please empty your brain below
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I strongly recommend the Metro Bank option!
Dan | 07.07.18 - 7:11 a.m. | #
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But is your time worth less than about £7 per hour (estimating a total operation of about four hours)?
Stephen | 07.07.18 - 7:40 a.m. | #
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Another option is to find a branch of your bank that has a coin counting machine (like Metro Bank). HSBC and Natwest both have these in some branches.
dg writes: My bank no longer has any such machines.
Robert | 07.07.18 - 7:45 a.m. | #
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I can't remember when I last paid cash into my account. Did you have to fill in a paper paying-in slip?
dg writes: No.
David Cook | 07.07.18 - 7:52 a.m. | #
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@Stephen Actually, it's much less than that. The Coinstar machine takes 10%, so DG's worth is actually £2.70 for the entire operation. If he took four hours, that's barely 70p an hour. Way less than the minimum wage.
Jon Jones | 07.07.18 - 7:52 a.m. | #
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You remind me that I have some bags of coppers somewhere all sorted and all waiting...
I stopped collecting them a while ago. It was too much hassle traking them to the bank as it would always require a special trip.
Now I have a branch of my building society a few minutes from the house.
Incidentally you are fortunate they let you pay them all in. Several places have a 5 bag maximum.
Andrew Bowden | Homepage | 07.07.18 - 7:54 a.m. | #
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All supermarkets have free coin-counting machines these days: the self-operated checkouts.
I take a handful of coppers with me when I do a large shop, and feed them into the machine before paying the balance with a card.
Madison | 07.07.18 - 8:11 a.m. | #
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Top tip (if you have accurate kitchen scales) - carefully count one bag and weigh it, then fill subsequent bags to the same weight.
NLW | 07.07.18 - 8:25 a.m. | #
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I find it easier to stack the coins. Make one pile 5 or 10 coins high, then make more the same size. Easy!
Confused | 07.07.18 - 8:42 a.m. | #
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Apparently there's some coin counting machines that have no commission for a gift card, so pick Amazon or something else you're sure to use.
Toby | 07.07.18 - 9:00 a.m. | #
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I believe Metro Bank's machines are free to use, even for non-customers.
Fourex machines also exchange UK coins for notes, but only take 8%.
martin | 07.07.18 - 9:28 a.m. | #
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I thought I was having a senior moment recently: I was putting my gear together for a trip out on the bike but when I went to pick up the pile of coins I was going to put in my pocket, all of them but the pound coins had mysteriously disappeared.
At some point I must have put my tank bag on top of them.
I found the coins eventually... stuck to the magnets on the bottom of the bag.
It seems they're only copper in colour
RogerW | 07.07.18 - 9:34 a.m. | #
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@Jon Jones
I think I see your point, but that probably depends on how DG acquired the coins. Let’s say he found them in the street. Assuming zero time to pick them up (he was passing anyway) and to store them (he had the bottle anyway) he has now spent (day) four hours turning them into something he can use. So that’s still £27 for four hours work - £7/hour approx.
If on the other hand he acquired the coins as change from purchases (actually more likely) then I sort of see your point....
Stephen | 07.07.18 - 9:41 a.m. | #
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My kids collect all coins and every now and then take them to the machine in our NatWest. The best haul was £39 something, which pleased the recipient no end!
Me? I don't have many coins at any given time. There always someone in the family who needs them , or I use them to give the exact amount - yes, I'm old-fashioned like that!
Cornish Cockney | 07.07.18 - 10:05 a.m. | #
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The coinstar takes £2.70 but did you spend anything on fares to and from the bank. I do the change thing about once a year and think that the 10% is about right for the convenience and speed and I am not using any plastic bags. Don't know what the coinstar people use though.
John G | 07.07.18 - 10:17 a.m. | #
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I love your blog, not just because of what you write about, but because of how you write. This is a perfect example. :-)
(On topic-ish - to my great delight the casinos in Las Vegas have very recently realised how much they can rake in from coin-changing machines - I think it's 11% there! But I'll still take advantage a couple of times a trip - it's far to slow for me to try to use coins when I'm buying stuff, as I have to stop and work them out, so everything's done with notes, and the change mounts up. Any change that's left by my last day goes into the charity envelope on the plane.)
mightymouse | 07.07.18 - 10:30 a.m. | #
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It baffles me why any rational person (especially someone as intelligent and streetwise as DG) would ever choose to create the problem by hoarding coins in the first place.
Why not simply spend them as fast as you are given them? I've just checked my wallet and I have a mere 11p in coppers.
