Since I don’t know where you are, I don’t know if this will help at all, but if there’s a Federal Reserve bank or branch near you, taking the load of pennies there might be your best bet. They’re equipped for handling large amounts of coin, since they deliver it by the box-full to area banks. It might be worth a call. I can see a local bank branch freaking out over that much coin. Their counting machine would probably not handle it. It would take days to count all that.
(Former bank employee here)
The other going-to-a-bank option would be going to a main branch, the one that receives the Federal Reserve deliveries. The bank I worked at has the main, home office in downtown and has secure receiving facilities in the basement, where pallets of cash and coin are delivered. The counting machines down there could handle that much coinage.
Whatever she does, she needs to call and make arrangements way ahead of time. Perhaps the bank she contacts would suggest the best way to deliver the coins.
I’m speaking from my experience working at a huge downtown Chicago bank, though. If you’re in a smaller area (even like the Chicago suburbs) those little banks and bank branches really might not be able to handle the coins on any level.
*Thanks for all the information. First, let me say…I was not serious about picking up all the pennies. I do have a p/u truck but I was jesting about picking all of them up. That being said if we decide to do this, I don’t mind helping.
I would be surprised if our group alone could/ would collect that many anyway.
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I thought it was a pretty good idea and it sounded like fun.
I was just asking the group for feedback (if they thought it was a good idea and were interested in participating). A few people have responded that… they have already started collecting.
This may be something better done on an individual basis? I don’t know.*
I know she was targeting some time in November; if we suppose that’s mid-November, then she has about six weeks. That means the group would be collecting an average of 166,667 per week. I know some were going to “pass the hat” at work, but I don’t detect that the effort has caught fire or anything, so it’s probably moot.