# A convenient way to carry large amounts of coins? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 2, 2017, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-convenient-way-to-carry-large-amounts-of-coins/781204 "2017-03-02T15:21:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![CoastalMaineiac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@CoastalMaineiac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoastalMaineiac)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2017, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-convenient-way-to-carry-large-amounts-of-coins/781204/21 "2017-03-03T14:03:23Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > WIth that much metal clanking around why don’t you get one of those roller briefcases: [roller briefcase - Google Search](https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&q=roller+briefcase&oq=roller+briefcase) > > It’ll be much lighter on your feet. The money you save on continuously repairing the pockets in your clothes will more than offset the one-time cost of the briefcase. And they’ve got enough sections and pockets that you can dedicate one section to each denomination. No more fumbling to find the pennies. Being as you’re in Maine you can even have a full set of sections for inevitable Canadian coins you encounter. Actually, my keys seem to do more damage to my pockets than the coins. I’d use one of those belt clips for them if I didn’t mind them clanking against my hip anytime I walked anywhere. > [@](#): > > Separate item: > > Diff’rent strokes and all that. But … > > If you’re buying rolls of 50 cent pieces at the bank to filter out the valuable silver ones, you can certainly reroll them and sell them back to the bank just as easily. It’s certainly vastly easier to reroll 20 or 25 or however many of them make a roll than it is to lug them around and spend them individually in 10 transactions 2 or 3 at a time. > > YMMV. They come in rolls of $10 (though I did once encounter a roll of $20). I only get about $20 or $30 at a time precisely because I want to get no more than I can reasonably spend during the course of a week or two. Selling them back to the bank would be counter-productive, as the next time I’d ask for them, I’d likely get the same, already searched, halves back. Plus, it’s kind of fun to circulate a coin that, while still minted as demand warrants, has mostly fallen out of favor—a conversation starter, if nothing else. ---
**Author:** ![CoastalMaineiac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@CoastalMaineiac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoastalMaineiac)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2017, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-convenient-way-to-carry-large-amounts-of-coins/781204/22 "2017-03-03T22:58:09Z")
Well, I just ordered one of [these doohickeys](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007K9ZJOQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) from Amazon. It seems like it should be a handy design, although I don’t know how many coins it will hold. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-convenient-way-to-carry-large-amounts-of-coins/781204/23 "2017-03-04T00:32:47Z")
How about a leather fanny pack? (U.K. Dopers - not what you might think) (In a pinch it could be quite a weapon too.) ---
**Author:** ![K2500](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f6c823/32.png) [@K2500](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K2500)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-convenient-way-to-carry-large-amounts-of-coins/781204/24 "2017-03-04T00:54:10Z")
Dollars in one pocket, halves in the other. Leave the rest at home. Surely you aren’t paying out 19.99 in exact change? I like to gather up some dollar and half dollar coins with some 2$ bills when I feel like paying in cash. Alot of people like to get it as change but the cashiers don’t like it very much. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-convenient-way-to-carry-large-amounts-of-coins/781204/25 "2017-03-04T01:02:16Z")
> [@drewder](#): > > Get a [money](http://img0.etsystatic.com/001/0/7421788/il_fullxfull.391664532_nax5.jpg) pouch for each set of coins. Yeah, this was my first solution, too. A nice chamois bag that you fill with coins as if they were pieces of eight, then tie to your belt and sashay about like the Sheriff of Nottingham. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-convenient-way-to-carry-large-amounts-of-coins/781204/26 "2017-03-04T01:42:01Z")
A really big canvas bag with a dollar-sign stenciled on the side. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-convenient-way-to-carry-large-amounts-of-coins/781204/27 "2017-03-04T01:48:23Z")
> [@CoastalMaineiac](#): > > … > Plus, it’s kind of fun to circulate a coin that, while still minted as demand warrants, has mostly fallen out of favor—a conversation starter, if nothing else. Got it. I’ve told this story before but I used to fly with a guy who looked and sounded almost exactly like a 30yo Mickey Rooney. It didn’t matter what he did it; was funny just because of that. But he knew how to milk it for all it was worth. We get a van ride each day from the airport to/from the hotel. It’s traditional to tip the driver $1. Everybody uses bills. This guy always carried a supply of Sackies. And as he handed it over to the bemused van driver he’d always say in a hearty voice: “Here, my good man. Have a gold doubloon!” My Dad liked to pass $2 bills just to mess with cashiers. I understand the motivation even if I don’t share it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-convenient-way-to-carry-large-amounts-of-coins/781204/28 "2017-03-04T02:03:29Z")
