Not sure who won that battle today Went through $46 in nickels and the top two coins were the most interesting of the group as well as a 39P in very fine condition. Went to coin star to deposit the days work and found 80 cents in Canadian change and these two tokens. The angle is quite beautiful although I know nothing about where it might have come from and the token will fit in with the rest of my ships. Could not believe that someone left all of this in the bin of the coin star - it was an interesting find...
I have several of the angels. They are "lucky angel" or "guardian angel" tokens sent in the mail by some religious organizations seeking donations. They have no value but are too nice to ignore.
I'd say you lost... Those are some pretty expensive coins and tokens. CoinStar charges a 8.9% fee on the coins you turn in, although some retailers where the machines are located absorb a couple of percent. Since you're in Pittsburgh I'll guess you may have gone to one of Giant Eagle's machines where the take is "only" 7%. If you took $46 in, you got less than $43 back. It may be worth the convenience to you but, really, how hard is it to roll the coins and take them to a bank?
If I have enough time when I am back east, I get my $10 of pennies, look thru them, and take them to Commerce Bank which is just down the street from the hotel I stay in(at least in Philly and Dulles). They have a penny arcade that you can dump change into, get a ticket, and go get your money...no % charged. If you guess how much your total is within a certain $ amount, you even get a little prize! I have looked in the Phoenix area for that type of customer service but have not found it.
Not to worry David - My bank has a free coin machine for their customers - they just happened to be closed when I left work yesterday and I wanted to cash the nickels so the $3 or $4 dollar ding is no big deal.
Because - sometimes time and convenience wins over a couple of dollars. - everyone that uses the machine is happy to have the option... Besides for those that roll - many banks require account number and name on the rolls and that isn't happening with my information. As stated above - my bank has a machine I can use for free during working hours.
