Paying coin into bank

[gryffron]

Back in my university days, 1980's, the rag parade typically used to collect 2 full dustbins of mixed coins. There was only one bank in Sheffield City centre that had an auto-sorting machine that would accept these. NatWest IIRC. Even then it took several hours to pour the dustbins of coins through the machine. The bank staff just left the rag folks in the room with the machine - no money but ours. The machine counted and sorted the coins into bags. Once separated the bags could easily be weighed to confirm value.

I'm sure such machines still exist somewhere today. But no doubt still pretty rare, if not rareR. If there was only one in a big city like Sheffield, they can't be common.

Gryff

[staffordian]

Back in my university days, 1980's, the rag parade typically used to collect 2 full dustbins of mixed coins. There was only one bank in Sheffield City centre that had an auto-sorting machine that would accept these. NatWest IIRC. Even then it took several hours to pour the dustbins of coins through the machine. The bank staff just left the rag folks in the room with the machine - no money but ours. The machine counted and sorted the coins into bags. Once separated the bags could easily be weighed to confirm value.

I'm sure such machines still exist somewhere today. But no doubt still pretty rare, if not rareR. If there was only one in a big city like Sheffield, they can't be common.

Gryff

Still reasonably common, but more in establishments dealing with coins, such as arcades, vending machine operators etc rather than banks. Though these days, most big banks centralise specialised functions, so regional bulk cash handling centres would probably use them.

Two types exist, the first counts and bags pre sorted coins very quickly, the second sorts counts and bags any mixed coins. We had half a dozen or so of the latter and one of the former when I worked for a council bus department some years ago.

The buses ran on an "exact fare only" system, where the passenger put the coins into a hopper with a glass front, so (in theory) the driver could check enough had been paid for the required ticket. I say in theory because the drivers had no responsibility for the cash taken, so most didn't bother to check it properly.

The coins dropped into a steel box when the driver "accepted" the fare, and these were changed every night.They weighed up to 100lb or so when full and counting was done using the aforementioned machines. We banked several tons of coin per week, and it was collected daily by Securicor; in theory using a truck, but often they used a coventional armoured 35cwt van. It was interesting watching it drive off, often with the back end almost dragging on the floor and the front wheels barely on the ground

Our coin wasn't bagged in the small plastic bags referred to upthread, we used cloth bags which held £20 of bronze, £100 of silver, £250 of 20p or 50p coin or £500 in £1 coins, and I'm pretty sure our bank had problems using (or disposing of) all the coin, but accepted it as they were contracted to and it was a small part of a pretty big council wide contract.

[didds]

Back in my university days, 1980's, the rag parade typically used to collect 2 full dustbins of mixed coins.

You were lucky!

Aber rag 1981-84 (my years) raised over 100K each year, and most of that was coins which were all bagged by hand throughout the months of rag!

didds (rag Exec 1983/84)

[superFoolish]

In the UK, my experience, over decades, is that banks only accept 'full' bags of coin, and no mixed coin. No soubt some will make exceptions if they are not busy, but they are not obliged to do so.

According to the Royal Mint, "Legal tender has a very narrow and technical meaning in the settlement of debts. It means that a debtor cannot successfully be sued for non-payment if he pays into court in legal tender."

http://www.royalmint.com/aboutus/polici ... guidelines

Some relevant articles / discussion below (although I make no claim that they are correct in terms of the law):

http://www.lifehacker.co.uk/2015/03/27/ ... -for-notes
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/sho ... ?t=1623831
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wale ... 239962.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8288608.stm

In Australia, many high-street banks now have coin machines into which you pour your mixed-coin, and it automatically credits your account; very convenient. Do banks in the UK have these now? I recall seeing them in some supermarkets (CoinStar springs to mind, but I also recall that there may have been a fee for using those machines).

[Loir]

In Australia, many high-street banks now have coin machines into which you pour your mixed-coin, and it automatically credits your account; very convenient. Do banks in the UK have these now? I recall seeing them in some supermarkets (CoinStar springs to mind, but I also recall that there may have been a fee for using those machines).

See my previous post about HSBC. The Coinstar machines I have seen in supermarkets give you credit in the store but also take a fee.

Loir

[staffordian]

In Australia, many high-street banks now have coin machines into which you pour your mixed-coin, and it automatically credits your account; very convenient. Do banks in the UK have these now? I recall seeing them in some supermarkets (CoinStar springs to mind, but I also recall that there may have been a fee for using those machines).

See my previous post about HSBC. The Coinstar machines I have seen in supermarkets give you credit in the store but also take a fee.

Loir

I think some are set to give full credit if you opt for store vouchers but take a percentage if you opt for cash.

Staffordian

[chas49]

In Australia, many high-street banks now have coin machines into which you pour your mixed-coin, and it automatically credits your account; very convenient. Do banks in the UK have these now? I recall seeing them in some supermarkets (CoinStar springs to mind, but I also recall that there may have been a fee for using those machines).

See my previous post about HSBC. The Coinstar machines I have seen in supermarkets give you credit in the store but also take a fee.

Loir

I think some are set to give full credit if you opt for store vouchers but take a percentage if you opt for cash.

Staffordian

I think in fact it's something like an 8% charge if you take "cash" - which is actually a voucher and you have to go the customer services to exchange. The charge is waived if you donate to charity.

[quelquod]

I think in fact it's something like an 8% charge if you take "cash" - which is actually a voucher and you have to go the customer services to exchange. The charge is waived if you donate to charity.

IIRC our local Asda has one - 10% fee or charity option. I've never ever understood why people would willingly pay anything at all to exchange cash, and TBH few seem to.

[jfgw]

Many supermarkets have self-service checkouts where you dump the change into a hopper. If you put in more than you have spent, it carries on counting and gives back any change in "sensible" denominations. It takes a little while for that little conveyor belt at the bottom to empty a full hopper but it doesn't charge for doing it. It's not ideal if you have sacks of change but, for a handful or two, it's convenient and free.

Julian F. G. W.