Heard something on the news the other day about how a lot of people throw copper away or just stick it in a jar and save it. Listeners were asked to ring in and tell us how much they had actually accumilated over time in coppers..the maximum I think was over £2000 in 1p and 2p peices. How long would that have took to count??

Do you save your coppers and whats the biggest amount you've ever cashed in?
Mine is about £75 then I got bored of counting it. I reckon I've probably got £200 worth in a big plastic tub.

I must be unusual because I neither throw them away or save them up, I spend them as I go.

When I somehow end up with a lot I just always round up whatever I pay in a shop to the next few pence up eg if something costs 1.98 I'll give them 2.08, and get rid of the coppers. They never mind cos they are always short of coppers (because people horde them or chuck them)

And on an economy note, if everyone spent their coppers then spending would probably go up by at least 1%, and would have some effect on the strength of the pound and inflation (Its too early in the morning for me to figure out what exactly!)

Originally posted by wibbles
Mine is about £75 then I got bored of counting it. I reckon I've probably got £200 worth in a big plastic tub.

Go to one of those machines in Sainsburys or Asda, they count it for you and give you a voucher to spend, or you can donate it to charity.

Have you ever been really skint and had to buy some bread or milk and raided the copper jar??
Its always quite amusing to have to count out £1.29 in 1 and 2p pieces to the annoyance of the shop assistant. :hihi:

Originally posted by nick2
Go to one of those machines in Sainsburys or Asda, they count it for you and give you a voucher to spend, or you can donate it to charity.
Don't they charge you a percentage though???

Originally posted by wibbles
Don't they charge you a percentage though???

Yeah, but it's a small percentage.
And the machine is fun.

are there any of those machines in the city centre?

Originally posted by nick2
Yeah, but it's a small percentage.
And the machine is fun.
Is it all automated?? i.e you just tip in your tub of coppers and it works it all out??

Originally posted by wibbles
Is it all automated?? i.e you just tip in your tub of coppers and it works it all out??

Yeah, and it tells you how many of each coin there were.

I saw a women once in Asda car park get out of the car with a big bag full of coppers and the bag split. It went everywhere..she was distraught. I felt guilty for laughing out loudly so went and helped her pick it up but I do wonder how much she lost down the drains and gullies.

Originally posted by wibbles
Have you ever been really skint and had to buy some bread or milk and raided the copper jar??
Its always quite amusing to have to count out £1.29 in 1 and 2p pieces to the annoyance of the shop assistant. :hihi:

ive done this for a night out.......

loked at bank statement on way home.... was not looking good

was moping round house when i spotted my copper jar,

got to £50 and was still plenty left in, so i bargained with my mum,

got £50 off her, and she got the extra coppers!!

dont you just love mums lol

I sort my jar out when it gets full, which is 3 times this year to a grand total of around £240 quid. I then bung it in my savings account. 1s 2s and 5s, how do I get so many, I'm not rich. Maybe they multiply when they are all laid in the dark together for so long:D
I also have a jar for excess pound coins and silver. If I've got more than £5 in coins it goes in the jar and the £5 remains so I always have parking money.
One day I counted it out and it paid for my holiday!

I know its a nice surprise to have a lot of cash around when you weren't expecting it, but wouldn't it be better if this money was earning interest for you?

I have a couple of friends who finish up with loads of coppers in their houses. The reason this happens is that they don't give the right money when they buy things, and finish up with change from every transaction. They are lazy.

To my mind giving the exact money is just a matter of good manners and general politeness. And if you do, then you don't finish up with loads of change all the time.

With the best will in the world, everyone sometimes finishes up with lots of copper change, and the machines are a great idea.

I also understand that the law on legal tender, says that a seller doesn't have to accept an unreasonable amount of change, or give change if he doesn't have it.

i always empty my car ashtray and purse at end of week and dump it in a tub, little sisters like counting it. make sure they wash their hands after though.
ps ashtray is used for money!!

Originally posted by nick2
Go to one of those machines in Sainsburys or Asda, they count it for you and give you a voucher to spend, or you can donate it to charity.

Does it have to be a voucher? Can't you just have the cash?

I have a big budweiser bottle (that sadly was never full of budweiser) where I put my coppers in. Got about 15 quid- not too shabby ;)

Originally posted by muddycoffee
I have a couple of friends who finish up with loads of coppers in their houses. The reason this happens is that they don't give the right money when they buy things, and finish up with change from every transaction. They are lazy.

To my mind giving the exact money is just a matter of good manners and general politeness. And if you do, then you don't finish up with loads of change all the time.

Well, I deliberately go out of my way to acquire change. Every time I use large retailers like WH Smith, M&S and Burger King, I always pay in £20 notes. Then I can give useful change to smaller concerns like local shops, taxi drivers, favourite pubs and so on.

I suspect that some of staff in WH Smith are starting to wise up to me as I think I can detect a slight flinch whenever I approach them with my morning paper:). But then again they get tons of lovely change from their self-service "honest box" thing.

As for coppers themselves, I think they should be got rid of - they are now just a nuisance. The lowest currency unit should be the 5p. I believe there was a survey recently where there was a certain amount of support for thgis (though nothing like a majority.)

By the way: this is a fantastic forum - I've only just come across it, and am still wading through the various threads - very comprehensive and well designed.

Originally posted by muddycoffee
To my mind giving the exact money is just a matter of good manners and general politeness.
That depends.

If you've got the right change ready, or you're not holding a queue up then I agree, but don't you just hate having to wait for some git to count out their coppers in an 'I'm being wonderful' manner, and wasting 4 valuable minutes of your half hour lunch break, when the cashier would have found the 3p change from a fiver much quicker?

The problem with taking copper to the bank is the looks you get from the staff!.
I took £20 in copper, all counted into the right amounts and in the right bags. The woman behind the counter was not very impressed and asked me to only bring £5 in future?.

Now i have a large jar full of copper and i'm in no hurry to do anything with it :rant: :shakes:

Originally posted by vidster
Now i have a large jar full of copper and i'm in no hurry to do anything with it :rant: :shakes:

Donate to charity?

Pugsy Bear next year or something

Originally posted by vidster
I took £20 in copper, all counted into the right amounts and in the right bags. The woman behind the counter was not very impressed and asked me to only bring £5 in future?.


Bet it was a Micky Mouse bank ;)

Originally posted by Lickszz
Does it have to be a voucher? Can't you just have the cash?

Yeah, you can have the cash instead of vouchers or give a charity donation. I've used the machine at Sainsburys (crystal peaks) a few times. It just takes a v small commission but its a lot less hassle than taking a load of change to the bank.

I'm odd.. I start the day with a new £10 note and anything that is left over goes straight in my change jar (1,2 & 5ps in one jar, 10,20 & 50ps & pound coins in another) :suspect: :loopy:

I never save up my coppers - it all ends up spent or in charity boxes.

You can locate the money change machines closest to you on the Coinstar website:

http://www.coinstar.co.uk/

I only pay in pounds (out of convenience) and throw coins in a tray at work - as a result I end up with a heap of coins very quick.

We have a china piggy bank thingie into which at the end of each day we drop anything less than 50p in change. Twice a year, said pig disgorges about £50 on average which goes towards the cost of the current holiday. Increasingly though we find that banks and building societies want to charge silly amounts for paying the money into our account. Or restrict where and when and how much you can pay in. So the info on cash counting machines is most welcome.