Find A Penny Pick It Up

These days bending over to pick up that penny that is tails up is well worth your time. Put your superstitions aside and think of all the coin you you will pocket. I am not only a penny pincher but a penny (and nickle and quarter) saver. I have a little basket on the wall that I toss all the spare change that I find in pockets, on the counters and on the ground. When it gets to the point that it wants to fall off the wall I empty it into a plastic baggie and off to coin counting we go. I have a couple of options here in York. I can go to the grocery store and use the coinstar machine or I can go to Commerce Bank and use their free coin counting machine. I have never thought to ask my bank if they will count coins for free. I rarely go into the lobby so I have no reason to ask. I am sure there are other options but I have not explored them.

Let's take a look at Commerce Bank. They have a machine called the Penny Arcade. You have the option to make a guess as to how much coin you have, input that number and if your guess is within a certain amount of your actual coin count you win a prize! Push your coins into the machine and watch your coins being counted. They even have a screen on a child's level so they can see the numbers go up. The machine prints out a slip and you take it to the teller and they give you your cash. You don't have to bank at Commerce to use the Penny Arcade. I am not a member at Commerce and we use it all the time!

Another option is Coin Star machines. There is a small fee for counting your coins but you can get around that if you choose to turn your coin into selected gift cards. For a currently list of gift certificates click here. This is great if you were going to spend money at these particular places in the first place. You also can choose the option to donate your coin to charity. Check with your local coinstar for more information.