# Free Coin Counter at the bank



## slacker

Looks like TD has stopped their trial of offering free coin counting service to non TD customers: https://www.tdcanadatrust.com/products-services/banking/coin-counter.jsp

Has anyone tried BMO's coin counting service instead? http://www.bmo.com/home/personal/banking/everyday/how-to-bank-bmo/branch/coin-counter

Or any other method other than rolling your own?


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## Jim9guitars

I've been taking the lazy road and using a Coinstar machine at a local grocery store. I think they take eleven cents on the dollar but it's fast and convenient. I keep one jar going for loose change and when it's full I take it it.


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## MrMatt

I am a TD customer, I've only used the machine once, threw about $80 into it.
I think it will be a while before it's worth hitting that machine again, I don't use much cash.


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## travelgeek

BMO has a limit of $300, after that they charge 8%, I think


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## Nemo2

travelgeek said:


> BMO has a limit of $300, after that they charge 8%, I think


8%? I gots to buy me a coin counter!


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## Retired Peasant

:rolleyes2: Is counting coins really that difficult? I was surprised by the tv ad when I first saw it - THAT is how they're trying to draw new customers?

Anyway, I've seen them in grocery stores too.


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## Spudd

It's not difficult, but it is time consuming. My husband recently cashed in $300 worth of coins, they were in a huge jar and weighed a ton. If we'd counted/rolled them all manually it would have taken ages.


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## andrewf

I just spend my change as I get it. I never have more than $10.


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## Davage

I actually like sorting through the coins. It's fun to see how many old coins are still in circulation. I wouldn't pay 8% or 10% for the convenience of pouring it into a machine. We still use cash a fair amount, and get a good amount of change that hangs around. The kids schools are always wanting a couple bucks for pizza, field trips etc, so we always keep change on hand. Kids coming to the door selling chocolate bars, popcorn or whatever else normally comes out of the change jars.

We usually end up with quite a few nickels, and dimes - because I never put those denominations back in my pocket when heading out the door. If I'm reaching for some change, the 25 cent piece is the smallest coin that I will take the time to put into my pocket. All nickels and dimes (and pennies) end up accumulating until it reaches the point where once ever couple years we will roll them up and put them into the kids RESP funds.


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## Barwelle

slacker said:


> Or any other method other than rolling your own?


My friends who smoke weed roll their own all the time!

Oh wait... coins...

My method: I keep quarters, loonies, and toonies to spend as needed. Anything smaller goes in a piggy bank when I get home, and give it to the Salvation Army at Christmas time. No counting/rolling required!


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## warrdogg

I don't have an TD account but my GF does. We just used it on Wednesday and it was free. I had $235.00 in change lying around.


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## Kail

I've used their coin counters 4 times in the last 2 years and each time I use them it's usually for at least $250 worth of coins. I'm due to go again soon too. Once I break a bill, the change at the end of the day goes into the jar and doesn't see the light of day until it is being dumped into the coin counter.


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## NorthKC

Call me old school but I roll up my own coins. That's my personal guarantee that I know exactly what I'm getting back in bills. What happens if the coin counters doesn't register any "older"/"odd" coins?


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## Spudd

The counters spit out coins they don't recognize. We had a Korean coin somehow and it would not take it. It's possible, I suppose, that 2 dimes might get counted as a single one (I know that happened when I had a cheapy automatic coin counter at home), but I'm willing to take that risk. Of course it doesn't apply to me personally as I just spend my coins as I get them (advantage of being a girl is you don't have to carry everything in your pockets). 

I think it's slightly weird that TD is rolling out these coin counters now, when presumably cash usage is decreasing. I know for myself I rarely use cash; only for tiny purchases where I feel bad whipping out the card.


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## Nemo2

Spudd said:


> The counters spit out coins they don't recognize. We had a Korean coin somehow and it would not take it.


I suspect NorthKC might be referring to the (pre 1967 IIRC) coins with silver content that makes them worth quite a bit more than face value........rare finds nowadays, but once in a while.......


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## nathan79

I always used to save all my change (including loonies and toonies) until I had about $200 then roll it all. Talk about a labourious task. Now I just try to spend coins as I get them; admittedly it can be a hassle but I'd NEVER pay 10% just for the convenience of doing it. I am intrigued to hear of these "free" machines -- might start saving up my change again.


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## Eclectic12

nathan79 said:


> I am intrigued to hear of these "free" machines -- might start saving up my change again.


