that cup noodles go for 25 cents/cup, and the hot water from the faucet in the store restroom? FREE!

* Fountains. It is a longstanding tradition dating back to the ancient Greeks to toss coins into wells, or fountains as the case may be. Roll up your sleeves and start collecting. If your country has magnetic coins (for instance Canada) then your job will be easier. Search for fountains around hotels, shopping centres, parks, business parks, etc. Prudence will lead one to invest in a small net (proceed to your local hardware/gardening store and state you need some fine protective mesh netting for your garden) that one will then anchor down with four inconspicuous stones on the bottom of the fountain. If the fountain has a ‘coin donations go to ____ (name of charity)’ placard next to it then so much the better; if it doesn’t, make one.

* Seats. Check under every seat cushion you visit: reception rooms, library reading rooms, bookstores, hotel lobbies, furniture stores, rollercoaster seats, busses/cars etc.

* Floors. People drop change, so keep your eyes on the ground and scan highly susceptible areas: below counters, under coin-dependent machinery (Coinstar machines, money change machines in arcades and laundromats), areas under rollercoaster rides, and of course under drive-thru windows.

* Tips. Speaking of drive-thrus, numerous places now leave out tip jars in the open near drive-thru windows (for instance Starbucks drive-thrus). Tip jars on counters can be boldly swiped by dropping an object on the other side of the counter, thus diverting the employee’s attention by forcing him to bend down and pick it up, while you’re out the door. It’s silly and unprofessional, but you might even score some paper money! Walk around outdoor (or indoor…) restaurants and scarf up any tips that you see, while scarfing down the copious amounts of leftovers on the plates, ye olde ‘two birds with one stone’ gimmick.

* Donation Jars. When swiping the tip jar, don’t forget the charity donation jar standing alongside it. The jar can then be used to solicit donations on street-corners, door to door foot marches, or strategically placed—and secured—around locales where change use is common (i.e. around vending machines). Want an authentic donation jar but don’t want to steal the store’s and can’t be arsed to make your own? Call up the charity and say that you’re interested in collecting for them.

* Panhandling. Don’t take a passive, withdrawn stance in a slump against the wall of a shady alley. Proactively approach folks with a grab bag of tactics: milk hard luck stories for all they’re worth and use humour when riding the sign (for example, “need $ to keep the demons at bay/to buy acid/ for strippers”). Loiter around areas where folks are bound to have change: newspaper/vending machines, food courts, outside of theaters (watch out for pigs).

* Coin-Return Slots. The one area that’s not recommended for coin harvesting is the coin return slot featured in vending machines, payphones, coin exchange machines, and the like. Aside from the annoying swing-back panels now installed on most machines that make chute stuffing an outdated relic (although some hardcore types continue to pursue this line of work through use of polystyrene foam and coat hanger wire), certain malicious types have been known to place such delectable knickknacks as used condoms and spilled ink, not to mention lye, into the slots, thus even turning the occasional slot check into a dangerous endeavor.

Thanks to all that contributed to the text!

Feel free to share your own techniques! :ph34r:

Check http://www.dizzy.ws & http://www.rorta.net for more knowledge...

Cool article comrade, i think these measures are real important, we must do whatever it takes to overthrow capitalism, and not just be passive spectators, but pro active beings architects of our own destiny

marxist_god

[bezdomni]

At first I thought this thread was about "colon harvesting".

Frightening.

[bezdomni]

here's some loose change (http://www.loosechange911.com/)

[Global_Justice]

most of u seem shocked by the thought of stealing tips and its interesting. what o u think of tipping? i thought most leftists hated it, iv certainly aways been opposed to it and iv read stuff about leftists disliking it, was i misled?

[Palmares]

Originally posted by Vanguard1917+April 09, 2007 04:35 am--> (Vanguard1917 @ April 09, 2007 04:35 am)
Originally posted by Fidel [email protected] 08, 2007 12:59 pm

[email protected] 08, 2007 11:50 am
Scavenging pennies off the floor for a living must 'suck' a lot more.
I don't think he means, as a way-of-life.

Jusyt for spare cash comrade?
Has everyone gone mad? [/b]
I think taking the excesses of capital is quite logical thing, as most people would love to minimise their slavery to the wage system.

Most of the ways inwhich to salvage money here I think are good scams, but as others have pointed out, the "stealing workers tips" is questionable, but as in any situation of despair, not out of the question.

The point is, yes, especially in the US, tips are infact the only income some workers have. Stealing that then, is stealing their livelihood. And thus, further entrenching them into the wage slave system.

But for the most part, outside of the US (though, i've certainly heard about similar situations in Eastern Europe), tips do not hold the same value.

I think another important point to make here is simply: this in most cases is small money. Depends on which methods you use. But generally, this is for survival. The big money is in more elaborate scams then simply scavenging.

[Ultra-Violence]

OK YEAH FUCK THE CHARITIES! and if you feel bad about taking money from a certain chairty donate it to your local rev. gruop or org. that way karma balance out

[commiecrusader]

Scamming charities and begging when you don't actually need to i.e. your not a homeless drug addict, seems completely shit to me. It will never achieve anything meaningful other than bad publicity for the leftist movement in general. Do we really want to be seen as charity scammers or tip money stealers? Get some dignity and get a job.

[ÑóẊîöʼn]

What about using a crowbar to lift up a drain grille and fishing around in the muck to find coins? I'm sure people have dropped some quite high denomination coins down drains.