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I went one of my Credit Unions this morning (that I don't go to very often) to dump my built up return pile.

This is the first time I have used their coin counter, and not only was it slow (Still much faster than rolling by hand), but I noticed that there were 2 lines for the $0.01 denomination. My first thought was that the penny is more common and perhaps they had a separate bin or bag for when the first is too full and it counts it separately. Then, I thought I saw a copper in the dump tray and then remembered that there might have been 1 or 2 in there that I missed or were just too ugly for even the ugly pile.

All said and done, out of 5,500+ cents dumped, there were (5) in the first $0.01 line and (5k+) in the other $0.01 line. The teller said nothing, didn't even seem to notice the vast difference on the return slip.

2 Things:
Not bad for hand sorting (99.9% Accuracy), and
Have any of you experienced this, and what was the reaction from the Bank or CU?

Can you describe what type of counter they're using? Can you dump a mix of denominations simultaneously? (I would think so, right?)...in which case I don't see how it could be performing all those functions at the same time.

Curious...does it also accept the Canada cents?

Yes. The machine doesn't sort them... But it knows the difference. It's been discussed here in the past somewhere. Good eye!

I do know it's a ScanCoin Brand ..can't remember the model number, but remember looking when I walked in.

It has a flat metal tray in the front where you dump the coins and has no slope to it. You have to manually slide the coins to the left in the opening in that side. This definately gave me a bad case of the black fingers. It was pretty loud, but you could clearly hear the sound of some sort of vibrating table as well as some sort of flywheel spinning and sorting the coins. Checking their website, it looks like a Model CDS 820, or an 830 lobby counter.

Canada cents I don't know, I was only dumping US coins, but that is a good catch. It was a mix of Halves, Dimes, and Pennies from the week. I also snapped a picture with my phone while it was counting because I thought it seemed odd that there were 2 spots for the $0.01 denomination.


On my receipt, it listed them separate too. I immediately thought this might be a Red Flag for the teller or Vault Manager when they saw 5k cents dumped and only .1% were copper. I would expect the normal "Coin Jar" to have something like an 80/20 split and a good mix of all denominations. No one said anything, but I'm trying to be proactive in the event I'm doing something that may hinder my ability to dump (Coins).

Hmmm...that is interesting. Now I understand your concern.

But you know what? Next time I went there, I think I'd take a chance and just ask the teller. Pretend to be confused by the receipt; ask if both columns count towards the total, or something...whatever. Get the teller talking. Might be something innocent.

Perhaps someone who has had more experience with this machine will chime in.

Sounds similar to one I use. Standard sorter/counter probably has two separate penny bins and keeps track for discrepancy.
My old credit union cut me off from buying bags because she figured out there was money to be made.

Next time you dump, throw 3 Cu and 2 Zn in before doing anything else and see how they count. Let us know the result.

wheeler_dealer wrote:Sounds similar to one I use. Standard sorter/counter probably has two separate penny bins and keeps track for discrepancy.
My old credit union cut me off from buying bags because she figured out there was money to be made.

All the pennies are going into the same penny bag, or in the bin with all the other coins. The machine is simply keeping track of two alloys with the same value. It came from the factory that way.

If you ever think that your bank is sorting pennies, you need to check yourself into a mental ward. Most banks are getting away from having any kind of a coin counter because it's too much trouble. If there was ever an official initiative to take copper pennies out of circulation (which there won't be for any number of reasons) It darn sure isnt going to be at bank level. If your credit union board of directors found out that an employee was spending credit union funds on equipment to
to sort something like pennies, they would be out of the job real quick and in a hurry! On top of that, you simply cannot buy equipment from the factory to do something like that.

If you ever think that your bank is sorting pennies

Regarding the steel cents, didn't the Treasury Department quietly directed the banks to remove them from circulation whenever they encountered them?

I agree that today it would be hard for the banks to sort for copper. If it was to be done, it would be at the depository or what ever they call it where coins go back to be sorted and rolled for re-distribution.

Regarding the steel cents, didn't the Treasury Department quietly directed the banks to remove them from circulation whenever they encountered them?

I am not up on my history on the sorts of things so I would happily acquiesce to that. I only wanted to point out that the machine was distinguishing between two alloys that represent the same value. That it knew the difference between those two alloys the same way it knows the difference between say a nickel and a quarter. It is easier for it to print old and new on the receipt then it is zinc and copper. Wouldn't it be easier you ask, to just print pennies and not make a distinction? And the answer to that is yes, many machines do exactly that.

I would agree that no bank is going to take the time and capital to sort pennies/nickels , and then just hand them over to the Feds for free.

Just yesterdayI I had my friend pick me up a box of pennies for me from his bank he always goes to , during his chat with the teller she tells them they just Throw away Canadian coins(he is Canadain) and all other non US coins they find, Yes, Throw them away (THE HORROR) . They will, and have gotten written up for having a Canadian penny in there tray, they can't count them so they would have a short tray. She is now going to save them all for him!!!!

I could see a private coin counter company doing this and then selling them on the open market, like many do for a profit.

Xip

I do agree that they are probably not "Sorting" the pennies, but rather distinguishing between the two types. The bigger question and concern for me, was if they are distinguishing between the 2, perhaps that could be a basis of cutting me off from dumping there as it is very obvious what is going on. My other Credit Union only prints one line for each currency denomination, so I have no idea if I have let any stray coppers get through.

To throw yet another cog in the wheel, I called and spoke with them about the coin counters and what they do with the "junk" that is rejected form the machine, they had an interesting response. They said that the coin counters are operated by an "Outside Company" and they are just the providers of the machines for their members. As it relates to "junk" they are not allowed to give anything away from the machines, even trash. They do not even handle the machines, someone else from this other company comes in and empties the machine, they do not have any dealings with it directly .

This is a mild relief, that if they do nothing but provide the location and access the machine, chances are they will not cut me off form dumping there. Yet at the same time this does provide some support to xippi's theory, that the counting service is run by a private company and the Credit Union itself is just the middle man in the chain of coin processing for them. In any event, I will be trying the suggestion from Madwest to throw in some Cu and Zn first to test the machine. I'll report back here when I determine the results.

i do not know what kind of machine my branch uses but when to slip prints out it has two lines as well it say new penny and old penny kind of nice to know what you miss thru the rydale but i ain't going to bitch the most i have seen on a ticket is 5 old that sure as hell beats hand sorting

pipster wrote:i do not know what kind of machine my branch uses but when to slip prints out it has two lines as well it say new penny and old penny kind of nice to know what you miss thru the rydale but i ain't going to bitch the most i have seen on a ticket is 5 old that sure as hell beats hand sorting

Cause it's more convenient or more effective?

Maybe the machine is set up for Canada...