You spent the last two years primarily using card or mobile payments, and you just set aside your spare change. However, you realize that you already have a large jar of quarters sitting in your room.
Although coins hold the same value as dollar bills, using them feels inconvenient since you’ll have to fish out 40 quarters from your purse to get a measly $10. A line might even form at the till if you spend minutes counting change.
If you want to use the quarters you saved at home without carrying all of them around, don’t worry. We can help!
We understand the personal hassles and economic impacts of hoarding coins. To encourage consumers to pump their quarters back into the circulation, we reviewed various workarounds to exchange coins for cash for free—or at least cheaply.
The coins you saved have always been yours. But having bills to spend, deposit, or invest somehow feels like you suddenly acquired old money you’ve already forgotten.
Stick with us until the end. Otherwise, you’ll waste money on disreputable establishments that charge exorbitant fees to exchange coins for cash.
Let’s look into the different locations that’ll exchange your coins for cash!
Things to Know Before Exchanging Coins for Cash
With the current nationwide coin shortage, you can expect several establishments to exchange coins for cash willingly. Commercial banks and credit unions won’t even charge you anything.
However, don’t expect to turn in coins as is without any form of preparation. Most locations exchanging coins for free follow a strict rolled coin policy, so you’ll have to deposit coins in coin wrappers.
Locations with coin cashing machines like Coinstar won’t require you to roll your quarters, but you’ll at least need to free them of dirt and debris. Also, these establishments charge steep fees.
Pro Tip: Do banks give out coin wrappers? Sometimes, yes. You can get 300 wrappers for around $7 on Amazon. However, if you ask bank tellers nicely, they might give you some coin wrappers free of charge.
Top Places to Exchange Coins
You don’t have to waste your time driving to different banks looking for coin counters. We made a handy list of commercial banks, financial institutions, convenience stores, and independent coin cashing machines you might find near your location.
1. Coinstar
Coinstar ranks among the most widely known coin-cashing machine operators in the country. They have 20,000 kiosks in various big-box establishments, so 90% of the U.S. population can reach a Coinstar machine within 5 to 10 minutes.
Also, the brand’s reliability sets it apart from its competitors. You can rest assured knowing Coinstar boasts 25+ years of industry experience and processes more than 43 billion coins per annum.
No other coin-cashing machine kiosk operator comes close to its success. You won’t have to worry about its machines miscalculating your coins.
Coin Exchange Fees
Coinstar charges 12% of the amount of coins you need to exchange. So if you dumped $300 worth of quarters and pennies, you’d pay $36 in fees.
However, Coinstar waives the fees if you choose gift card payouts. The company partnered with dozens of widely known brands from various industries, but its most versatile, useful gift cards come from Amazon.
Coin Exchange Process
Another reason users love Coinstar is it has an accurate, convenient coin-cashing machine. You won’t have to insert each coin individually.
Instead, you can just dump all coins (i.e., quarters, pennies) in the kiosk and let the machine do all the counting. You’ll find this feature convenient if you dislike rolling coin wrappers.
However, Coinstar requests users to dump clean coins free of dirt and debris, or else the machine will have trouble reading your money.
Locations
Coinstar has kiosks in big-box stores like Walmart and CVS, but you can always double-check the locations online.
You can also use this button, which I find useful when looking for places where I can change my coins for free near me.
2. QuikTrip
QuikTrip is a gas station franchise with 800 locations in 15+ different states. Unfortunately, their stores don’t have coin-cashing machines, but you can still cash in coins at the register.
Initially, QuikTrip never focused on cashing coins. However, it encouraged customers to exchange unused quarters and pennies once the nationwide coin shortage worsened.
Coin Exchange Fees
To encourage customers to cash in their old coins, QuikTrip doesn’t charge transaction fees. Instead, you’ll get the total amount of your coins.
However, if the till at the specific QuikTrip location you turned to doesn’t have enough bills, you’ll likely get a QuikTrip gift card.
Coin Exchange Process
QuikTrip doesn’t specify whether it follows a rolled coin policy. However, you’d do well to bundle your quarters and pennies in coin wrappers, or else you’ll give the cashier a hard time counting.
Locations
Search the nearest QuikTrip gas station and convenience store based on your zip code.
3. J.P. Morgan Chase
J.P. Morgan Chase ranks among the most widely known commercial banks in the U.S. Although it used to carry coin counters, most locations got rid of them once inflation forced consumers to use higher dollar denominations.
Coin Exchange Fees
J.P. Morgan Chase doesn’t charge customers and non-customers for exchanging their coins for bills. However, you might have to pay a small ATM fee upon withdrawal if the money goes straight to your bank account.
Coin Exchange Process
Any J.P. Morgan Chase branch will exchange up to $250 worth of coins. However, note that the tellers will ask you to roll them in $10 and $20 coin wrappers.
If you need to exchange more than $250, you might have to drive down to a different J.P. Morgan Chase branch.
