COINSTAR Questions

StillLurking

1. Do you use them?
2. What happens to foreign coins fed into them?
3. Has COINSTAR impacted the population of circulating U.S. coins creating a glut?
4. Does it bother you to walk past someone dumping a box/bag/jar/jug into a COINSTAR machine?

Inquiring minds want to know and so do I.

Max

1. a few times
2. they are rejected
3. hardly
4. no, i used to own stock in this company and made a small fortune [<$10k] in less then 3 mos back in 1999

Very useful service when the machines are working.

StillLurking

2. they are rejected

So I should check the trash cans nearest the machines?

I cannot walk past without at least wondering what gems they might be dumping into the machine. It's a sickness, I know, but I just about break out into hives if it's a jar of cents. Pray for me.

WWW

I read somewhere that they are responsible for finding quite a few of the error coinage produced by the US Mint.

Russ

1. Yes
2. Return slot
3. No
4. No

Russ, NCNE

DragonAzz

I never can pass one of these machines without checking the return slot!!!

Total to date: In excess of $10

ScarsdaleCoin

I confess...my kids made me use them once to see how it worked....cant stand it myself....foreign or odd pieces get totally rejected, in fact look in the machine each time you pass it and you usually can find something interesting there....I believe that it was in the paper that coinstar has actually been a blessing to the US Mint by recycling a huge amount of coins back into circulation...

StillLurking

Jon, you are right. Checked Coinworld's archives and it seems when the mint switched to the M.O.A.B.s (Mother of all bags) there was a delay in getting equipment capable of handling the bulky things. Coinstar's machines fed enough into circulation to keep daily commerce running.

joejeweler

I read somewhere about 6-8 months ago (pretty sure either a local newspaper or USA Today) that the US mint uses Coinstar's coin return figures as part of their decision making process. When the machines are full around the country the mint hold back a bit on production or distribution. Their recycling sure has risen to HUGE proportions!

Joe T

satootoko

1. I've finally convinced my wife that my coin collection/hoard will always be worth at least face value. Why would I sell it at an 8% discount?
2. I guess Canadian pennies and nickles are not foreign.
3. Beats me.
4. You betcha!

Coulport

Not all their machines reject every foreign coin.
A service man had one of the machines open. I asked him about the foreign coins. (Hadn't seen any for a month) His reply was that they had installed a magnet and caught many that way. They most likely have a contract to sell the stuff by the pound to make some extra money.

Cam40

1. Do you use them?

Not since becoming a avid collector.

2. What happens to foreign coins fed into them?

answered already.

3. Has COINSTAR impacted the population of circulating U.S. coins creating a glut?

I,ve heard that Coinstar has had some impact on populating of circulating coin in the US.
since the creation of the Coinstar service.
In fact I think its mentioned on the Coinstar website.
Whats the useage fee these days.
It used to be 6c-8c. For every 100 cents you get 92c credit.

`Yup I won $385 playing blackjack.Not too bad.
The wife only lost about $60.
She played the Coinstar machine all night`.

4. Does it bother you to see someone using one.

Lol.Ya sorta.I have the erge to say`Hey,I,ll give you even money for all that.Coinstars take 8c to the buck if you use that thing.Lets go to my car so i can roll it all up`
Ya right.I,m going to do that. heheh
Heck I might if it was a little old lady with a wheelbarrow full of old change.

Coinosaurus

I find this all very depressing.......I was gonna invest in Coinstar several years back and my father-in-law thought it was a really bad idea.....let myself get talked out of it

I am happy to say, however, that almost all of my rare coin purchases from the same time have done quite well

richbeat

Perhaps not to the point of creating a glut, but I have read on more than one occasion that Coinstar is outpacing the mint in placing coins into circulation. That would have to have some kind of an impact.

kranky

My loose change accumulates for a couple of months and then I sit down to go through it and roll them. The cents stay unrolled and go into Coinstar because the 8% is relatively painless, while the other rolls get traded in at the company cafeteria.

joejeweler

Yep.....8% "seems" a bit steep for sure! But what's YOUR time worth? For me.......most times i wrap the quarters and dimes. Pennies and nickles get religated to coinstar........just not worth my time! Occasionally even the dimes and quarters get dumpted this way too.......when i'm in a hurry to buy a coin or pay a bill!

As i usually save my coin until i have between $200 and $300 worth.....That's a lot of wrapping! (especially when there's a lot of pennies and nickles). So if i save myself 2 hrs. in wrapping time, or 1 hour of "boredom" time.....it's worth the 8% take to me.

BTW......anyone out there use the "donation" option on coinstar? I've just never trusted that any money would get to where you were supposed to be donating it to. A little jaded perhaps......but you remember "Enron" and others, right?

....just never saw any info on saveguards in separating "coinstar's" funds from "donated" funds...

Joe T




<< <i>1. I've finally convinced my wife that my coin collection/hoard will always be worth at least face value. Why would I sell it at an 8% discount?
2. I guess Canadian pennies and nickles are not foreign.
3. Beats me.
4. You betcha! >>

kieferscoins

I have used them a few times when I had $40-60 that I didn't want to spend time on rolling. It is fast and easy, and the grocery store that I go to allows you to use it in exchange for groceries or get the cash, what ever you want.

Cameron Kiefer

NoGvmnt

1.) Nope, never have, never will. Why should I pay coinstar to count my change when I can take it to my bank and they will count it and deposit it to my account for free?

2.) Have no Idea, probably rejected (mostly).

3.) Impacted; probably, creating a glut ; doubtful.

4.) Yes, because I'm sure people dump a lot of collectable material into them (especially in areas where the older population resides) and it impacts the contents of bags that I buy from my bank that come right off of their counting machine.

Jim

Russ

<< <i>take it to my bank and they will count it and deposit it to my account for free? >>



Most banks will no longer count it and require that it comes in rolled. That's why I use Coinstar, and it's also why the company came in to being.

Russ, NCNE

flaminio

<< <i>1.) Nope, never have, never will. Why should I pay coinstar to count my change when I can take it to my bank and they will count it and deposit it to my account for free? >>



Many banks no longer provide this service. For people without such service, the CoinStar rake is worth it, considering the time it takes to count and roll thousands of coins.

Banks may not do this, but I've never had trouble getting a casino to take my money . That's who counts my change.

Conder101

<< <i>1.) Nope, never have, never will. Why should I pay coinstar to count my change when I can take it to my bank and they will count it and deposit it to my account for free? >>


My bank will roll loose change for you, but THEY charge 10%.

StillLurking

I roll it all, pennies included and bank it. about $500 last year.