It was change jar night last night.

[Rain Man]

I had about 30 minutes to kill before I went to bed, and the change jar was getting full, so it was time to roll some coin.

The haul:

$81.50 in rolled coins (plus some that went back in because they wouldn't fill a roll)

32 Sacajawea dollars (what the - ?)

11 Susan B. Anthony Dollars

6 Kennedy half dollars, which I think have been in my change jar for 30 years because I don't want to spend them

2 Eisenhower dollars, same drill as the Kennedy halves. I love Eisenhower dollars

4 Euro coins (2 5-cent, 1 2-cent, and 1 teeny-weeny 1-cent)

2 Australian coins (1 10-cent, 1 5-cent)

1 1799 British coin of unknown denomination. In fairness, I don't think I got this in change. I vaguely remember buying it as a souvenir several years back when I was at Mount Vernon or Alexandria or something. I'd forgotten all about it, but it was cool to discover again.

[Frazod]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

Maybe they've started doing it again, but the banks around here made it hard to take change in at some point. I think they didn't like putting it through their machines.

As a result, we then got some of those automatic change machines, including one in our grocery store. But they were highway robbery, charging something like 8 percent to sort your coins. No way was I doing something like that, so I just rolled them myself. Then my wife got me an automatic sorter/roller for Christmas a few years back, so now it's all fun and games.

The change sorter at the bank doesn't charge extra unless you're not a customer. And the one in the grocery store charges if you take out cash, but not if you get a coupon for the grocery store, which I have no problem with, considering that we almost always spend more than that.

[Dartgod]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

Maybe they've started doing it again, but the banks around here made it hard to take change in at some point. I think they didn't like putting it through their machines.

As a result, we then got some of those automatic change machines, including one in our grocery store. But they were highway robbery, charging something like 8 percent to sort your coins. No way was I doing something like that, so I just rolled them myself. Then my wife got me an automatic sorter/roller for Christmas a few years back, so now it's all fun and games.

My bank doesn't want them rolled. They don't trust me I guess.
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[Nzoner]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

Maybe they've started doing it again, but the banks around here made it hard to take change in at some point. I think they didn't like putting it through their machines.

As a result, we then got some of those automatic change machines, including one in our grocery store. But they were highway robbery, charging something like 8 percent to sort your coins. No way was I doing something like that, so I just rolled them myself. Then my wife got me an automatic sorter/roller for Christmas a few years back, so now it's all fun and games.

My bank won't take rolled coins say they have to still put it through their counting machine,makes me think I'm getting ripped off.

[cdcox]

Change jar? You people need to implement a change management system. I always have between 0 and 4 pennies in my pocket by paying the pennies from my pocket on any cash transaction. Larger coins go into vending machines. If I build up more than a couple bucks of change I use it for a cup of coffee.

I was hoarding state quarters for a while but cashed them in for a smoker.

[patteeu]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

I was kind of hoping it was a thousand-pound note or something, but your answer makes more sense. I vaguely remember buying it for a buck or a few bucks and they had a bunch of them sitting in a bowl. I thought it made for a pretty cool souvenir.

You need to label your souvenirs or something. They kind of lose their meaning if you forget where they came from.

Do you roll your own coins because you like to do it? A lot of banks have coin counting machines that you can use for free if you have an account. I take my coin jar in every few months and just dump it in. I usually count it before I take it in just because I like to do it though (and it gives me confidence in the machine count).

Edit: Partial repost... grrrrr

[patteeu]

Originally Posted by Dr. noonanbeermefever

I save change in an over-sized, glass KU mug and cash it in every few months. The most I've ever collected was roughly $120. It's nice... like getting free money.

I've been told that a lot of KU grads keep their life savings in an over-sized glass KU mug.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by patteeu

You need to label your souvenirs or something. They kind of lose their meaning if you forget where they came from.

Do you roll your own coins because you like to do it? A lot of banks have coin counting machines that you can use for free if you have an account. I take my coin jar in every few months and just dump it in. I usually count it before I take it in just because I like to do it though (and it gives me confidence in the machine count).

Yeah, I have a South African clay mask and I have no idea now where it came from.

At one point my local bank (a small branch bank) wouldn't accept coinage, so I started doing it myself. And I know they had a coin sorter because it was sitting on the counter behind them. That was a dozen years ago, so maybe they've changed their policies, but now it's kind of fun for me to occasionally do the ol' count and roll.

[patteeu]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

Yeah, I have a South African clay mask and I have no idea now where it came from.

At one point my local bank (a small branch bank) wouldn't accept coinage, so I started doing it myself. And I know they had a coin sorter because it was sitting on the counter behind them. That was a dozen years ago, so maybe they've changed their policies, but now it's kind of fun for me to occasionally do the ol' count and roll.

My dad used to collect coins. He collected one penny from each year minted at each mint (Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco) and he also collected as much of the silver coinage as he could find (see Cosmo's post about the content of coins in the 1960s). During the late 60s and 70s (my childhood years), he used to get a couple hundred dollars worth of quarters, dimes, and pennies from the bank at a time and then we would sit at home sorting through them looking for specific pennies and pre-1965 silver coins. When we were through, we'd stack up the remainder and re-roll it so he could take it back to the bank and get some more. So your "hobby" reminds me of those times with my dad.