Coinstar turns small change into big money

Most people have a growing collection of loose change cluttering up the kitchen counter or gathering dust in various jars and vases, and only moving or getting into a money crunch prompts some to cash it in.

And when that time comes, many opt for the convenience of a coin- changing machine rather than spending hours sorting and rolling nickels, dimes and pennies into paper sleeves.

"You save it but what are you going to do with it?" said George Williams of North Fort Myers, Fla.

For an 8.9 percent processing fee, Williams dumps his stash into a Coinstar machine. Then he picks up a voucher for the amount and can redeem it for cash or groceries.

Williams said he uses the Coinstar machine quite a bit.

"I have a hobby. I save coins and I love to look at the mint dates and condition," Williams said.

Those that don't pass muster go in a special wine jar he keeps -- destined to end up in the coin counter. "Sometimes I have $30 to $40 worth in six months," he said.

These counters are big time savers for time-strapped people. It can take 40 minutes to manually count $9 in coins. That's what CNBC found during research for its "Steals and Deals" show, according to Coinstar, a major player in the coin-counting business.

Coinstar's machines count at the rate of 600 coins per minute.

Alma Decker, 82, said she usually spends her loose change, but every now and then has enough to cash in at the Kash n' Karry -- "usually when I have between $5 and $15," she said.

Some savings institutions have coin counters for customers to use, like Suncoast Schools Federal Credit Union, which has them in all 36 of its Florida branches.

The Suncoast Schools Scan Coin machines -- available to members only -- sort up to $100 worth of coins for free, after which there's a 5 percent fee, said Linda Fales, operations manager for teller services in Tampa, Fla.

"I am not kidding, I have seen people bring in Igloo coolers (full of coins) on dolly carts," she said. "A couple of years ago we did a survey. The amount of coin we accepted in one month was almost equal to the amount of coin we ordered for almost a whole year," she said.

Coinstar, based in Bellevue, Wash., has grown into a multinational, publicly traded company by turning spare change into cash. Since 1992 it has handled nearly $7 billion worth, weighing in at 550,000 tons, proving that people's spare change can be big business.

The company has 10,800 machines throughout the United States, mostly in supermarkets. To find a Coinstar coin counter near you, go to www.coinstar.com and put in your city or ZIP code.

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