Loose Change

[Papa D]

Don't you hate when you walk into a town and hit the grocery or convenience store and your total is something like $4.06? - - there is rarely anything to buy with the 0.94. I sometimes throw it in the charity bucket but for thrus on a budget, that could add up. Coins are heavy and I don't want my little cash zip-lock full of them. So, what do other long distance hikers do with loose change?

[kayak karl]

i use it for tipping. if you planned on giving a tip of $3, make it a tip of $3.94.

[CrumbSnatcher]

i get rid of the pennies and keep the rest for soda machines or whatever, i have bought many of sodas from all the nickles,dimes and qaurters i have found laying around in shelters and places hikers have been. its only walking and sometimes its only walking with a soda :-)
i never worried about small thing like the weight of some loose change.

[WingedMonkey]

I consider it litter at shelters and carry it out.

[The Old Boot]

Just be glad you're not in Canada where both the $1. and $2. 'bills' are loonies and toonies.

I've been back living in Canada for 5 years now and still haven't adjusted to them - I've been throwing them in a basket to get them out of my pockets. I should have enough for my hammock and all the gear to go with it shortly...lol.

[Spokes]

According to this Yahoo Answers posts, the perfect amount of change to carry is 9 coins:

4 pennies
1 nickel
1 dime
1 quarter
1 half-dollar + (1 nickel or 1 dime)

......or 8 coins:
1 Half Dollar
1 Quarter
2 Dimes
4 Penny's

Anything else is extra weight.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/in...3111525AA5VWyP

[Don H]

Use a credit or debit card. The only thing left over is a receipt and they're pretty light weight or even disposable.

[moldy]

What do you think about the idiotic practice of leaving coins piled on little Ottie Powell's marker down in Virginia? I hope that poor thru-hikers gather them up every once in a while.

[Spokes]

I was amazed at how few places accepted credit cards up In New Hampshire and Maine.

[fiddlehead]

If there isn't one of those penny ashtray type things at the register (where I will leave any pennies or take some if needed), then I just give them to the cashier and tell them to give them to someone who is in need of pennies for correct change.
Quarters i'll keep.
Dimes and nickels? Good question. perhaps I'd keep dimes but nickels are hardly worth carrying sometimes.

America needs to do away with the pennies. They are just a pain. Round it off and be done with it.

[rocketsocks]

According to this Yahoo Answers posts, the perfect amount of change to carry is 9 coins:

4 pennies
1 nickel
1 dime
1 quarter
1 half-dollar + (1 nickel or 1 dime)

......or 8 coins:
1 Half Dollar
1 Quarter
2 Dimes
4 Penny's

Anything else is extra weight.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/in...3111525AA5VWyP

I've always carried
3 quarters
2 dimes
1 nickle
4 pennies
so I'd always have enough to pay without going into my pocket for another dollar..hmm
Samme same, I guess

[atmilkman]

If there isn't one of those penny ashtray type things at the register (where I will leave any pennies or take some if needed), then I just give them to the cashier and tell them to give them to someone who is in need of pennies for correct change.
Quarters i'll keep.
Dimes and nickels? Good question. perhaps I'd keep dimes but nickels are hardly worth carrying sometimes.

America needs to do away with the pennies. They are just a pain. Round it off and be done with it.

When I lived in Montana there was no sales tax. The price of most things was whatever.95, and you got a nickel back. You'd be suprised at how few pennies were actually in circulation. You actually collected more nickels than pennies. We just jarred them like pennies then cashed them in.

[Pedaling Fool]

America needs to do away with the pennies. They are just a pain. Round it off and be done with it.

I just imitate nature. When there's too many of them pesky quarks nature makes sub-atomic particles, sub-atomic particles become atoms, atoms become molecules, molecules become...


I roll up all my saved coins (including pennies) and convert them to dollars; a little simpler than nature.

[Sarcasm the elf]

I very often carry 3-4lbs of fresh fruits and vegetables with me when leaving town, so I guess the weight of spare change never crossed my mind. What about saving the change and dropping it into donation boxes at the donation only hostels? (in addition to the normal amount you would leave)

[BobTheBuilder]

I throw pennies away.

[RevLee]

Leave the pennies, take the silver. It's very disappointing to happen upon a soda machine near the trail and not have change. Kind of like finding an empty cooler at a road crossing.

[Kryptonite]

Use a credit or debit card. The only thing left over is a receipt and they're pretty light weight or even disposable.

You need change and cash too for the machines and soooo many places do not accept anything but cash.

[Old Hiker]

Leave the pennies, take the silver. It's very disappointing to happen upon a soda machine near the trail and not have change. Kind of like finding an empty cooler at a road crossing.

Drop the change in the empty cooler: the next hiker won't be disappointed and the Trail Magician can use it to restock.

[max patch]

Worrying about the weight of a few coins is like the person who cuts the edges off maps or half the handle on their toothbrush. May make you feel good but isn't going to change a thing about their hike or the effort expended. Funny how the same person that cuts 3 inches off of a strap on their pack in March is the same person who leaves town in August with a whole rotisserie chicken and a can of beer.

[atmilkman]

Worrying about the weight of a few coins is like the person who cuts the edges off maps or half the handle on their toothbrush. May make you feel good but isn't going to change a thing about their hike or the effort expended. Funny how the same person that cuts 3 inches off of a strap on their pack in March is the same person who leaves town in August with a whole rotisserie chicken and a can of beer.

Yah but he might be peeling the skin off first.