Coinstar counting machines are great for cashing in on loose coins, but be smart when using them (2024)

FAQs

Coinstar counting machines are great for cashing in on loose coins, but be smart when using them? ›

Coinstar machines are highly accurate and reliable. They are designed to sort and count coins quickly and accurately and provide customers with the full value of their coins in cash, a gift card, or a store credit.

Coinstar machines are highly accurate and reliable. They are designed to sort and count coins quickly and accurately and provide customers with the full value of their coins in cash, a gift card, or a store credit.

The upside to using Coinstar is that you don't have to count or sort your change. The downside is there is an 11.9% surcharge deducted from the total, plus a 25-cent fee per transaction. So if you pour in $50 worth of loose change, you're only going to get $43.80 back in cash.

To exchange coins for bills, try taking them to a local bank or retailer that offers coin-counting services. With some coin-counting machines, like Coinstar, you can also exchange coins for gift cards for free or donate your spare change to charity.

Coinstar cannot accept Eisenhower silver dollars, 1943 steel pennies, pure silver, commemorative or foreign coinage. They may not be recognized by our kiosk or returned to you. Items such as keys, jewelry and other valuables should also not go into the kiosk.

Coins can be rejected for being dirty, damaged, or just due to a machine error. Along with coins, I have also found lint, plastic, and nails in the Coinstar reject tray.

You should definitely save money outside of your change jar—keeping the coins is just a bit of play money on the side. However, saving real money can feel challenging. You have to fit it in your budget and watch your checking account shrink as you transfer the funds to savings.

How much does Coinstar take out of $100? ›

Calculate Coinstar's Fee

Coinstar's fee is currently set at 11.9 percent of the value of the coins you're exchanging. Basically: That's nearly $12 for every $100 in coins you feed to the machine. You'd have to guess how much change you have accumulated to calculate the Coinstar fee.

Coinstar's service fee is generally up to 12.5%, and its transaction fee is 50 cents, but fees vary depending on the location. To avoid these fees, you'll have to choose to receive an e-gift card instead of cash. Before you choose to get a gift card, review the list of participating restaurants and retailers.

The largest single transaction was $13,000 in pennies from a man in Alabama. As of August 2021, more than 7,000 Coinstar kiosks in 46 states were equipped with Coinme, enabling customers to convert cash to cryptocurrency.

The obvious place to sell your old coins is your local coin shop. They will be your best bet for selling low- to mid-range old coins like Wheat cents, Buffalo nickels, junk silver, and scarce silver coins and silver dollars. Check online reviews and feedback for coin stores in your area, and choose a couple to visit.

“We would recommend between $100 to $300 of cash in your wallet, but also having a reserve of $1,000 or so in a safe at home,” Anderson says. Depending on your spending habits, a couple hundred dollars may be more than enough for your daily expenses or not enough.

Particularly old coins, as well as rare coins with mint errors, are some of the most common types of coins to look for in an unsearched bunch of coins. There is also an intrinsic value to finding silver coins. Some coins, especially among older series, might contain coins with high purity silver.

Which coins are least in number? ›

You can have 0 nickels. So far, you have 0 quarters, 1 dime, and 0 nickels, which are worth 10¢. Finally, count up by 1¢ from 10¢ to find out how many pennies you can have.

The machine has a limit of $2,000 per transaction. I suppose nothing really stops a person from doing multiple transactions. As for how much a Coinstar can hold before it needs to be emptied, these machines use an industry standard heavy/high capacity coin box that is a cart…

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They take the coins back to their processing facility where they recount the coin and sort it by denomination. They then pack the coins into rolls. The rolled coin is then sold back to retailers which they use to fill their cash registers.

Coinoscope uses Artificial Intelligence to automatically recognize coins.

Yes. A bank can set its own internal policy as to whether it will accept or exchange unrolled coins for currency.

Keep Cash to a Minimum

From a security point of view, cash is the most insecure asset you can have. Keeping it to a minimum in the house in the case of fire or theft is a good rule of thumb, said Ryan McCarty, CFP from McCarty Money Matters.

Keeping cash at home is risky, especially when it's in large denominations. A home break-in is the type of emergency you won't have money for if your cash supply is stolen — physical money isn't insured and it's unlikely to be recovered.

