# A quart of quarters = ??? $$$ **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 11, 2007, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-quart-of-quarters/395495 "2007-03-11T16:51:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2007, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-quart-of-quarters/395495/1 "2007-03-11T16:51:42Z")
I have several mason jars full of change, about half of them are full of nothing but quarters (the new penny?). It’s Sunday and I don’t feel up to counting out a tablespoon of quarters and extrapolating that into a quart because I’m certain that A) it’s been addressed before (and I’m even to lazy to do a search) or B) some doper keeps this type of knowledge at his fingertips (via google). While we are at it, how much would a quart of pennies or nickles or dimes be worth? Mind you, we are talking about a standard quart size mason jar that has been filled to the point where you can just barely get the cap on, just like you would put your change in at night. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2007, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-quart-of-quarters/395495/2 "2007-03-11T17:08:40Z")
First, I have no idea about the actual count you’d get. It seems to me that due to the spaces you’ll have around the coins, you’re liable to get different results with different countings. Settling will help to maximize the number of coins, but except for The Maximum, which I have no idea how you’d calculate, the best I’d think you would get would be a ballpark estimate which might vary by several coins at a minimum. Just some rendom thoughts. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2007, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-quart-of-quarters/395495/3 "2007-03-11T17:13:23Z")
Just trying to get a general idea of how much money I have with a minimal amount of effort on my part. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2007, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-quart-of-quarters/395495/4 "2007-03-11T17:16:28Z")
$64 ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2007, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-quart-of-quarters/395495/5 "2007-03-11T17:18:24Z")
[QUOTE=Si Amigo] Just trying to get a general idea of how much money I have with a minimal amount of effort on my part. 😃 [/QUOTE] If a ballpark estimate would do, I’d get something like a coffee cup and fill it to the brim and count that. Then take an empty jar and see how many cups of water it would take to fill it. Simplest off-the-cuff solution I can think of. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2007, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-quart-of-quarters/395495/6 "2007-03-11T17:19:23Z")
1.) Weigh an empty jar, then a jar full of quarters. Subtract to get the difference. That’s the net weight. 2.) Put an ounce of quarters on the scale, and count them. 3.) Multiply the net weight of a full jar x the number of quarters in an ounce. I’m assuming you have a digital kitchen scale, as I do. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2007, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-quart-of-quarters/395495/7 "2007-03-11T17:26:44Z")
[Numericana Trivia:](http://home.att.net/~numericana/answer/trivia.htm) > [@](#): > > a gallon would contain [at best] roughly 10500 dimes, 4200 quarters or 2100 half-dollars. Any of these translates into $1050 per gallon. At 4 quarts per gallon, and knocking it down a bit for edge effects, your mason jar holds a couple hundred bucks in quarters. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2007, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-quart-of-quarters/395495/8 "2007-03-11T18:01:03Z")
[QUOTE=AskNott] 1.) Weigh an empty jar, then a jar full of quarters. Subtract to get the difference. That’s the net weight. [del]2.) Put an ounce of quarters on the scale, and count them. 3.) Multiply the net weight of a full jar x the number of quarters in an ounce.[/del] [/QUOTE] Divide net weight by 5.670 grams (the weight of one quarter). ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2007, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-quart-of-quarters/395495/9 "2007-03-11T18:15:43Z")
I don’t have a scale and I am totally lazy on a Sunday. I’m thinking that there is well over $250 in there. ---
**Author:** ![drewbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drewbert/32/15890_2.png) [@drewbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewbert)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2007, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-quart-of-quarters/395495/10 "2007-03-11T19:35:49Z")
“The new penny?” Clearly you have a washer/dryer within your own home, lucky dog. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2007, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-quart-of-quarters/395495/11 "2007-03-11T20:17:03Z")
[QUOTE=drewbert] “The new penny?” Clearly you have a washer/dryer within your own home, lucky dog. 😛 [/QUOTE] Actually, no I don’t. I spend about $6 a week in quarters on the laundry and still have more quarters left over than anything else. I started just dropping all my change in jars about five years ago and the quarters are without a doubt the biggest single mass in my collection. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2007, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-quart-of-quarters/395495/12 "2007-03-11T20:25:59Z")
