I use debit almost exclusively, but the bf uses cash a lot, and so it collects in a huge coffee cup on one of my bookshelves. When the cup gets full I roll it up and deposit it at my bank. Not only do they accept it, but they give me free paper coin rollers if I ask them too.
Man, your bank sucks.
On a related note, a lot of old Warner Brothers cartoons portray an elderly woman who pays for her purchase in pennies, counting them out one by one, while the person behind her in line and/or the cashier grow frustrated. Either this is a very obscure pop culture or meme reference from the era, or old folks did this a lot back then, too. Then again, in the 1940s and 1950s what would be the equivalent of multi-dollar purchases today - cab rides, a cheap breakfast or lunch, bus fare and so on – could all be had for under a buck, and the use of change for everyday transactions was much more common.
Quite probably true. I haven’t tried taking a bag or jar of coins to a bank lately. I can’t remember when exactly, but I think it was around the early 90’s the bank told me “sorry, no. We don’t count coins anymore.” They did give out free coin rolls for awhile, but I think they quit doing that too.
Nice to know not all banks/credit unions are dicks about coinage.
Smeone’s mentioned paying cash for public transport – I wondered why I was accumulating so much change in the wallet, then switched to monthly bus passes, and realised why. Paying cash for small purchases, lots of 'em, mounts up the coinage. These days, my wallet is trimmer, and I save a lot more.
Will this generation of old-time coin keepers be the last, though, with everything going electronic?
More and more banks have those coin counting machines now. Mine just got one and it’s free to customers. You dump the coins in, get a slip of paper and the lady at the counter gives you bills or deposits that amount in your account according to your preference. My sister, who always has to one up me, says her bank doesn’t even charge non-customers. Special, no?
I don’t tend to accumulate a lot of change. Mostly because I end up spending it at the vending machines at work. Or there are always other chances to spend it when there’s nobody waiting behind me who could become impatient.
Ed