It is one of my regular grocery stores. I also check the vending & Coin Star machines in the three grocery stores (and any other establishment) I frequent. The tellers at my Credit Union save all the foreign coins they encounter for me. When they give me a batch I buy the ladies Dominos or Subways for lunch. As long as the "coins of interest" show themselves, I'm willing to oblige and "apprehend them."
You remind me of a story that happened last week. My wife and I went to the Carwash and on the way out of washing I saw the vacuum machines. Now, you know what I was thinking. Yup. Trying my luck with the change returns. Then I remembered that she has OCD, in particular, germs, so I passed on the idea of having her stop.
I once got the Snapple bottle cap that said You Win a year's worth of Snapple (one of their promotions. I sent them the cap and they sent me a booklet of coupons, more than I could drink, so I gave them freely to my CRH suppliers! Goodwill goes a long way...sometimes.
Finds from the register: 1940 Jefferson nickel 1955-D Lincoln wheat cent and um... Series 2013 $1 bill with "Let's go Brandon!" stamped on it
1979-D SBA dollar (change from the vending machine) Series 2021 $5 star note (from the register) 1946 Jefferson nickel (my dad found it and gave it to me)
Found a steelie in the return of the CoinStar at Food Lion. Thought about taking it, but left it on the counter. Came by again on my way out, and it was still there, and two clad dimes had appeared in the return. So I put the dimes on the counter and took the steelie.
Or foreign. Or just a "bad penny". Q: What's worth less than a one-cent coin? A: A one-cent coin that you can't even feed to the CoinStar. OR the self-checkout.