What to do with pennies in Canada? There are a few things you can do with pennies in Canada, such as take them to the bank, use a Coinstar machine, sell them online, or donate them to charity.

How do you get rid of coins? ›

Most banks or credit unions will accept rolled coins from customers, but some may charge a fee for the service. Some banks, such as Wells Fargo, will exchange rolled coins for customers without a fee. Wells Fargo says it also offers free coin wrappers.

Deposit Process and Standards. Federal Reserve Banks accept only genuine, current U.S. coin for deposit.

Simply put, currency counters operate by placing a stack of bills in place. The counting machine then pulls each bill through individually, instantly recognizing the number of times an internal beam of light is interrupted to determine the denomination and provide a total.

They don't have numismatists search through everything they collect. It's returned to banks who similarly have no interest in looking for rarities. It would undoubtedly cost more to hire people to do this than they'd make out of the occasional silver quarter or purloined proof set that made it into one of their bins.

“There are millions and millions of wheat pennies and most commonly they trade for three-to-five cents a piece. If you're looking for a particular date, it can be much, much more than that. The rarest is the 1909 VDB. Those can be worth anywhere from $700 to $1,500 depending on the coin's grade.

According to the NGC Price Guide, as of April 2023, a Wheat Penny from 1944 in circulated condition is worth between $35000 and $43500. However, on the open market 1944 STEEL Pennies in pristine, uncirculated condition sell for as much as $175000.

Current data shows that the regular 1965 Quarter in the circulated condition can be worth between $0.30 and $0.85. However, a 1965 Washington Quarter in mint state can be worth around $5250.

During the pandemic, the public grew used to utilizing more sanitary ways of paying, such as the tap feature on many credit cards or debit cards. So, while there is not currently another coin shortage, poor circulation of cash continues to be an issue for many businesses.

If you bank locally, you should be able to deposit your change into your account or exchange it for cash. You'll likely have to wrap your coins first; if you've accumulated a large amount of change, try wrapping a few rolls a week before visiting your branch.

“Keep adding your spare change to a jar and every time you reach $10 or $20 dollars, put it in your bank account and add it to your next credit card payment,” she said. “It might not seem like much at the time, but every dollar that you can add towards debt repayment will benefit you in the long-run.”

Does Coinstar have a competitor? ›

Coinstar's competitors and similar companies include AroundB, Mauritius Africa FinTech Hub, Kingsdale Advisors and DesiCrew Solutions.

Coinstar's service fee is generally up to 12.5%, and its transaction fee is 50 cents, but fees vary depending on the location. To avoid these fees, you'll have to choose to receive an e-gift card instead of cash. Before you choose to get a gift card, review the list of participating restaurants and retailers.

Just pour your coins into a machine and let us do the work. Take your coins to a Coinstar machine. A 12.90% coin processing fee applies.

Where can I exchange coins for cash? Coinstar machines are a popular method for exchanging loose change for cash, and these machines can be found at most Walmart stores as well as many grocery stores and other large retailers.

Can you get quarters from Coinstar? A lot of people often think of Coinstair when it comes to money. But you can't get change from a Coinstar machine. It's the opposite.

Turn your coins into cash fast.

You can get cash in just a few minutes using a Coinstar^® kiosk. It's so simple. You don't have to count, sort, or roll your coins. Our big green kiosks are at grocery stores, so you can get cash conveniently, right on the spot.

Yes, You Can Deposit Coins at Your Bank

Most banks or credit unions will accept rolled coins from customers, but some may charge a fee for the service. Some banks, such as Wells Fargo, will exchange rolled coins for customers without a fee. Wells Fargo says it also offers free coin wrappers.

Purchase up to $2,500 of BTC through a Coinstar® Bitcoin ATM per day.

Yes, the maximum amount is $2,500 per crypto transaction in most cases. Certain states or areas could have unique restrictions, so always check with the kiosk for case-specific information. © 2023 Coinstar Asset Holdings, LLC.

After reaching out to all the banks, we found that every single one of them will provide coin wrappers for free, regardless of whether or not you are a customer. Coin wrappers are paper wrappers that come color-coded for different coin denominations.