I recently have been having a rough financial streak so decided to cash in my copper pennies I had been saving. It was a large amount so I left it with the teller to process and came back the next day. Well today I walk in and she hands me my cash in an envelope and she tells me her supervisor was the one who ran the coins through the machine and now they refuse to take any more pennies from me since they were "dirty and clogged the machine." I tell her that they are all copper and maybee were thicker and clogged the machine? So I am wondering if the pre-1983 pennies clog counting machine quicker than newer pennies.
Pre-1983 don't clog the machine more quickly... unless they're dirty. In fact, I'd think the newer zinc cents would be more likely to clog the machine, because they're less dense and more likely to be corroded (zinc rot). Thickness on the old copper and new zinc cents is the same, btw. Sorry about your financial difficulties; hope they turn around soon...
I have to agree with Chris; her response certainly suggests the blame rests with you, and this is beyond the fact that I've never heard of nor seen copper cents clogging such a machine. Common sense should dictate that with so many pre-1982 cents still in circulation, such a machine would, of course, be designed to handle them. Now I certainly understand that bulk change/coins can develop "issues" and taking the time to pick through or clean isn't always a worthwhile option, so perhaps in the future you should consider using a coinstar; if your dirty coins jam their machine, I suppose that's the cost of doing business.
I would hate to spend time putting hundreds (maybe thousands) of pennies in a counting machine. Too boring for me.
$140 face was the amount. They were clean guys. These were the pennies I separated over time and put aside from the rest.