And as for the Coinstar rip-off when the self-scan terminals only yards away will happily accept oodles of mixed coins without charging any fee - well, there's one born every minute !
Gerry | 07.07.18 - 10:34 a.m. | #
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Were there any half penny coins in your stash?
Sprout Eater | 07.07.18 - 11:22 a.m. | #
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I had about £350-£400 of coins (not just coppers though) more than 10 years ago. My Mum and Dad sorted through it on the understanding that half went to their chosen charity (Action for Children).
We eventually did get a second-hand coin-sorting machine for their Christian Aid collections.
Half a physicist | 07.07.18 - 11:27 a.m. | #
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Reminds me of getting change from he bank for the business I used to work in. The 1ps (£20 worth) were bad, and I do recall joking how it would be the worlds worst thief who decided to rob the £60 I was carrying as they would be staggering slowly off down the street.
Messiah | 07.07.18 - 11:50 a.m. | #
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Emptied my coin saver - silver coins only - and did as you did. Made the mistake of walking to the bank...I hadn't factored in the additional weight training! I won't be doing that again...in fact, I doubt I'll ever have much physical cash on me anymore anyway.
B | 07.07.18 - 1:03 p.m. | #
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However much of a muppet you think I am, converting small change into £27 is a much more profitable use of my time than blogging.
diamond geezer | Homepage | 07.07.18 - 1:10 p.m. | #
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RogerW: copper/nickel 1p and 2p pieces were minted up to 1992. From then, they have been copper plated steel, and slightly thicker to maintain the weight as as they are fractionally less dense.
I've used physical coins and notes less and less in the last couple of years. I've been carrying the same £20 note around for about a month until finally using it today.
Andrew | 07.07.18 - 2:58 p.m. | #
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Some coin-counting machines in shops have two options - you can get paid in cash (with about 10% taken off), or you can get a voucher to use in the same shop (with nothing taken off). If you were going to be buying stuff in that shop anyway, that looks like a good scheme.
Still, the method DG actually used was the best for blogging about.
Malcolm | 07.07.18 - 6:29 p.m. | #
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Mine all went in the coffee machine at work untill I was made redundant in 2012. Since then I save them up till holiday time and my Grandaughter has a great time in the Penny arcade. I have to help though as it reminds me of time past.
Rob S-L | 07.07.18 - 7:28 p.m. | #
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The best reason I can think of for hoarding coppers is to give them to a charity, who will probably have an efficient way of counting and paying them in.
Andrew S | 07.07.18 - 7:30 p.m. | #
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I’ve done this before and also got told a couple of bags were a penny short. I’m convinced this isn’t in fact true, but that the weighing machines are slightly inaccurate and/or the weight of the coins varies by a small amount.
That said I wouldn’t be willing to insist that the cashier manually re-count the bag to find out.
Frankie Roberto | 07.07.18 - 8:29 p.m. | #
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Thanks, Andrew
RogerW | 07.07.18 - 8:48 p.m. | #
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Last time I tried this in Santander I was told there was a £15 limit per customer. I had £45 of coppers, so I asked the queue of people behind me if anyone else was putting coppers in and they all said no. Based on this the cashier reluctantly took the coppers but told me they'd never do it again. I've changed banks.
Darren Eddy | 07.07.18 - 8:55 p.m. | #
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I found recently found that I had accumulated about £10 of silver but in the older large size coins. These had come from deceased relatives houses as we had cleared them out and just found hidden.
Took them in to the Nationwide who were happy to deposit in my account. Asked them if they would take any old coins and they said yes!
What about pre decimal? which the reply was a friendly 'don't push your luck'
But I did find out that if you have crown coins they can be exchanged at most bigger post offices. We found that we had about 30 that were surplus to requirements. checking on ebay they have almost no sale value, so we are waiting to pluck courage and try our luck at a post office
Ian Goodrick | 07.07.18 - 9:09 p.m. | #
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For future reference - any bank or Post Office will give you a stash of plastic coin bags. Provided they still have cashiers, of course. And it might be different in London I suppose...
HSBC will still swop coins for notes, but I think they may now be the only bank - the rest now insist you pay them into your account.
I don't understand how some banks limit the number of bags of coins you can pay in - what happens to traders who only deal in cash (eg food stalls, market traders)?
Years ago I posted a list of the weight of each coin one needed for each designated bagged amount - I always weigh coins when bagging, but you do need an accurate scale.
I get very annoyed when I see kids tipping their moneyboxes in Coinstar machines. Counting coins and bagging them up is such an important activity for development of mathematical concepts, and encouraging understanding of the value of money.
