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I have saved a full piggy bank of coins and I never bothered to count them. I understand that there are money counting machines that usually charges about 10% of the value to convert them into paper money, but I do not want to lose 10% of the value in my piggy bank. So what are some recommended ways to spend the coins there? For example, is it proper to use the coins to:

  1. pay tips?
  2. make a contribution to a local church on Sundays?
  3. pay for small item at convenience stores?
  4. give to homeless people who asks for money?

Will a bank (in the US) usually count the coins and add value to my bank account without a fee?

I am confident that most vending machines will take the coins, but I do not buy products from vending machines often as they are usually dearer than the products in supermarkets.

Zuriel
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1 Answers1

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Coins, of course, are legal tender, and can be used for any of the purposes on your list.

For depositing into your bank account or converting to paper money, it used to be that all banks would gladly accept them and had a counting machine at each location, but in recent years this has changed. Some banks still do this for free, but some banks now charge you to count them or even refuse to count coins for you. You’ll need to ask your bank what they will do. If you don’t like their answer, you can call other banks and ask their policies.

Ben Miller
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