When my friend has a lot of quarters - he and some other pals head over to the local casino, play a few slot machines, dump the extra quarters they brought into their buckets and then have the casino coin counters do the counting. The casino then uses the machine count to give each one back paper bills.

I think he said the last time he did such a run, it was something over $500 between three of them.


... different strokes for different folks, I guess. 


Cheers


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## Barwelle

^ That's genius. Instead of losing a guaranteed 10% to pay some bank to do it... spend 10% at the casino and have the chance to win something out of it!

As long as you don't spend all of your change.


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## swoop_ds

I didn't know that places charged to roll coins, seems like a waste of money to me.


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## Plugging Along

I roll my own. I bought one of those little coin rollers plastic counter things. It takes no time at all. I actually have my kids counts the coins for practice and put it on the coin roller tray to confirm. I got the tray in a bag of the paper rollers for a couple of bucks more.

I save my coins and when the start falling out of my purse they go nt the piggy. I think I have about $1800 in coins in a shoe box.


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## MoneyGal

Protip: take the quarters, loonies and toonies out of the coins before you dump them in the Coinstar machine. (I love rolling coins but I don't like rolling pennies - I get Coinstar to do that for me.)


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## Eclectic12

Barwelle said:


> ^ That's genius. { having casino count quarters & pay cash bills }
> 
> Instead of losing a guaranteed 10% to pay some bank to do it... spend 10% at the casino and have the chance to win something out of it!
> 
> As long as you don't spend all of your change.


I don't think they spent 10% as they basically wandered around, watched the roulette for a bit & played one or two nickel slots. I don't think they bothered with a beer. Probably due to wanting to get rid of the weight of the coins!

... but one has to be disciplined. Though I suppose if one's regular entertainment is playing $20 until you lost it or made money, plus one or two beer, there not much difference.


Cheers


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## Hawkdog

I use the coin machine at our local credit union. It works ok, generally jams up at least once due to people not cleaning out the crap from their coins first. Its amazing what comes out of there, seen the lady pull out a 22 cartridge one day. Comes from people just throwing the change from their pants pockets out in a container.

Pennies should be less and less of a problem now that businesses don't give them out.


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## Echo

I haven't rolled change in a long time. My 4-year old has about $30 in her piggy bank. I spend any quarters, loonies and toonies on coffee and parking. I just don't get a lot of change back because I use a credit card for most purchases.

Coinstar sounds like a big rip-off.


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## andrewf

Using coinstar for nickels and dimes sounds like a good compromise. They're the coins that I find most burdensome to spend.


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## bgc_fan

This is an interesting thread. Personally, I don't usually end up collecting coins. I use a change purse and as it gets heavier, it reminds me to start using the change. As it gets lighter, I don't use as much. As a result I don't accumulate that much to require rolling up the coins. Do others not do this?

And in case you think I take up much time in line sorting out change, when waiting in line I'll take out an appropriate amount of change to make it quicker when it's my turn.


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## kcowan

I save up change until it gets to be a pocketful, then I take it all to the self checkout at the grocery store or Home Depot. I go when it is not busy and feed it all to the machines. It is not as efficient as a coin counter but it works for me.

(I also need exact change for the bus and older parking meters.)


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## brad

bgc_fan said:


> As a result I don't accumulate that much to require rolling up the coins. Do others not do this?


I think it depends on how well you can do simple math in your head. I didn't get the math gene in my family (despite having a father who was an engineer and physicist), and I've never been able to do math in my head, even simple additions. So if I'm buying something that costs $3.37, it's a *lot* faster for me to give the cashier a $5 bill and get the change than to sort through the change in my pocket and count up $3.37.


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## bgc_fan

brad said:


> I think it depends on how well you can do simple math in your head. I didn't get the math gene in my family (despite having a father who was an engineer and physicist), and I've never been able to do math in my head, even simple additions. So if I'm buying something that costs $3.37, it's a *lot* faster for me to give the cashier a $5 bill and get the change than to sort through the change in my pocket and count up $3.37.


Oh, I don't necessarily pull out the exact change, but will pull out a combination of quarters, dimes and nickels that may add up to around $0.80 or so and once I have the final cost, i.e. once the cashier totals everything up, it's fairly trivial to drop the appropriate coins. Easier now without pennies as we only have three coins (not counting the loonie or toonie) to worry about.