And as for the "it's only 10%" brigade... what's the state pension age now? Counting pennies lets you retire early.
Blue Witch | 07.07.18 - 10:31 p.m. | #
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I was shocked a few years back to realise that many young folk literally throw away coppers received in change!
Frank F | 08.07.18 - 9:39 a.m. | #
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Pedantry corner: ‘legal tender’ does not mean ‘must be accepted in shops’ but refers only to payment of debts. If you owe me 20p, I have to accept your twenty pennies as payment for the debt. Payments for purchases can be made with whatever the buyer and seller mutually agree. Which could be pennies, notes, cards or laminated DG blog posts...
Dominic Self | Homepage | 08.07.18 - 3:46 p.m. | #
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Why do you still have such small change in the UK? Here in Norway the smallest coin is NOK 1. The 50 øre coin was discontinued in 2012. NOK 1 is about GBP 0.10 .
Dubidubno | 08.07.18 - 8:42 p.m. | #
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@Dubidubno, because everything in Norway costs twice as much as in the UK, and because your main unit of currency is 10 times smaller. Also, like 1p and 2p coins, the 50 øre was brown, and thus, the perceived value of a 50 øre coin is roughly that of a 2p coin in the UK. I think that 1p and 2p coins should be eliminated and payments in cash should be rounded DOWN to the next 5p (not rounded to the nearest 5p - I mean down always).
John | 09.07.18 - 8:46 a.m. | #
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@Blue Witch, as the majority of people like paying with notes and dump their coins into a jar at home instead of spending them, traders dealing in cash are usually short of change and need to obtain coins from the bank rather than paying them in, so this problem does not arise. In any case, they will be using a business account which usually charges fees for depositing and withdrawing cash.
Counting coins may help a 4-year-old grasp basic arithmetic, but is not much use beyond that. To learn about the value of money, they should (when somewhat older) read this pdf
John again | 09.07.18 - 8:47 a.m. | #
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@Ian Goodrick, large 5p/10p/50p are accepted loose, and pre-decimal coins in bags of £1, at main branches of HSBC, Natwest and Barclays, provided that someone continues to pay them in every few months or so, in order that the cashiers remember what they look like. I haven't heard of a Nationwide branch accepting them prior to your experience.
John again again | 09.07.18 - 8:47 a.m. | #
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@Darren Eddy, Santander is not a "real bank", being an ex-building society like Halifax; these often have funny rules about coins. The "real banks" HSBC, Lloyds, TSB, Natwest and Barclays don't have any issues with large amounts of coins, or accepting loose coins. Whenever I go to one of these banks to deposit notes (not that often), I will also deposit all my loose change including £1s into my account, which they have never had a problem with (and since I spend coins as I get them, I never have more than around 20 coins) and they just count them by hand.
John again again again | 09.07.18 - 8:48 a.m. | #
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@Andrew S, charities use exactly the same methods of paying coins into banks as you and I. The main difference from a business user is that they are not charged for depositing cash. If their branch has a counting machine then it's fine, otherwise, donating coppers means that a volunteer has to waste time counting and bagging them up instead of doing something more useful. For this reason, I don't donate coins to charities but only notes or cheques. I used to work for a charity in Hong Kong and one Saturday per month volunteers were allowed to go canvassing on the street for donations. We then went to the bank before Saturday closing time of 12pm. If you arrive before closing, they are obliged to deal with you until they are finished, which meant getting unpaid overtime of 2-3 hours each time, since HSBC's coin machines in Hong Kong can only count one denomination but not separate the coins (i.e. separation must be done by hand and then each denomination can be counted).
John again again again again | 09.07.18 - 8:48 a.m. | #
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Hours of unpaid overtime? They must have looked forward to your monthly visits, John! Was it part of the charity's mission to inconvenience the bank workers and force them to provide unpaid labour?
Andrew | 09.07.18 - 9:22 a.m. | #
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This reminds me of the time, many years ago, when I was working in a railway booking office. It was almost a point of honour to bank as few copper coins as possible (only partly because we had to lug them up to the bank ourselves).
One day a colleague and I decided to empty the 'spend a penny' loos, for the first time in months, if not years. We collected well over £11 in (new) pennies. Every single one went out of the window in change the same day!
Funny thing was, the very next night, some pillock vandalised the toilets and made off with the takings. Which, if they were lucky, might have amounted to almost 10p!
Chris | 09.07.18 - 10:31 a.m. | #
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I save coppers (and those bloody awful toy town 5ps) until I have bag full and then I put in the charity box in my local corner shop :)
Agent X | 16.07.18 - 9:29 p.m. | #
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