> [@CoastalMaineiac](#): > > Selling them back to the bank would be counter-productive, as the next time I’d ask for them, I’d likely get the same, already searched, halves back. Have two banks: get coins from one; return them to the other. ---
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-convenient-way-to-carry-large-amounts-of-coins/781204/29 "2017-03-04T02:04:53Z")
In Utah there used to be a steel mill. They were trying to show the community the effect of the mill on the local economy so one week they paid all their employees in $2 bills. ---
**Author:** ![Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/channing_idaho_banks/32/250_2.png) [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-convenient-way-to-carry-large-amounts-of-coins/781204/30 "2017-03-04T02:29:27Z")
They invented these things, they’re called pockets. ---
**Author:** ![CoastalMaineiac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@CoastalMaineiac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoastalMaineiac)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-convenient-way-to-carry-large-amounts-of-coins/781204/31 "2017-03-04T02:31:46Z")
> [@K2500](#): > > Dollars in one pocket, halves in the other. Leave the rest at home. Surely you aren’t paying out 19.99 in exact change? If I have exact change, I tend to pay in exact change. I don’t really see the point of accumulating bunches of pennies, nickles, dimes, or quarters at home. I’m trying to make the process less cumbersome, so that I don’t say, “Screw it!” and reach for a $20 bill just because I can’t find the dimes and pennies needed to make 99¢ among the sea of half dollars in my pocket. > [@](#): > > I like to gather up some dollar and half dollar coins with some 2$ bills when I feel like paying in cash. Alot of people like to get it as change but the cashiers don’t like it very much. Aye, they don’t care to use the two. It’s always funny to me that, even when they’ve got their signs out begging for ones, the twos _still_ get tossed under the tray, and the guy behind me buying the $1 scratch-off ticket with a $5 bill will get four singles in return instead of the two $2’s I just handed over for a gallon of milk. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-convenient-way-to-carry-large-amounts-of-coins/781204/32 "2017-03-04T03:10:17Z")
If your intent is to save the government money on their printing process wouldn’t it be better just to pay with your debit card since it doesn’t require any printing or coining? ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-convenient-way-to-carry-large-amounts-of-coins/781204/33 "2017-03-04T03:29:16Z")
First, the $2 bills get tossed under the tray because there is nowhere else to put them. There are no $2 slots. Second, they stay under the tray because 99% of customers they could get handed to will reject them. It’s a waste of time. A serious waste of time for someone at a register to bother with. They will never admit it, but I guarantee you doing this all the time at the same places, most of the cashiers do an internal groan and rolleyes every time they see you. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-convenient-way-to-carry-large-amounts-of-coins/781204/34 "2017-03-04T03:30:38Z")
I carry all my change with me and calculate what to give a cashier in order to minimize the coins I’ll still have after the transaction. For instance, if I’m charged $1.72, I’ll give them two dollars and two cents, getting back thirty cents. If I’ve got it, I might give them 2.22 Getting back fifty cents. I’ve gotten some weird looks from cashiers but when they ring it up, it’s clear what I’m doing. ---
**Author:** ![CoastalMaineiac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@CoastalMaineiac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoastalMaineiac)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-convenient-way-to-carry-large-amounts-of-coins/781204/35 "2017-03-04T03:43:56Z")
> [@drewder](#): > > If your intent is to save the government money on their printing process wouldn’t it be better just to pay with your debit card since it doesn’t require any printing or coining? Good lord, no way am I swiping a _debit_ card for anything. The bank gave me one, and it stays locked in a safe. I won’t even use it at an ATM; I go inside the bank to make withdrawals. I predict I will continue to do this until they either abolish cash altogether, or require the use of strong passwords and multi-factor authentication to withdraw money from ATMs and make purchases at points-of-sale. Skimmers have been in the news in my area quite a bit in the past few weeks. At least four people I know have had money taken out of their accounts because of skimmers. One girl had several thousand dollars stolen. Sure, the bank was happy to refund the money, _on the next business day_. No thanks, not worth it to me. ---