> **[Estimating the value of a mass of US coins](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=388574)** > > So I was in my cousin’s office this weekend and I saw a 5 gallon water bottle that had been emptied of water and filled with spare change. My first thought was that it must be terribly heavy, and when I tried to lift it I discovered I was correct –... This thread has some pretty in-depth discussion about this question, considering different proportions of quarters, nickles and dimes. It’s an interesting read. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2007, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-quart-of-quarters/395495/13 "2007-03-11T20:46:28Z")
I can never seem to find a good link to an image, but just get a change pouch. They don’t look girly, and it isn’t any more of a hastle to take out a pouch of change than it is to grab your wallet when it comes time to pay. > **[Your Trusted Source for Travel Clothing, Solutions, Gear | magellans.com](https://www.magellans.com/Default.aspx?ref=err)** > > Your trusted travel source for clothing, accessories, RFID bags, wallets, luggage, packing organizers and travel and in-flight solutions. Get one with a zipper though. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2007, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-quart-of-quarters/395495/14 "2007-03-12T03:17:54Z")
Off the top of my head, I’m going to say Pennies - $15 Nickles - $50 Dimes $175 Quarters - $200 I’m basing this on having carried hundreds of boxes of coins and having a general idea as to how big a box is vs how much comes in a box. ---
**Author:** ![Bootis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e8c25b/32.png) [@Bootis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootis)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2007, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-quart-of-quarters/395495/15 "2007-03-12T09:45:20Z")
Well, I have 10$ roll of quarters and a 1 liter bottle (1qt 1.8oz) A 3X3 grid of quarters makes a square the bottle pretty much sits on perfectly, a bit of corners exposed, and 3.5 rolls makes it to halfway between the point where the bottle tapers and the base of the cap (its a stubby bottle, not a slender one) So, the space between the quarters is canceled somewhat be the corners of the square, and there’s theres an extra 2 ounces maybe canceled by the tapering, in any case, its reasonably close to a quart of quarters, which is 3.5 rolls X 9 = $315… so $300 is a good round estimate I’d say ---
**Author:** ![GiantRat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@GiantRat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GiantRat)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2007, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-quart-of-quarters/395495/16 "2007-03-13T05:06:56Z")
[QUOTE=Zeldar] If a ballpark estimate would do, I’d get something like a coffee cup and fill it to the brim and count that. Then take an empty jar and see how many cups of water it would take to fill it. Simplest off-the-cuff solution I can think of. 🙂 [/QUOTE] I don’t think that water would be a good test here. Too many open spaces between coin edges. Better to see how many cups of quarters will fit in a mason jar. Even that would be only a guesstimate, though. ---
**Author:** ![Bootis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e8c25b/32.png) [@Bootis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootis)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2007, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-quart-of-quarters/395495/17 "2007-03-13T07:00:28Z")
[QUOTE=GiantRat] I don’t think that water would be a good test here. Too many open spaces between coin edges. Better to see how many cups of quarters will fit in a mason jar. Even that would be only a guesstimate, though. [/QUOTE] It’d be a lot closer than my guess, but im willing to wager that both are under 10% margin of error ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2007, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-quart-of-quarters/395495/18 "2007-03-13T12:13:14Z")
[QUOTE=GiantRat] I don’t think that water would be a good test here. Too many open spaces between coin edges. Better to see how many cups of quarters will fit in a mason jar. Even that would be only a guesstimate, though. [/QUOTE] Good point. Good improvement. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2007, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-quart-of-quarters/395495/19 "2007-03-13T12:18:22Z")
That’s a very interesting question. Since the efficiency with which you pack them in is so variable, I don’t think a computation would be reliable. Many banks or credit unions have coin counting machines, I’d say dump them in and let us know. ---
**Author:** ![FRDE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e68b1a/32.png) [@FRDE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FRDE)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2007, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-quart-of-quarters/395495/20 "2007-03-13T12:30:47Z")
In the UK, ASDA, which is owned by Wally World, has change counting machines for coins. I also used to dump shrapnel in jars, drawers, pots and recently gave the lot to my ‘Domestic Hygiene Consultant’. She got a bit confused when it spat out old 50p coins (worth about $1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-quart-of-quarters/395495.md?page=2)