It’s just a guess, but I think more people save coins than don’t. I’m not talking about numismatists, but folks throwing coins in a jar. It’s an itch that’s been scratched with coin counting machines (taking an exorbitant percentage, in my opinion) at most grocery stores.
We are with the majority. Every night, as I’m getting changed, I reach into my pocket and put whatever comes out into a jar. I don’t consciously look to horde these coins, but I’m not always fishing to see if I’ve got exact change either.
If I go to Subway it’s always 50¢-60¢ in change. Later I might get a Diet Coke (the mere fact that I have stooped to buying diet sodas upsets me) which is 75¢ in the machine at the station. A medium coffee at Dunkin’ Donuts varies, but it’s around $1.60.
Over the last year and a half, or so, we have filled three good sized jars of coins. Today was the day to roll them.
Helaine spread an old towel on the bedroom floor and I dumped the jars, one at a time. Then we segregated the coins, putting all like denominations together. We also pulled out a few Canadian coins, half dollars, an old style nickel and one Sacagawea¹ gold colored (though containing no gold at all) dollar.
As soon as we began rolling the coins, we realized we wouldn’t have enough wrappers. So, I headed out to Staples while Helaine continued rolling.
I got back in time to help roll the last few nickels.
There was some spillover – not enough of a given value to complete a roll, and pennies that after a while didn’t seem worth the effort and weren’t rolled. But this was a worthwhile afternoon. Our grand total was $450! Not bad considering this had been a painless acquisition.
The lst time we did this, I asked a friend in the restaurant business (who is forced to ‘buy’ coin rolls at face value plus a percentage from his bank) if he would take them. I’ll call him tomorrow… and then start the collection cycle again.
¹ – Blogger’s note: The US Treasury Department uses the spelling “Sacagawea.” The spell checker I use, ieSpell, says “Sacajawea.” I’ll go with the government with apologies if I’m wrong.