What’s to keep me from going through any business and paying for large purchases with rolls of coins? Nothing? I was wondering if businesses could legally refuse your business because the money was in coin, even if properly rolled. Lets just say for argument’s sake that I managed to save $1500.00 in coins over the years and I didn’t want to lug it all to the bank first before I made that purchase. Of course that is a lot of coin counting on my part but there are machines that will count and roll that amount in nothing flat. Other than business policies against this, are there any laws that say I can’t pay my rent,taxes or anything else in coins if properly rolled?
I know this sounds pretty stupid so keep in mind I am asking a legal question here.
“I think it speaks to the duality of man sir.”
(private Joker in Full Metal Jacket)
Legally, there is nothing restricting a business from refusing any specific type of payment. If I run Corrado’s Discount Sarcasm Emporium (20% off used flames!), it’s entirely up to me as to whether I accept your roll of coins or not. Heck, I could even refuse to accept your ten dollar bills because I personally believe that Alexander Hamilton was the Anti-Christ (not that I do). Same goes for your landlord. Just because you owe him $750 doesn’t mean he can’t refuse your form of payment (such as in pennies, in equivalent lira, or as a check).
I’m unclear as to whether this applies to the government for taxes as well; I’m pretty sure that they also have the right to refuse payment, but I doubt any government office would refuse payment of any sort, no matter what the currency (me, a Republican? Never!).
I barely recall a case where a man paid a large tax debt (something like $2,000) in pennies, because he disagreed with the tax. Apparently, he tipped off the local media to add impact to his statement.
Coins are legal tender. A company might be able to get away with refusing to sell you something for coins. But, if you put a downpayment on something and then showed up every month with coins, I seriously doubt the business could refuse to accept the form of payment.
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Ok but then lets say I filled up my car at the pump at a no prepay station and then attempted to pay with 25 dollars in nickels? What happens then? I mean other than me probably getting my assed kicked? They couldn’t call a cop…well they could but what could he do about it?
“I think it speaks to the duality of man sir.”
(private Joker in Full Metal Jacket)
I worked as a gas station attendent as a teenager and we had a hand pump. If you couldn’t pay for your gas we would make you pull up to the hatch for the underground tanks and put you to work pumping the gas out of your car’s tank.
i once paid a parking ticket in loose pennies nickles and dimes.(i was angry)
but another time, when my daughter was only 2 months old, i was in the middle of a poverty week.
i ran out of baby formula and went to the grocery store and tried to buy a 9 dollar can of powdered formula with rolled nickles and pennies and a couple of loose quarters
i even wrote my name and phone number on the rolls in case there was a discrepency
and they refused my money!
i calmly explained that it was the only money i had, the banks were all closed to change the rolls. and i really needed the formula for my baby.
the manager was unbelievably rude.
i said loudly enough for the entire store to hear…“i gave you enough money to pay for this baby formula…and rather than spend 2 minutes counting, you’d let a baby starve!! you’ve already spent more time arguing with me than it would have taken to count this change!”
then i wrote a letter to the local newspaper with the name of the store and the manager who rudely refused to help us.
i never got the formula. and i never shopped in that store again
my poor infant had to drink whole milk.
i used to work in a toy store.
very often small children would pay in coins.
once a kid bought a playstation (they were about 200 bucks when they were new)
he gave me a twenty, a ten, 50 dollars in ones and the rest in loose quarters, dimes, nickles, and pennies.
i remember thinking it was funny, but the people in line behind him weren’t as amused
Several years ago, I casually sauntered in to This End Up furniture store, and purchased a kitchen table and a bench to go with it. I don’t remember the exact amount I paid, but it was over $200.00, and this was paid with rolls of bicentennial quarters (don’t ask!).
Them, “We don’t accept rolled coin, sir”.
Me, “Bullshit! Do you tell that to the bank? Do you want to make this sale or not?”
I had to sit down with the sales person and break open every dang roll, count them and bag them up.
So, I guess the answer is–It depends upon how much it benefits the person at the register.
FixedBack
“When learned men begin to use their reason, then I generally discover that they haven’t got any.”~~*G.K.Chesterton 1908 *
The issue of ‘legal tender’ was extensively discussed at: http://www.straightdope.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/002636.html . If you read the answer I gave about half-way down, you will see that, as Cecil notes in his column, the US has a statute that claims that all coin and bills are ‘legal tender’; that states are prohibited by the Constitution (Art.I, Sec 10) from declaring anything by gold and silver coins tender; that the issue of what ‘legal tender’ means has grown fuzzy with the passage of time; and that it isn’t clear what the law at present in the US is.
Ohio doesn’t at present define ‘legal tender’; the subject of payment seems addressed solely by the following:
I once paid my personal property tax (Virginia’s annual car tax) all in pennies.
[ul][li]Banks (at least at the time) were authorized to accept personal property tax payments.[/li][li]I had a junker of a car worth just over $100, according to the pricing guide the state used.[/li][li]The tax rate is about 4.5%[/ul][/li]I counted out 450-some pennies and went to the Signet Bank near my office (during a slow period as to not piss off any customers). The teller and I counted out the pennies, and I went happily on my way.
What would Brian Boitano do / If he was here right now /
He’d make a plan and he’d follow through / That’s what Brian Boitano would do.
We have a variation of this problem in Scotland. Banknotes in the UK are released by the Bank of England, and by the Scottish banks. Now, then Scottish notes are every bit as legal as the English throughout the UK, but many in England simply will not accept them.
The problem is compounded by that fact that we still produce a £1 note, which has been phased out in England for many years - so that now there is a whole generation of young shop assistants who have never even seen one.
During 2002 and 2003, a single currency will start to appear across Europe (but not the UK as things currently stand). In theory, the ecu already exists and it is possible to conduct trade in ecus among the EMU member states, but there are still no notes in circulation. Things can only get more confused.
Russell
Approximately once a month I roll up all those pennies and dimes and nickels and take them down to the corner store that I frequent several times a week. They are HAPPY to take my rolled-up change (since most people pay in 10s and 20s these days, their own change goes pretty fast.)
Once I took in a $10 roll of quarters and you would have thought I was the Sultan of Apu-land the way they salaamed to me.
Hasn’t anyone ever seen a sign over a cash register saying, “need pennies”?
This hasn’t been challenged, but I think there IS a legality! Paying with $50 or bigger may not be preferred at some stores, but it does say “legal tender for all debts public and private”. How can stores set restrictions beyond what the US Treasury says? I thought they actually ARE obligated to accept US bills. But again, it might not always be practical to break a $1,000 bill, right?
I was working one Christmas Day at the drugstore I work at and we were totally out of quarters. It was a pain because the people were crying that we were giving them nickels and dimes. I had a lady pay for her stuff with a roll of quarters. Normally I would think that person to be a little odd, but I was so thrilled. I didn’t even count it because we needed the quarters.
“The idea of a walk-in closet sounds frightening. If I’m ever sittin’ at home and a closet walks in, I’m gettin’ outta there.” ~George Carlin
Russellm,
The wife and I went to ireland,scotland,wales london a few years back. I exchanged american money for irish pounds in ireland and lost about 20 bucks on the hundred, then we traveled across the sea to England and had to exchange from irish money to english pounds, I lost about 30 dollars on the hundred that way. Sufficed to say I was broke when I loaded up at gatwick for the trip home.
“I think it speaks to the duality of man sir.”
(private Joker in Full Metal Jacket)
