Best option(s) for changing large amount of euro coinage

LizardKing

Perhaps someone can advise on the following :

I collect all my change (up to 20 cents) in a plastic bag ... has to be about 300 euro in there now ... I was wondering if I can change/lodge this somewhere on the cheap ... I don't really want to give 9 -12 % to a coin counter machine .. Is there anywhere I can change for a more reasonable rate ?

Also the less work I need to do the better ... counting and bagging the coins would take a lot of effort ...

Thanks

Lk--<

unclebill98

LizardKing wrote: »

Perhaps someone can advise on the following :

I collect all my change (up to 20 cents) in a plastic bag ... has to be about 300 euro in there now ... I was wondering if I can change/lodge this somewhere on the cheap ... I don't really want to give 9 -12 % to a coin counter machine .. Is there anywhere I can change for a more reasonable rate ?

Also the less work I need to do the better ... counting and bagging the coins would take a lot of effort ...

Thanks

Lk--<

If you don't wanna count it and you don't wanna use a machine then give it to charity...

If not then bag it correctly and lodged it into you account. Go to the bank 1st thing in the morning and not on a friday. At least that way if you've a few bags wrong there unlikely to fire it back at you. By lodging it into your account you should avoid a fee.

LizardKing

Thanks but I don't want to give it away , took a long time to build up ...

I suppose no-one else has any ideas on this ?

IsThatSo?

Nope, gotta go with Unclebill on this one.

You don't want to count it but expect someone else to do it for you and not charge a fee :eek: Yes, it will be a lot of work for you, but a lot of work for someone else too. Don't let it build up so much next time.

Get coin bags as your local bank, bag it and bring it in. Don't ask for cash for the coins unless your account is held at that branch, they will usually refuse as its a well known scam.

LizardKing

Ok thanks .... I would have thought the banks would have had coin counting machines which could be used to easily count and then I could lodge into an account at a low charge.

I'm tempted to use the blasted coin machines in shops now ... wheres the best rate .. also how do they lodge the coins they collect !!!

IsThatSo?

The banks do have coin counting machines but its usually a weighing machine so the coins still have to be split into denominations before weighing and bagging.

Believe me when I say I sincerely doubt that any bank will offer to take that kind of coin off your hands and count it for you. The customers waiting behind you would not be impressed either!!

Not familiar with the counting machines in shops, although have seen them. Why not google and see if you can come up with some info:)

LizardKing

ok .. i'll check around the net ... any other ideas or comments would be grrrreeaaaattt

homer911

Any kids? Any neighbours got kids? Offer one 5% to count it for you, then bring to the bank

s_carnage

You've already been searching on this forum for a day about someway to count it. Jes, it's not going to take a lifetime to count it. Why not do 10mins counting a evening and you'll have it done in no time. You said you've been collecting it for ages so a week or two extra to cash it in won't make much of a difference.

mct1

Why not just use it to part pay with in shops? That's free and they're usually pleased to get change. Just count it out in advance in case I'm in the queue behind you.

GeeNorm

Go to bank (at quiet time) and explain that you collected money for charity and would they mind helping you count it. Worth a shot

fifib

send it over to me and il count it for ya and tell ya how much ya have had

no seriously counting it yourself wouldnt take too long
these money boxes are quite handy for knowing how much you've saved and also for counting the money when your sorting it out into money bags
http://www.find-me-a-gift.co.uk/digital-coin-sorter-money-bank.html
they had them in dunnes before, just if buying online make sure its a Euro one!

happyoutscan

Why use a machine and pay 30 quid commission (if you had 300 we'd say)? Sounds like throwing money away. Don't be lazy, count it up yourself and enjoy a few pints.:p

Shifty

You could go to Tesco & make purchases through their self service tills and use your coinage to pay for the goods as those tills accept/count the coinage you put in.

That way you don't have to count it or particularly sort it and you can bank/spend the notes you would have otherwise used.

Failing that I would follow the advice of previous posters

LizardKing

Alright i'm gonna split the task a bit and try the tesco option and also count some of it to see how long it takes ... Thanks for all the responses

LK--<

Royale with Cheese

You're seriously going to go into tesco and stand there putting 20c into the machine for 5 minutes? Don't be surprised to get a box from somebody in the queue behind you.

LizardKing

Royale with Cheese wrote: »

You're seriously going to go into tesco and stand there putting 20c into the machine for 5 minutes? Don't be surprised to get a box from somebody in the queue behind you.

Actually on 2nd thoughts nah ... I thought it was a drop change in option not a slot ...it'd take ages to manually slot 20c coins in .... I'm looking at those coin sorter machines now ...

Angus MacGyver

Watch out when using the counting machines. They usually drop a lot of coins back out into the tray at the bottom so you have to keep transferring them back into the top till they are all counted.

I was tipped off by a girl working in a supermarket who saw me using the machine.

Ive only used the machines about three times because i usually have plenty of bags and count it myself.

The last time I used it i had counted the money to see how much i had but had no bags. went to the supermarket and threw in all the coins, kept transferring the coins from the bottom tray to the top and the screen showed i had €100 but i knew i ad only put in close to ninety. Someone had left over a tenner in the machine thus paying my commission, happy days

Random

Next time you use the M1 or the M4 tolls poor the bag into the machine. That'll learn em!

Why don't you buy a nice cheap money sorting machine on ebay or something and just use that? I would probably (and have done before) just count it myself though and bag it up.

unclebill98

I really think in the time you 1st posted to now you would have had it counted and check and ready to go to the bank with it......

Ludo

LizardKing wrote: »

Actually on 2nd thoughts nah ... I thought it was a drop change in option not a slot ...it'd take ages to manually slot 20c coins in .... I'm looking at those coin sorter machines now ...

Never seen one of these machines in a shop in Ireland...only in the States. Which supermarkets have them here?

baldbear

8.5% in Dunnes the last time it counted out my shillings, about 2 months ago. Take the hit. DO IT. Or just go to a lap dancing club and slip it to the ladies!!