# Would you cash a check for a penny? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 16, 2022, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-cash-a-check-for-a-penny/959571 "2022-02-16T01:40:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2022, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-cash-a-check-for-a-penny/959571/41 "2022-02-21T16:10:12Z")
I donate to the VFW and they send me a check one or two times a year for a very low amount. I’m not even sure, maybe like $1.12? I don’t even read the mailer to be honest. I give what I can ($10/mo) and that’s it. I don’t cash it because I want them to take MY money, not give me $1.12 back. I am not sure what this tactic is, maybe it’s for stamps. I get frustrated that they send me so much mail, and they send me stuff like pens, calendars, a calculator, Christmas CDs, socks, and even oven mitts (I donate all of this stuff to our local senior center.) I think last month they actually sent me a dollar bill (which I of course kept). None of this makes me donate more. Hopefully they are still making money off me. Anyway, my dad also donates and he cashes his $1.12 check every time. But, he’s a veteran so he’s got a different relationship with the VFW than I do. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2022, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-cash-a-check-for-a-penny/959571/42 "2022-02-21T16:12:41Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > I pick up pennies too, it is my only superstition. My wife dislikes it, but I keep them all in a jar. > … Just curious - if you don’t mind. What is your superstition? That it will bring you luck? Like having it stolen twice? 😉 And why does your wife mind? I can think of any number of things I do that irritate my wife, but can’t imagine her caring whether or not I picked up pennies. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2022, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-cash-a-check-for-a-penny/959571/43 "2022-02-21T17:46:56Z")
Of course I don’t mind: My very mild superstition is that it will bring luck. As I have been rather fortunate all my life, this holds\*. And my wife is of the opinion that one should not pick up _things_ from the street. Except, perhaps, to put them in a bin. Something like: streets are dirty, that coin is soiled and one penny is not worth it. What about opening a new thread with the things one does to/that irritate your consort? You have made me curious too. \*Like the elefants that are not there, if you know what I mean. ETA: Having a jar with perhaps 10 Deutsche Mark and another one with perhaps 10 Euro in pennies stolen is not bad luck, it is a burden lifted. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2022, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-cash-a-check-for-a-penny/959571/44 "2022-02-23T15:53:23Z")
We regularly get checks for small amounts from secondary insurance companies paying the 20% split off a \<$10 service. We also send bills to patients for small amounts under $10. Taken together I’d guess these comprise roughly 10% of our gross revenue. Checks are processed in batches. I will not, however, process a credit card transaction for under $2. ~Max ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2022, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-cash-a-check-for-a-penny/959571/45 "2022-02-23T16:00:14Z")
I got a check for thirty-seven cents once. It was my share of a class action lawsuit settlement. I definitely deposited it because, If ten million people got that check and didn’t cash it because of its minuscule size, that company would get away with not paying out $3,700,000. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2022, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-cash-a-check-for-a-penny/959571/46 "2022-02-23T16:00:56Z")
My former employer use to pay everyone with a “guesstimate” paycheck just before the Christmas break then make up the difference after returning to work a few weeks later. I received checks for 12 cents, 17 cents and 19 cents during this period. We use to have check pool, $5 a person, it all goes to the person with the smallest check. Saw a number of 1 cent checks then. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2022, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-cash-a-check-for-a-penny/959571/47 "2022-02-23T16:08:09Z")
Nice story, but Trump probably has someone that handles his checks. Not like he’s going to the bank himself to deposit it or even using his phone app. And I say this as a Trump despiser. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2022, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-cash-a-check-for-a-penny/959571/48 "2022-02-23T16:17:17Z")
Except the story made the point that the number of people who deposited the small cheques dropped off as the cheques got smaller. Trump was a stand-out becuase he would deposit cheques for pennies. Yes, someone else is depositing. But who set the rules? ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2022, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-cash-a-check-for-a-penny/959571/49 "2022-02-23T22:01:09Z")