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## Retired Peasant

brad said:


> I think it depends on how well you can do simple math in your head. I didn't get the math gene in my family (despite having a father who was an engineer and physicist), and I've never been able to do math in my head, even simple additions. So if I'm buying something that costs $3.37, it's a *lot* faster for me to give the cashier a $5 bill and get the change than to sort through the change in my pocket and count up $3.37.


Countless times I've astonished a cashier (usually younger ones) with providing change that's not the exact amount, but means a nice round amount due to me. For example, I'd give the cashier $4.12 in your example, just so I could get three quarters back. They always seemed to get a very confused look on their face, and don't get it until they enter 4.12 into the register.


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## Spudd

Retired Peasant said:


> Countless times I've astonished a cashier (usually younger ones) with providing change that's not the exact amount, but means a nice round amount due to me. For example, I'd give the cashier $4.12 in your example, just so I could get three quarters back. They always seemed to get a very confused look on their face, and don't get it until they enter 4.12 into the register.


This used to confuse the heck out of me when I was 16 working at Mr Sub! It seemed like magic.


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## andrewf

I once went to TH's with my parents, my grandparents, and my three sisters. A coffee and a pastry/bagel for each person. The cashier got so confused, she ended up charging something like $7.50, which is obviously not enough. I think it's amazing that people can be so innumerate.


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## brad

andrewf said:


> I think it's amazing that people can be so innumerate.


I don't think it's always innumeracy, it sometimes boils down to an inability to think through math in your head. We all have different abilities. I'm a musician and can play hundreds of melodies from memory, I don't even read sheet music very well, whereas many classically trained musicians are lost without sheet music to guide them and can't learn by ear. On the other hand, I can't dance a waltz to save my life, despite having had six weeks of waltz lessons from a professional dance teacher and countless attempts from friends who tried to teach me. I can't blow bubbles with bubble gum, either. I had no trouble with my calculus and statistics classes in university, but put me behind a cash register and ask me to give change to someone and I freeze up unless i have a pad and paper to do the calculations on.


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## MoneyGal

Part of it is just lack of practice, and part of that is lack of opportunity. I worked all through my undergraduate in a coffee shop with NO cash register and lineups out the door (in the ES building at the U of Waterloo from 1984-1988, when some of the posters on this forum were not even born...). 

I'm not sure where you'd get the opportunity for that much practice now. (This was also a pre-GST era so, in fairness, the math was less complicated than it would otherwise be. And now, with the loss of the penny, we are moving back to that simpler gentler era!)

My eight-year-old likes to do mental calculations for fun. I often have to validate math questions coming at me from the back seat of the car. :encouragement:


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## andrewf

in·nu·mer·ate 
/iˈno͞omərit/
Adjective
Without a basic knowledge of mathematics and arithmetic.
Noun
A person lacking such knowledge.

I think it fits. We're not exactly asking people to calculate square roots in their head. Addition and subtraction are not that computationally difficult.


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## MoneyGal

(I looked it up too.) My only questions is whether they lack basic _knowledg__e_, or whether they lack basic _ability_. But then I think of the Mark Twain quote, "The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read."


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## brad

Yeah, I think many of the people who have trouble doing math in their head probably have no trouble doing it on paper. That's why I'm not sure it's true innumeracy (they know how to do addition and subtraction) or if it's a mental block or anxiety that stands in the way of quick mathematical thinking without a visual crutch for verification.


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## kcowan

I learned up to the 15 times table because it was easy. It was amazing the way some people would be amazed when I spewed out some answers.

People are easily impressed IMHO. But I do enjoy calculating at a checkout. Debit cards spoil the fun.


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## andrewf

MoneyGal said:


> Part of it is just lack of practice, and part of that is lack of opportunity. I worked all through my undergraduate in a coffee shop with NO cash register and lineups out the door (in the ES building at the U of Waterloo from 1984-1988, when some of the posters on this forum were not even born...).
> 
> I'm not sure where you'd get the opportunity for that much practice now. (This was also a pre-GST era so, in fairness, the math was less complicated than it would otherwise be. And now, with the loss of the penny, we are moving back to that simpler gentler era!)
> 
> My eight-year-old likes to do mental calculations for fun. I often have to validate math questions coming at me from the back seat of the car. :encouragement:


It's a Tim Hortons now!

I still see cashiers hesitate about nickel rounding.


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## andrewf

Also, I think not catching that 6 coffees and 6 pastries/bagels should cost more than $7 is a sign of innumeracy. Instinctively, that is wrong, given all those things cost at least a dollar, no?


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## slacker

*** BUMP ***

Just tried to use the coin counter at BMO.

