Pennies from Heaven

November 27, 2024 9:32 AM

I have what I believe is a two gallon jar of mixed loose change. At my bank I can pay a flat fee of $6 for them to count it, vs using their CoinStar style machine for a 2.5% fee. (I don't want to cash out for gift cards at the grocery store). What is the likely best deal?
posted by latkes to Work & Money (21 answers total)

2.5% of $240 is $6. So if you think that you have more than $240, go bank. If you think you have less, go Coinstar. Last time I used Cointstar, if you had between $5-$1000 you could get an Amazon giftcard for 0%, if you're an Amazon user could be the better deal.
posted by greta simone at 9:37 AM on November 27 [6 favorites]

Double check that your local library does not have a “library of things” that includes a coin sorter. You may be able to solve this for free.

Psst, librarians, this would be a good add to a library of things if you manage one!
posted by moosetracks at 9:48 AM on November 27 [11 favorites]

I would count a portion of it, weigh that, and multiply it up to match the weight of the whole thing and compare it to $240.

Or just do whichever's easiest, a miscalculation either way is probably only going to set you back single-digit dollars.
posted by BungaDunga at 9:52 AM on November 27 [4 favorites]

The Coinstar machines at grocery stores near me charge something like 10-12%, so 2.5% is already a relatively good deal. My credit union has a self-serve coin counting machine that charges 3% (donated to the Childrens Hospital affiliated with the CU which is also where I work) if you take it as cash, but no charge if you deposit it into your account. So those are some benchmarks you can use.
posted by TedW at 9:59 AM on November 27

Response by poster: Yeah my bank will charge me either 2.5% for their machine at one branch, or 6 bucks to count it at another.
posted by latkes at 10:10 AM on November 27

Your time and convenience are worth something. I would absolutely go to the bank just for the easiness factor.
posted by BlahLaLa at 10:11 AM on November 27 [4 favorites]

Here's a post showing empirically that $64.65 worth of pennies fit in a gallon. So as a lower bound, you have $129 worth of pennies. Assuming you have any reasonable proportion of dimes and nickels in there, let alone quarters, you have easily more than $240 worth of coins in two gallons. That makes $6 the better deal.
posted by ssg at 10:13 AM on November 27 [10 favorites]

Adding to the easiness factor, I don’t know about your bank but mine has a bowl of candy so it would totally be worth it to go to the bank, grab a lollipop, and exchange pleasantries with the very nice tellers who work there.
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 10:16 AM on November 27 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Yes I am going to the bank either way. But my bank offers two different payment options - a flat rate or a percent. Which is likely to be better for me?
posted by latkes at 10:17 AM on November 27

Response by poster: Sounds like the flat fee is likely to be better for me!
posted by latkes at 10:18 AM on November 27 [2 favorites]

If we accept these calculations, the average value of loose US coins is $6.41/lb. That means greta simone's crossover point of $240 is equivalent to 37.4 lbs.

So weigh the jar, subtract off your best guess for how much the jar weighs empty, and if it's over 37 lbs, go for the flat fee. If it's less, go for the percentage.
posted by yuwtze at 10:18 AM on November 27 [4 favorites]

I’m cheap and I have time. I’d get rolls from the bank and roll it myself.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 11:22 AM on November 27 [4 favorites]

I have never had a bank charge me to count coins. Is this a new practice as of a couple years ago (when I stopped owning coin-up laundry machines) or is OP's bank just a jerk?
posted by eraserbones at 11:34 AM on November 27 [1 favorite]

My bank also charges to count coins, AND no longer will accept rolled coins that I count and roll myself and write my name and account number on. I would call this the enshittification of banking, but you really can’t enshittify that which was already shitty
posted by toodleydoodley at 11:37 AM on November 27 [6 favorites]

Way back when banks used to count coins for free for everyone; now in many instances it is just commercial accounts that rely heavily on coin-counting services.
posted by TedW at 11:37 AM on November 27 [1 favorite]

I'll note briefly that most bank branches in my area cancelled most in-person services, notably teller services, during Covid, and haven't returned to the previous level of service in the meantime.
posted by gimonca at 11:47 AM on November 27

My bank removed all their coin machines. My credit union still has them and they are free for members. I would turn in the coins for a friend at no cost, in exchange for being able to look through all the coins and I would pay face value for any I wanted to keep.
posted by soelo at 5:58 PM on November 27 [2 favorites]

When I've taken a heavy jug of coins to the machine, it's been several hundred dollars. Definitely $6 flat fee.
posted by Dashy at 5:19 AM on November 28 [1 favorite]

No idea if this is actually predictive but my daughters were each given a one-gallon paint bucket filled with loose change by my uncle a couple of years ago and each bucket ended up having around $400 in them. So unless your two gallons are VERY penny-heavy I'd wager that you've probably got more than $240.
posted by saladin at 5:59 AM on November 28 [2 favorites]

One more way that credit unions tend to be superior - mine will cash in any change you have for free. Not sure if it's an option in your location.
posted by Twicketface at 11:31 AM on November 29

Prompted by this Ask, I took our bucket of change to a coinstar this morning. It was about a fourth of a 5- gallon bucket, and $271. (I took the Starbucks card option for free). I did used to pick the quarters out for re-use, so not a fully random bucket.

I'd guess that was the last time I'll lug that bucket, we barely ever touch coins any more. Electronics have taken over tolls, laundry, subway, parking.
posted by Dashy at 9:51 AM on November 30