does anyone remember when CompuServe used to send out postcard bills for .02? ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2022, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-cash-a-check-for-a-penny/959571/50 "2022-02-23T22:23:44Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Yes, someone else is depositing. But who set the rules? For something like that? It would be up to the discretion of the accountant. I subscribed to Spy when that article was written and I remember thinking that it was ridiculous then. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2022, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-cash-a-check-for-a-penny/959571/51 "2022-02-24T00:42:50Z")
Dali, not Picasso. I’m not sure if it’s true or not, but it’s much more Dali than Picasso anyway. Dali threw sketches around all over the place. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2022, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-cash-a-check-for-a-penny/959571/52 "2022-02-24T20:11:47Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > I pick up pennies too, it is my only superstition. My wife dislikes it, but I keep them all in a jar. When I used to walk around the neighborhood for exercise I used to do this. At the end of one year, I added it all up. It was around $45. I was amazed it was that much. Decent result for so little effort. In the past I supported a company accounting system. There were reports between each step in the series. If there were _any_ discrepancies reported, I was called in to find and fix them. I _hated_ the tiny discrepancies because they could be anywhere. Million (and, once, billion) dollar discrepancies were usually easy to find. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2022, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-cash-a-check-for-a-penny/959571/53 "2022-02-24T20:46:37Z")
I used to do the books for my dad’s store - by hand, paper and adding machine. That was my experience too. Large mistakes were easy to catch. It was the odd cent or dollar here or there that was always the problem. That’s how one early hacker and spy was caught, by a grad student being asked to track down a small accounting error (75 cents): > **[The Cuckoo's Egg (book)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cuckoo%27s_Egg_(book))** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > The Cuckoo's Egg: Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage is a 1989 book written by Clifford Stoll. It is his first-person account of the hunt for a computer hacker who broke into a computer at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). > Stoll's use of the term extended the metaphor Cuckoo's egg from brood parasitism in birds to malware. > Author Clifford Stoll, an astronomer by training, managed computers at Lawrence Berkeley ... ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2022, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-cash-a-check-for-a-penny/959571/54 "2022-02-24T23:59:30Z")
As a public employee I’d be tempted to endorse it and hand it to the next person who says “I pay your salary.” That would probably cover their share. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2022, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-cash-a-check-for-a-penny/959571/55 "2022-02-25T00:02:17Z")
I read that book. Good one! ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2025, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-cash-a-check-for-a-penny/959571/56 "2025-11-05T11:41:54Z")
I’m just zombifying this thread to point out that on my way to work this morning, I found a penny (well, a European one cent coin) and, true to my principles expressed in this thread, I picked it up. It’s astonishing how often I find pennies (or two cent coins, or five cent coins). Once every few weeks, I would say. You’d think it’d be much rarer than that. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2025, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-cash-a-check-for-a-penny/959571/57 "2025-11-05T14:58:24Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > When I used to walk around the neighborhood for exercise I used to do this. At the end of one year, I added it all up. It was around $45 You found _4500_ pennies in one year? I find that highly improbable. That’s at least 12 per day, every single day. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2025, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-cash-a-check-for-a-penny/959571/58 "2025-11-05T15:11:32Z")
I think that total was various coins, not just pennies. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2025, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-cash-a-check-for-a-penny/959571/59 "2025-11-05T15:40:45Z")
Old NSFW joke: A couple has fallen on hard times and decides their only solution is for the wife to go out and sell her body. That evening, she returns home grinning and says “I made 50 dollars and ten cents!" The husband says, “Ten cents? Who gave you ten cents?” The wife says, “All of them!” ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2025, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-cash-a-check-for-a-penny/959571/60 "2025-11-05T15:52:10Z")
I got a check from the state for unclaimed property. $3.50 I’m thinking of using it to test out the deposit via photo feature of my banking app. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-cash-a-check-for-a-penny/959571.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-cash-a-check-for-a-penny/959571.md?page=4)