I cleverly used free child labor to sort the coins.
Photo: Evgenia GUSEVA. Go to Photobank KP
“Coin Week” has begun in Russian banks. During this period, you can give them change without commission. This action was launched by the Central Bank to return to circulation the coins that were idle among Russians. This week lasts until October 20 inclusive. If you have a piggy bank with coins collecting dust, it’s time to hurry up. I’m here now.
THREE LITER BUCKET AND COIN BUCKET
I don’t know about you, but I’ve loved stashes since childhood. They warm the soul and give confidence. The more there are, the better. And do you know what the last stash is, in case of emergency? A three-liter jug and an iron bucket with coins. They have been in the garage for several years. And little by little… they depreciate. This year, watching prices and deposit rates rise, I realized it was time to break this piggy bank. More precisely, take it carefully to the bank.
But… not everything is so simple. The vast majority of banks will only accept your currency in graded form. This is established in the bases of the promotion. Therefore, task number one is to distribute the rounds according to their face value.
To be honest, I had a cunning plan for this: use free child labor. At first the plan worked. The older man actively participated in the process. I began to build columns of different denominations. But from time to time it distracted me. Especially when he found not our coins, but foreign coins (in the piggy bank there was a hodgepodge of small coins from different trips).
“Oh, this is for my pig, because here is an oak tree drawn,” the daughter rejoiced at her next find.
– Oh, and this is for the fairy, because here is a flower!
– But this one is for me, because a girl is drawn here.
At that moment the youngest came to the rescue. Well, how to help… First, he began to carry the most beautiful coins, in his opinion. Then he simply took and stole a column of five-ruble coins. And he came for the next one.
– What coins do you need?
– I need everyone! – The youngest was not tormented by the choice and grabbed another bunch in his palm.
“All of me,” I wiped away a fatherly tear.
In general, the family’s patience only lasted half an hour. My neck hurt and the kids lost interest. More precisely, they took their commission and went to the kindergarten to play in the store. And I was getting ready to go to the bank. But then she appeared…
TREASURE HUNT WITH MAGNIFYING GLASS
– What are you doing here, huh? – asked the wife who had just woken up.
The children began to show their findings to their mother and I showed her the neat columns.
– Do you want to take all this to the bank? – The wife opened her eyes wide. -Did you look at them carefully? There may also be rare coins that cost a fortune!
If I smoked, I would immediately buy a whole pack. A smartphone and a magnifying glass appeared in my wife’s hands. In the first one, he looked at the list of rare coins and then carefully searched for the necessary curls in the 10-kopek rounds.
– Did you know that a rare coin can cost 300 thousand rubles? – My wife looked at me reproachfully through a magnifying glass (which made it even more edifying).
In total, at least another hour passed. About 10 coins were taken out of my pile for further review. After that I finally went to the bank.
THE STORES ARE ALSO IN BUSINESS
At first I wanted to take the change to the nearest branch. But it turned out that coins as part of the promotion are not accepted everywhere. In order not to wander around the city with a bag of money (it sounds like that!), it is better to check the specific address on the coinweek.rf website in advance.
In total, 4 thousand divisions of 159 banks participate in the campaign. They are found in all regions of the country. The feature of this year is that supermarket chains (Pyaterochka, Auchan, Chizhik and Monetka) also participate in the promotion. The last one, as they say, is dictated by the name itself. In total, there are another 3.5 thousand points of sale.
It is true that supermarkets have more restrictions. Not all currencies are accepted there and only at certain times. It is better to consult the specific admission conditions on the promotion website itself. But for the most part they are the following:
coin acceptance from Monday to Thursday, from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.;
the minimum exchange amount is 50 rubles;
coins of 1, 2, 5 and 10 rubles are accepted;
the currency must be classified by denomination;
change only for bills.
“PEOPLE BRING MUCH MORE”
I had a lot of pennies, so I went to the bank. The cashier looked at me with a tired expression. And he began to take out a machine to count coins.
– Do you have a lot?
– Two kilograms.
– Did they break it down at the same time?
– Certainly!
– But I immediately see that they were placed carelessly…
The cashier’s trained eye noticed 50 illegal kopecks in a bag of one-ruble coins. The coin counting machine looks like the mouth of an extinct volcano with compartments for different denominations of coins. That is, in theory, he can classify the coins himself.
– In theory, of course yes. But in practice this is often incorrect. That’s why we charge it separately,” the cashier explained.
The entire counting process took about 10 minutes. Another 5 minutes were spent on paperwork.
– You still don’t have enough money. People often bring more. Half an hour, 40 minutes, sometimes, we count,” the cashier laughed.
The total amount is rounded down to the nearest 50 rubles. I received 558 rubles and 25 kopecks. They gave 550 in bills, the rest they returned in change. Okay, I’ll do it next time. The three-liter coin jar is still in the hiding place. There was not enough time or desire for it. And the treasure hunter has already had her eye on him. But I will not repeat my mistakes. I’ll fix it quietly: one in the garage.
For two kilos of coins at the bank they gave me 550 rubles. If I had delivered it for non-ferrous metals, I would have received ten times less.
Photo: Evgenia GUSEVA. Go to Photobank KP
QUESTION – RIB
Can I return coins at other times?
Can. And in several ways:
1. To the bank. True, in this case you will be charged a small commission: 1-3% of the amount, but not less than 150-200 rubles.
2. To the supermarket. For example, grabbing something and throwing a bag of change at the register. But in this case there is a danger of ruining your karma. Counting coins, especially small ones, can take a long time. And if there is only one cash register in the store, other customers, to put it mildly, will not be happy.
As experienced people advise, it is best to first approach a store employee and ask if you need change. They usually accept them with great pleasure, especially 10 ruble coins. In large stores change is always needed. It is requested separately from the banks.
3. For non-ferrous metals. Coins will be accepted at scrap price. This is approximately 25 rubles per kilogram. It is only profitable if you have bags of 1 or 5 kopek coins. It is more profitable to hand over all other denominations to the bank.
4. In special receivers. It is something like an ATM that sorts coins by itself. Just throw them in your mouth. You wait for the machine to calculate everything. And you will receive your money on your bank card or telephone account. True, minus a fairly large commission: about 20%. A great advantage is that it is not necessary to order anything beforehand. But there is also a drawback: you won’t be able to load a bag of coins right away. The container for receiving coins is relatively small.
You can find units of this type in some shopping centers; the addresses of points in Moscow are located on the coincom.ru website;
