I have been working hard on building my emergency fund, so I figured I would finally cash in my coins. I have slowly built up my coins by just adding them into a large wine bottle (a really large bottle) over time. I didn’t pay attention to how many coins I have collected over the years, but I think the amount is getting pretty substantial. Instead of using them to purchase things I don’t need, I figured I would deposit them into my savings account. Unfortunately, this hasn’t been as easy as I thought it would be.
**Update: This post is a few years old, but banks still give people a hard time when they want to deposit coins. Many banks still don’t allow them. I get emails almost every day with people asking me about banks that will accept them. You might have to settle for a credit union my friends!
You Don’t Want My Coins?
As indicated earlier, I have my bank accounts between two banks, one mainstream bank and one credit union. Since my credit union is not local, I cannot deposit the coins there. This leaves me with the mainstream bank. I won’t name the bank here, but it is only three letters that starts with “B” and ends with “T”.
I walked into my bank thinking that it would be just another deposit. The process is simple or so I thought. Before I threw my coin sack up on the counter, I asked if they accept coin deposits. Here is where the easy process turned not-so easy. The bank teller quickly said, “No, we no longer accept coin deposits, but you can use the Coinstar in the grocery store.”. This threw me for a loop and I didn’t really know how to respond. I was at a loss for words. When did coins stop being a form of currency?
No More Coins?
When did most banks stop accepting coin deposits? Do they feel that it is no longer a form of US currency? I mean, I can get as many coins as I want, but if I want to add that money to my account, I have to go use Coinstar? Are you kidding me? Why would I want Coinstar to take 9% of my money (the % Coinstar takes is more now, but you can get free gift cards!) just to count my coins? I just don’t get it.
Any money that I have, I don’t want a hassle with the decisions I make when using it. There is no problem when spending money, but when you want to save it, banks make it difficult? Hmm…..
There are a few credit unions in my area that have free coin counters, but they are only allowed to be used by members. I don’t meet the requirements for these credit unions, so I might resort in “befriending” someone from one of these credit unions. Who knows what I will do, but I don’t want to give Coinstar my money for really doing nothing, but having a machine count my money.
The Roundup
It is sad to see how coins are being treated by banks. While coins are not worth as much as they once were, they are still a legal form of tender, so I should be able to easily deposit them. This trend makes me worry about teaching our children to save. If your child can’t deposit coins into their bank account, then how does this teach them to save? If they collect change from random places, what will they do with it? All I want to know is when did banks stop accepting coin deposits?
Do you deposit coins at your bank? If so, which bank do you use? Let me know of any places where I can cash out my coins without a fee.
