Best thing to do with huge bottle of 1 and 2p coins? 10 November 2022 at 4:23PM in Savings & investments 65 replies 9.8K views

RobM99

TheGardener said:

I had a giant whiskey bottle full of copper many years ago - when I moved it the bottom fell out of the bottle and I spent several hours picking coins and glass out of the carpet ...

"Oh gosh. I really wish that didn't happen!"  Not that I laughed...much!

trevjl

RobM99 said:

Ocelot said:

Could use coinstar at a supermarket (they take a percentage though).

Bloomin' right they do, 10% and more!

I don't blame them, I don't suppose the machines are made for free.

lohr500

TheGardener said:

I had a giant whiskey bottle full of copper many years ago - when I moved it the bottom fell out of the bottle and I spent several hours picking coins and glass out of the carpet ...

Is that what they call an investment crash?

Millyonare

sparky93 said:

Spender£ said:

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.

hi, dont know where you are, but suprised no1 has suggested a games arcade place. these have the 1p and 2p machines , and they have coin counters too.

Best idea so far. Have a family day out at the seaside with nanna and the kids / nieces / nephews, playing the 1p / 2p / 10p nudger machines for a few hours from the bottle, some 99 ice creams from the proceeds, topped off with fish and chips and some cheeky seagulls.

Bridlington1

Millyonare said:

sparky93 said:

Spender£ said:

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.

hi, dont know where you are, but suprised no1 has suggested a games arcade place. these have the 1p and 2p machines , and they have coin counters too.

Best idea so far. Have a family day out at the seaside with nanna and the kids / nieces / nephews, playing the 1p / 2p / 10p nudger machines for a few hours from the bottle, some 99 ice creams from the proceeds, topped off with fish and chips and some cheeky seagulls.

If it takes 2 people to even lift the bottle I can imagine trying to carry it around Bridlington all day could get quite eventful. Assuming you find a way of carrying it around without putting your back out or the bottom falling out, I can't imagine the chip shop will be too keen on someone paying for several portions of fish & chips entirely in 1p and 2p coins. We'd be talking over 1000 individual coins here if everyone wanted chips.

powerspowers

annabanana82 said:

For my 20p jar, the 3ltr brandy bottle was opened well before my time circa 1974/5, but I think it was an enjoyable Sunday afternoon in Germany for my parents.

Many years ago when my children were small and money tight, our savings were mainly putting change in a pot at the end of the week. We started with a jam jar and when that was near full we acquired the bottle. An off the cuff comment led to the question "how many 20p's will fill the bottle"? With that a mission was started.  We're still to find out but we can't possibly stop now we're so close.

So whilst it may not be very MSE, it has been a source of wonder, conversation and afternoons sat with my children counting it.

They are also well versed in more conventional saving methods, understand interest rates and the basics of investments - my 17 year old Daughter has even started a pension. 

My grandparents had a whisky bottle of change as well and I have lovely memories of counting out the money on a rainy afternoon. 

My grandad gave it to me when I was fundraising, about 1/3rd full.  I can’t remember how much was in it. I paid the money in and left the bottle at my dads house and he must have chucked it away when he moved 😔 

FatherTireseus

Here’s a ‘don’t’ from me.

I help out at a small, local music festival.  You can buy tickets in advance or pay by cash or card on the gate.  Apparently someone turned up and wanted to pay for £32 worth of tickets all in 2p coins.  We had quite a no-nonsense volunteer on gate duty at the time who refused point blank to take it, saying it would take her all day to count them.  I’m rather glad she did, as it was my responsibility to bank all the cash post festival, and I really didn’t fancy having to haul so much weight for so little value to the bank.

I’d echo the comments about using them up in small drips and drabs in automated machines that take cash in stores.  Personally I wouldn’t use the change machines in supermarkets etc that take a hefty percentage, because I’m a real tight wad.

Flugelhorn

we had multiple jars / tins / boxes of coins from a relatives house - he had just dumped the change every time he came back from shopping for years, filled a jar and went on to another. Took them to HSBC and used the machine there - staff had to empty it at one stage as it was full - total came to £159

Bacman

Two thoughts - one is to take a handful of coins every time you go to a supermarket and use their self-service checkouts to dump your coins into to pay for items; second thought is to donate it to a charity for "guess how much is inside" for winner to get percentage of the contents.

Beddie

Bacman said:

Two thoughts - one is to take a handful of coins every time you go to a supermarket and use their self-service checkouts to dump your coins into to pay for items; second thought is to donate it to a charity for "guess how much is inside" for winner to get percentage of the contents.

I agree with either of those