Best thing to do with huge bottle of 1 and 2p coins? 10 November 2022 at 3:23PM in Savings & investments 65 replies 9.8K views

Spender£

My nan has a giant old whisky bottle full to the top with 1 and 2p coins which is so heavy it almost takes two people to move it, we have told her the banks hardly accept these much now and it would take ages to deposit it in an account.
Does anybody have any ideas of how to get it in an account as i don't like those coin counting machines because they take a fee however i heard Metro used to have a free coin counting machine if you banked with them.

Ebe_Scrooge

Most (all?) banks will have coin-counting machines - but only for use by the staff, not usually the public.  Check with the bank first, but usually they'll accept coins if you bank with them.  Sort them out so you've a bag of 1p's, a bag of 2p's etc. and take them to the bank.  They can just weigh them and know how much is in there.  Actually, you may not even need to separate them, depending on whether the bank has a coin-sorter or just a weighing scale.

Like I say, phone up to check beforehand, but usually your own bank will accept them.

eskbanker

Spender£ said:

i don't like those coin counting machines because they take a fee however i heard Metro used to have a free coin counting machine if you banked with them.

Ebe_Scrooge said:

Most (all?) banks will have coin-counting machines - but only for use by the staff, not usually the public.

Quite a few banks have coin-counting machines that are both free and usable by customers, so worth checking which nearby branches of your bank(s) may have these.

Bridlington1

Ebe_Scrooge said:

Most (all?) banks will have coin-counting machines - but only for use by the staff, not usually the public.  Check with the bank first, but usually they'll accept coins if you bank with them.  Sort them out so you've a bag of 1p's, a bag of 2p's etc. and take them to the bank.  They can just weigh them and know how much is in there.  Actually, you may not even need to separate them, depending on whether the bank has a coin-sorter or just a weighing scale.

Like I say, phone up to check beforehand, but usually your own bank will accept them.

Quite a few banks have limits to the number of bags of coins you can deposit each day (usually 5 or 6 I've found) so I would avoid the hassle of bagging the coins up if I were you. Just find a bank with a coin counting machine and pour the whole lot into it.

Eco_Miser

As above see what your/her bank can offer, as a minimum it should be a load of coin bags into which you count £1 of either 1p's or 2p's, then take them in and they will be check-weighed and deposited quite quickly.

t1redmonkey

She could also grab a handful of them every time she goes to a supermarket that has a self-service till, and then pay for her shopping with the coins since it automatically counts them all up 

happybagger

If you have a local shop you use like a newsagent, c-store, or a post office, just ask them. When I worked in my local shop we were always running short of coins (except pound coins) so would always change them for our customers as long as they were bagged up, ie full £1 bags of coppers. Saved ordering change in from the bank.

molerat

And for reference a bag of 1p or 2p weighs 356g, a lot easier than counting them.

frugalmacdugal

Hi,

don't just walk into a bank with the bottle to use a coin counter and expect coins to flow out of it, the neck will get clogged up and need a poke now and again with a screwdriver or something.

Don't expect to get £100s from it.

Will we start a 'Guess the amount?'

My guess £68.72.

dunstonh

we have told her the banks hardly accept these much now and it would take ages to deposit it in an account.

All clearing banks take them if you are a customer.  Building societies  (including most ex building socities) will usually have a small limit.  It wouldnt take long for a clearing bank to process bags of coin.

You just pre-bag them in their respective coin bags and the bank will weigh each bag.

Albermarle

frugalmacdugal said:

Hi,

don't just walk into a bank with the bottle to use a coin counter and expect coins to flow out of it, the neck will get clogged up and need a poke now and again with a screwdriver or something.

Don't expect to get £100s from it.

Will we start a 'Guess the amount?'

My guess £68.72.

Seeing how heavy it is, probably have to watch out for slipping a disc at the same time !