I'm always sorting through pocket change at a vending machine and finding pennies... My idea is that vending machines should add an extra row of buttons (or just re-label some existing buttons) with the names of various charities, and accept pennies so that you can simply buy your soda or candy bar, then dump in all the extra pennies and hit the button for your charity - the machine could even dispense a receipt for your tax records. I know that there are small gumball vending machines that give their profits to charity, and penny jars for donations to charity, so the real idea here is a) the choice of multiple charities, and b)catching people at a point when they have a handful of change containing oodles of pennies.
-- submitinkmonkey, Mar 09 2005

(?) Coinstar http://www.gilliomv...nstar/coinstar1.jpg
Include a drinks dispenser upon one of these [skinflaps, Mar 10 2005]

Charity rating organization http://www.charityn...mary/orgid/6116.htm
lists info on charities including administration costs [RBStimers, Mar 10 2005]

I don't have this problem in Australia, they don't have pennies, so an alternate remedy for this problem is for the government to get rid of pennies altogether!

I once paid for a game in pennies, and the game cost 20 pounds, so there were a lot of one pence and two pence pieces, the lady at the counter gave me the evil eye.
-- froglet, Mar 09 2005


I like it. It reminds me of Coinstar, which has a button that allows you to donate all of your change to charity. The thing is, I didn't haul all of my spare change over to the Coinstar machine just to give it away to some organization that will probably soak up 80% of it in administrative costs. However, at a soda machine, I'd definitely consider popping in a few extra nickels to help out those needy Tsunami families.
-- thefullrob, Mar 10 2005


[froglet] I'm in Australia too, but I can assue you it's a real problem in some countries where the value of the raw materials is more than the value of the coin. I like it [SIM].
-- neilp, Mar 10 2005


//donations to charity//, hmmmm, hmmmm, hmmm, (mens tapping foot), yes, my favorite vision of charity is the magic poof lady that makes everything better and I don't have to, you know. Charity needs solutions.
-- mensmaximus, Mar 10 2005


[UB], I suspect that [froglet] is an ex-pat Oz in UK.
-- angel, Mar 10 2005


//I once paid for a game in pennies, and the game cost 20 pounds// [froglet] You should know that that much copper is not legal tender, and shops are not obliged to accept it.
-- AbsintheWithoutLeave, Mar 10 2005


I didn't know that? [AWOL]
-- skinflaps, Mar 10 2005


I'm not sure of the exact figures, but I think only up to and including one pound of one penny pieces is legal.
I tried googling, but the only interesting fact I came up with (from the Bank of England website) is that Bank of England notes are only legal tender in England and Wales, and not Scotland or N.I.
-- AbsintheWithoutLeave, Mar 10 2005


"In the United Kingdom, only coins valued 1 pound Sterling and 2 pounds Sterling are legal tender in unlimited amounts throughout the territory of the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom legislation that introduced the 1 pound coin left no United Kingdom-wide legal tender banknote.
Currently, 20 pence pieces and 50 pence pieces are legal tender in amounts up to 10 pounds; 5 pence pieces and 10 pence pieces are legal tender in amounts up to 5 pounds; and 1 penny pieces and 2 pence pieces are legal tender in amounts up to 20 pence.
Coins and banknotes do not need to be 'legal tender' in order to be used as money to buy and perform other transactions for which money is intended. For example, British banknotes issued by various institutions circulate in the United Kingdom without being legal tender in all the jurisdictions of the United Kingdom."
From answers.com.
Note that "legal tender" is payment that cannot be refused in settlement of a debt. Payment that is *not* legal tender, such as £50 in pennies, can still be accepted, at the creditor's discretion.
-- angel, Mar 10 2005


[UB][angel] Yes, angel, you're right, I am aussie, but I was carted here with my family. (so there ya go.)
-- froglet, Mar 10 2005


"I didn't haul all of my spare change over to the Coinstar machine just to give it away to some organization that will probably soak up 80% of it in administrative costs. "

Do a little research on this site there are pleanty of charities that only have 15% administration cost and 85% goes to the program cost.
-- RBStimers, Mar 10 2005


"I didn't haul all of my spare change over to the Coinstar machine just to give it away to some organization that will probably soak up 80% of it in administrative costs. "

Do a little research on this site there are plenty of charities that only have 15% administration cost and 85% goes to the program cost.

[link]
-- RBStimers, Mar 10 2005


//I am aussie, but I was carted here with my family//
You're not Dannii Minogue are you?
-- angel, Mar 10 2005


[RBStimers], my personal experience right now is why would you give money to charity based on percentage? You don't think that your charity money goes to jail basically and that a cruel prison warden/ess abuses it? Video production is expensive but necessary to gauge results. Only a smart lean modern organization gets my vote.
-- mensmaximus, Mar 10 2005


WTAGIPBAN
-- krelnik, Mar 16 2005



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