Locations
J.P. Morgan Chase has 4,700 locations in 39 different states. Its business website shows you the nearest branch based on your zip code.
4. Bank of America Corp.
The Bank of America stands among the top four largest financial institutions in the country. If you already have an account with it, consider depositing or cashing your old coins at a nearby location.
Coin Exchange Fees
The Bank of America doesn’t charge a fee. You can ask the teller to exchange your coins for bills as long as you follow the bank’s rolled-coin policy.
Coin Exchange Process
The Bank of America accepts various coins. As long as you roll them in $10 to $20 coin wrappers, most tellers will serve you even if you don’t have an account with them.
However, the Bank of America emphasizes that it doesn’t accept foreign coins. You can only exchange quarters and pennies.
Locations
The Bank of America has 4,300 locations in the U.S. Visit the nearest branch near you.
5. Citi
Citi only removed the Citibank coin counter in the last few years. Although many branches still exchange coins for bills, some tellers might reject your request if they don’t have enough bills at the till.
Coin Exchange Fees
Citi doesn’t charge fees when exchanging coins. However, you might pay ATM withdrawal fees if the teller says you can only deposit your coins to your bank account before encashment.
Coin Exchange Process
Sadly, Citi only caters to account holders. Whether or not a specific branch accommodates your exchange request depends on the teller, so make sure you ask nicely.
Also, roll your coins in coin wrappers to make counting easier.
Locations
Citi has 700+ branches in the U.S. You can find a nearby branch based on your zip code on its business website.
6. Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo has a lenient policy on exchanging coins. Although tellers prefer working with customers and account holders, non-customers can still exchange their coins for bills at any branch.
The institution got rid of its publicly available coin counters. However, tellers and cashiers still have these machines at the back of their desks for seamless, hassle-free coin cash-ins.
Coin Exchange Fees
Wells Fargo doesn’t charge a fee for exchanging coins. Both customers and non-customers can walk away with cold hard cash without paying for anything.
Coin Exchange Process
Wells Fargo only accepts rolled coins. But you can ask for $10 to $20 wrappers from bank tellers if you don’t have them yet.
Locations
Wells Fargo has more than 4,900 branches in the country, making it one of the most widely known and accessible commercial banking institutions.
7. Credit Unions
Non-profit financial institutions like credit unions typically follow more lenient coin-cashing policies, especially when it comes to account holders. You can rely on these cooperative banks to turn your coins into bills.
Coin Exchange Fees
Unfortunately, credit unions have differing rates. However, considering that most of these institutions pride themselves on low, affordable rates, they probably won’t charge clients for exchanging quarters.
Coin Exchange Process
Credit unions used to carry coin counters. However, with the cost of inflation, fewer people were depositing coins into their accounts, so financial institutions no longer needed them.
Of course, some institutions wanted to keep their coin counters. Sadly, most of them only get used a handful of times per week, which doesn’t even cover the machine’s maintenance and repairs.
As such, expect most credit unions to count coins manually. There’s no fixed policy, but out of courtesy, consider rolling your coins so that the teller doesn’t spend too much time on your transaction.
Locations
Visit any local credit union where you have an account.
Paying With Your Coins
Again, many locations will exchange your quarters for bills. However, if you don’t want to roll coins up in tiny coin wrappers for hours, or if you think Coinstar’s fees are too high, you can buy stuff with your coins instead.
This tip primarily benefits those who have less than $100 in quarters. Instead of wasting time, money, and gas exchanging small amounts of coins, use them at stores with self-checkout kiosks, like the following:
Home Depot
Home Depot currently has 2,300+ stores. Although it has fewer locations than rival big-box stores, it boasts one of the best self-checkout technologies on the market. You won’t encounter many malfunctions.
Target
Target has 1,900+ stores in the U.S. Although each location has a self-checkout counter, Target shoppers often encounter some kind of issue. Avoid using deformed, dirty coins to ensure seamless checkouts.
Walmart
Walmart has 4,740+ locations in the U.S., and each one has up to 12 self-checkout counters, so you won’t have to worry about a line forming at the till as you insert your coins individually.
Pumping Coins Back Into the Circulation
So, can you exchange coins for cash? Of course!
If you don’t mind rolling quarters in coin wrappers, deposit them over the counter at your local commercial bank or credit union. You won’t have to pay for anything.
Alternatively, those who find coin wrappers a hassle can look for establishments with coin cashing machines. For example, coinstar lets clients dump their quarters into their kiosks’ counters. However, most of these locations charge steep fees ranging from 10% to 12%.
Overall, you’ll have several ways to cash in coins for dollar bills, so you don’t have to hoard your old, unused quarters at home anymore. Assess what method best suits your preferences.
Aidan has been writing about personal finance for over 6 years. Prior to this, he worked as a Corporate Finance Analyst where he specialized in Due Diligence, Company Valuations and more. He is a CFA charterholder.