They now charge 8% regardless of whether you are BMO customer or not.

The teller guy told me that initially they tried to make it free, in order to get a chance to talk to non BMO customers, but turns out no one was interested in opening accounts with them, so they had to start charging 8% to everyone.


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## sags

kcowan said:


> I learned up to the 15 times table because it was easy. It was amazing the way some people would be amazed when I spewed out some answers.
> 
> People are easily impressed IMHO. But I do enjoy calculating at a checkout. Debit cards spoil the fun.


A good way to learn is through repetition. Once learned, the information is seldom forgotten.

I learned to type 40 years ago (a good way to meet girls at the time)......and repetition was at the heart of the learning.

Back in those days, the times tables and most everything else was based on repetition.

We used to have to memorize long poems for English class.......

My grandfather and his buddies.........used to sit around a table drinking beers.......reciting poems to each other (often Robert Service poems).......amid fits of laughter.

"There are strange things done, in the midnight sun........by the men who moil for gold".

Recently, I memorized all the US States by playing this game. I can now repeat them..........in alphabetical order, should the need to do so ever arise.......in less than 30 seconds. 

http://www.ironicsans.com/state22.html

I also learned how to win those "peg" games that used to sit on tables in some restaurants. The game was online and the solution was on Youtube. A little practice and I could get it down to one peg every time.

Game link.......

http://www.lilgames.com/marble_solitaire.shtml

One solution..........

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-U7c_y5ks30

Only problem..........restaurants don't have those peg games anymore......and there has never been an occasion to recite the 50 States...............so my "impressiveness" remains unrevealed.

Maybe if I am ever stopped at the US border, I can impress them enough they will let me pass.

"Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas.........."


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## Ponderling

We save a cache of loons, twoons and quarters over the winter so as to have our garage sale pouch good and full for the spring rush. This year we has about $300 saved up.

We find you have a much better chance of negotiating a good price for stuff if you can make your bid for something later in the morning of a sale with the exact change in you mitt as you make the offer for what you want to buy, but discounted. 

Garage sailing selectively for mostly useful stuff is fun way to spend a Saturday morning with my mate, usually gathering clothes for the kids for the coming year, rubber boots, snow boots, rain coats, bigger bikes, newer school bags, sneakers that you are happy if they come back dead from summer camp, etc. 

The return deploying our change this way is a zillion times higher than the loss if we rolled it at a bank coin machine. 

Once our change stash is topped up we tend to spend our change when we buy groceries. 

We are a part of a small cohort that still buys groceries with cash. 
We find that we are tempted to buy less crap when you know that you need to restock the pantry, and buy items to prepare meals for the coming week, and you have like say $120 in bills and maybe $15 in change in your pocket, and will not use debit or credit to make the purchase if you are short of cash. 

There are exceptions. One Monday morning for some reason we were shopping and came across on sale $9/kg nice looking beef roasts short dated and adorned with discount sticker coupons that put them in the $6/kg range. The debit card got whipped out and 7 roasts went home and into the freezer as a result of finding that opportunity.


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## Nemo2

Ponderling said:


> We are a part of a small cohort that still buys groceries with cash.
> We find that we are tempted to buy less crap when you know that you need to restock the pantry, and buy items to prepare meals for the coming week, and you have like say $120 in bills and maybe $15 in change in your pocket, and will not use debit or credit to make the purchase if you are short of cash.


We are exactly the opposite.......we charge almost everything, (and we have _never_ used our bank cards as debit cards, nor do I imagine we ever will.......we just cannot see the point to debit when our c.c. gives us points (money) to offset our travel costs), and we buy what we need at the supermarkets.


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## fraser

We do the same. We use our credit cards as much as we can. Do not like anyone obtaining the password to my bank account. Not too worried with the credit card as if there is a problem it is the card's issue. Also, the card gives us protection...the credit card company has the power to reverse charges under certain conditions like failing to comply with a contract. We also want the point. Outside of Canada, we use a credit card that does NOT charge us the 2.5 percent admin fee on top of the exchange rate.


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## NotMe

slacker said:


> *** BUMP ***
> 
> Just tried to use the coin counter at BMO.
> 
> They now charge 8% regardless of whether you are BMO customer or not.
> 
> The teller guy told me that initially they tried to make it free, in order to get a chance to talk to non BMO customers, but turns out no one was interested in opening accounts with them, so they had to start charging 8% to everyone.


I just used it at bmo last month. I think if you're a customer, and it's under $250 in coins, it's still no charge.


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