OP, congrats on your wonderful find.
I think Karma has been good to you....with your struggles and then have these coins in your drawer.
I too worked in banking for many years. Finding a rare coin or silver certificate was a fun part of the job. No we did not spend every working moment looking for them but it was happy surprised coming across them.
We worked in private banking and saw many neat things. We had a customer turn in a $500 bill. Now us lower on the pay scale could by no means tie up that much money, but you bet we let one of our good customers know about it and he was the proud owner of it.
We often had the chance to buy gold coins, gold bars, etc. We had to order some for our customers and had to buy in certain quantities, so we were given the opp to buy the extra ones.
Now, having family in Canada, I was always the one they brought the "dreaded" Canadian quarter that got put into a roll of reg quarters. The Canadian change was a pain because although we had to count it as regular US coin, it would just stock up in our drawers. So, I would purchase the change at equal value. Back then Canadian money was valued far less than US, however coins did not count.
So, was the bank suppose to pay me extra for taking the coins off their hands. Yes, I could have turned them all into the main office after tons of paperwork, etc. But I would just buy them up and then give them to my mom when she visited. It was maybe total $3-4 a year.
I mean, to call the OP a theif is really harsh, to mention that her job would be in jepardy is wrong. One should really check their facts before jumping to such conclusions.
I would almost say an apology is in order, but that would be pretty unheard of around here.
OP, have a wonderful Christmas.
Keep us posted on your small windfall. We love sharing in the joy of others.