**Author:** ![CoastalMaineiac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@CoastalMaineiac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoastalMaineiac)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-convenient-way-to-carry-large-amounts-of-coins/781204/36 "2017-03-04T04:04:59Z")
> [@SeaDragonTattoo](#): > > First, the $2 bills get tossed under the tray because there is nowhere else to put them. There are no $2 slots. There are no $1 slots or $5 slots either; they’re all just… slots. American bills are all the same size, you know? There isn’t some magical barrier that prevents anyone from using one of those slots for $2 bills. > [@](#): > > Second, they stay under the tray because 99% of customers they could get handed to will reject them. It’s a waste of time. A serious waste of time for someone at a register to bother with. They will never admit it, but I guarantee you doing this all the time at the same places, most of the cashiers do an internal groan and rolleyes every time they see you. I doubt 99% of people even care what bills and coins they get as change, as long as it’s made in a reasonable way (e.g. not 400 pennies) and they aren’t getting stiffed. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-convenient-way-to-carry-large-amounts-of-coins/781204/37 "2017-03-04T04:54:20Z")
> [@CoastalMaineiac](#): > > There are no $1 slots or $5 slots either; they’re all just… slots. American bills are all the same size, you know? There isn’t some magical barrier that prevents anyone from using one of those slots for $2 bills. > > I doubt 99% of people even care what bills and coins they get as change, as long as it’s made in a reasonable way (e.g. not 400 pennies) and they aren’t getting stiffed. You’ve never had to give people change 100+ times a day then. Muscle memory is involved when it comes to the tray. The slots are for 1, 5, 10 and 20, with one more slot (IF there’s a 5th) for checks and/or large bills that are not handed back out and that’s it - the best treatment your $2 bills will get is placement in the 5th slot with the checks, if there is one. Rearranging them and changing the denomination, changing the order they’re in from low-high to high-low will result in mistakes. Same for coins. Why on Earth would anyone use a slot for $2 bills instead of the other denominations, when the only ones they see in an entire week of transactions, are from you? Waste of time and fodder for error that costs the business more money. And yes people sure do care whether they’re getting back $2 bills and 50 cent coins. Customers DO NOT want it, and back in the 90’s’ when I did cashier work I was even accused of trying to pass fake money. They DO think they’re getting stiffed! There’s no way people are more receptive to the idea 20+ years later when those denominations are even less common. You’re going to keep doing what you do, it’s entertaining for you and you enjoy it. Just speaking up for the little guys behind the counter who have to grin and bear it because it’s part of what they’re paid to do. It’s a hassle, and they’re never going to use what you spent as change for the next customer - it’s going to go under the drawer so it doesn’t cause problems. ---
**Author:** ![CoastalMaineiac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@CoastalMaineiac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoastalMaineiac)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-convenient-way-to-carry-large-amounts-of-coins/781204/38 "2017-03-04T05:17:14Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > \ “Here, my good man. Have a gold doubloon!” I might just have to steal this line, at some point. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-convenient-way-to-carry-large-amounts-of-coins/781204/39 "2017-03-04T07:35:07Z")
> [@K2500](#): > > Dollars in one pocket, halves in the other. Leave the rest at home. Surely you aren’t paying out 19.99 in exact change? > [@CoastalMaineiac](#): > > If I have exact change, I tend to pay in exact change. And I’m waiting in line behind you about ready to scream. I throw my spare change into a small basket and then take out what I need. When I have too much, I’ll buy things with exact change, _but_ I’ll have it all prepared in advance. Please tell me you do this. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-convenient-way-to-carry-large-amounts-of-coins/781204/40 "2017-03-04T12:02:58Z")
> [@CoastalMaineiac](#): > > I doubt 99% of people even care what bills and coins they get as change, as long as it’s made in a reasonable way (e.g. not 400 pennies) and they aren’t getting stiffed. I’m one of the 1% then. Years ago I started a thread, pissed off at a guy I’d lent some money ($50). When he repaid me it was in dollar coins. I thought it was a dick move. I wouldn’t lend him change for a newspaper today. [Found it!!](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=555202) Wow, seven years ago and it feels like yesterday. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-convenient-way-to-carry-large-amounts-of-coins/781204.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-convenient-way-to-carry-large-amounts-of-coins/781204.md?page=3)