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I dump my pennies at a credit union with a free coin machine for members. It (the machine) has got capacity to hold $200 in pennies at a time (4x $50 bags), so the bank employees have to empty it out a few times during my visits. They don't seem to mind too much. I only visit once every month or so, and I keep a high balance in my account.

I typically dump between $600 - $800 per visit. I always bring donuts, and my cute kids come along with me, which helps keep the bank folks friendly.

Last week, I dumped $1,100 in one visit, which is the most I've ever done. Didn't have any problems.

I only dump pennies here, never any other denomination.

Questions:

1) How much do you guys usually dump at a time? What's the most you've done at once?
2) How do you keep your dump bank friendly if you're dumping 10's of thousands of zinc pennies at a time?

I usually dump halves and about $400-700 at a time. I do this perhaps every 2-3 months or so. When I dump pennies, it is usually only $20-40 at a time.

The only issues I have are when the machine is broken. It used to be that customers could use the coin counting machine, but the machine was moved to the back room several years ago.

I feel like i'm pushing it when I dump more than $50. Inevitably the bag has to be replaced which is a chore and its often on the fritz.

My dump credit union now had a $1,000 limit a month.

Recyclersteve wrote:I usually dump halves and about $400-700 at a time. I do this perhaps every 2-3 months or so. When I dump pennies, it is usually only $20-40 at a time.

The only issues I have are when the machine is broken. It used to be that customers could use the coin counting machine, but the machine was moved to the back room several years ago.

Yeah, in my experience, half dollars make the machine break down. Those huge buggers, the machine just struggles with them. I used to dump halves at the machine, and more often than not, it'd have a problem during my dump and need to be reset, or cool down, or unclogged, etc. After a while, I just started re-rolling my halves, or spending them on gasoline, groceries, etc.

Pennies, the machine chews through those like they're nothing.

I mostly dump pennies and nickels. I stop at various dump locations usually twice a week. If I know that I'm going to be near one, I bring what I got and dump WITHOUT ANY FEES. I have topped $200 a few times, but usually it's more like 40-80 dollars. After dumping, I ask for half dollars and Ikes. I do not deposit the money; I usually invest it in more rolls from other nearby banks.

Tourney64 wrote:My dump credit union now had a $1,000 limit a month.

Ouch

My personal records are $1700 One time when I had 3 boxes of halves.second was 1500, a bag of small dollars plus dimes.

I am lucky, there are still 3 credit unions with machines.

DC_Penny_Guy wrote:

Recyclersteve wrote:I usually dump halves and about $400-700 at a time. I do this perhaps every 2-3 months or so. When I dump pennies, it is usually only $20-40 at a time.

The only issues I have are when the machine is broken. It used to be that customers could use the coin counting machine, but the machine was moved to the back room several years ago.

Yeah, in my experience, half dollars make the machine break down. Those huge buggers, the machine just struggles with them. I used to dump halves at the machine, and more often than not, it'd have a problem during my dump and need to be reset, or cool down, or unclogged, etc. After a while, I just started re-rolling my halves, or spending them on gasoline, groceries, etc.

Pennies, the machine chews through those like they're nothing.

I imagine it probably depends on the brand of machine. Not sure what brand is at my bank as it is in the back room. That said, nobody has ever mentioned halves specifically to me as being a problem. I don't know if they are just being polite or are too clueless to notice tendencies for the machine to get bogged down.

I would love to do more frequent deposits and smaller amounts... The problem is that my job makes weekdays impossible. None of the free coin machine locations are anywhere near my office. Saturday mornings are my only option.

Also, someone pointed out to me that driving 30 minutes each way to a dump back effectively means I'm paying $10 in gasoline just to dump coins. So, I try to be more efficient by decreasing the frequency of visits. Once in a blue moon, one of my kids will have an activity on a Saturday morning that's close to a dump bank location, and that's always nice.

DC_Penny_Guy wrote:I would love to do more frequent deposits and smaller amounts... The problem is that my job makes weekdays impossible. None of the free coin machine locations are anywhere near my office. Saturday mornings are my only option.

Also, someone pointed out to me that driving 30 minutes each way to a dump back effectively means I'm paying $10 in gasoline just to dump coins. So, I try to be more efficient by decreasing the frequency of visits. Once in a blue moon, one of my kids will have an activity on a Saturday morning that's close to a dump bank location, and that's always nice.

Yeah,i used to figure a day of running around would be 75 miles, at 15 mpg...5 gallons...&20. So I would try to go ..all-day. 9--5.

That said, there were times ,1, bank would wipe out my funds. Then it was time for thrift stores or pawn.