Coinstar

I seem to collect loose change. As a habitual swiper of plastic I rarely have a chance to use coins. Over the past several months I amassed a significant quantity of change. While watching Modern Marvels I learned of Coinstar. I had seen the Coinstar machines in various locations nearby but had never used one -- until today. Coinstar machines count your loose change (just pour it in and watch the numbers climb). Those coins are sorted inside the machine, removed by an armored truck service (such as Brinks) and taken to one of their processing facilities to be recounted and repackaged for redistribution to banks, retail establishments, and more. Normally, Coinstar charges 8.9 cents per dollar counted/accepted (the machine kicks out damaged or unrecognized coins), but they now offer FREE counting if you use their gift card or eCertificate service. Being a regular customer of Amazon.com I thought I'd give it a try today. So, thank you Coinstar and Amazon.com for converting my $77.85 of loose coins into something I'm more likely to use!