Gross things found when counting coins

[Ghel]

We have lots of customers bring in loose coin for us to count. We have a machine to count it, but we have to feed the coin into the machine, making sure there isn't any extra detritus in with the coin. I would be super embarrassed by some of the things found in coin jars, if it was my coin that I'd brought in.

Some things we've found over the years:
washers (that's pretty normal)
foreign coins (our machine usually kicks those out)
gum wrappers, receipts, and other bits of paper
rusty fish hooks
animal and human hair (super gross!)
gum, engine oil, pancake syrup and other sticky substances (This clogs up our machine, so we normally reject that coin right out if we notice.)

Today's was a new one:
a cigarette butt/filter

Thank goodness we have plenty of hand sanitizer around still.

[Seanette]

Somewhat related question: I remember a big deal being made about shortages of coins a few years ago. Is that still a thing?

[csquared]

You need to keep a package of disposable gloves. I would go as far as keeping my own stash.

[taxguykarl]

And maybe a mask. I've been handed tax documents that reek of tobacco more than once. With cannabis legal in Illinois, I wonder how soon to handle some that smell of that.

[Slave to the Phone]

I once gave my nephew five bucks to buy some Chucky Cheese tokens. He came back with this. I've had this for almost 40 years because it made me so verklempt.

[Dreamstalker]

I have my own stash of gloves, masks and sanitizer--I've become the de facto Coinstar un-jammer because I'm the only one who not only knows how to fix it but generally has the time to.

I've found cig butts in there before. Also hair (human; head and...otherwise, shall we say--thank dog I had eaten lunch long before), gum, a few sim cards and even one MicroSD card (I still have that and am waiting until I'm really ready to decommission my old desktop before trying to see what's on it). I have a jar on my desk with all the foreign coins and souvenir pennies I've collected.

The most lucrative thing I found years ago was a men's gold ring base. I thought it was costume, but hung onto it just in case...come to find out it was real gold and worth at the time around $600. Not too bad, two week's wages for 30 seconds of work.

[Ghel]

The fed just lifted our restrictions on ordering coin about 2 weeks ago.

Gloves would be a good idea. I don't know if coin is any worse than paper money, though. We keep plenty of hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes around.

We usually give the foreign coins back to the customer, if we notice them. Same with any objects that seem like they'd be of value. That reminds me of another thing I've found in coin recently - a smooth-polished agate. It was maybe 1/2" across. Very pretty. I gave it back to the customer.

[Dreamstalker]

I've also amassed a small collection of religious medals from the machine; I gave those to my mom and she's planning to put them all on a bracelet.

[EricKei]

Gloves would be a good idea. I don't know if coin is any worse than paper money, though. We keep plenty of hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes around.

I would recommend both for any kind of money. Supposedly, when it comes to bills having *ahem* an unpleasant substance commonly known to harbor e.coli particles on them (as well as cocaine molecules) isn't a matter of "If," but "How much."

Poop. I'm talking about poop.

[Sparklyturtle]

Yes - years ago when I was a waitress I once got a tip consisting of six quarters and a quarter-sized washer. The customers had been a group of plumbers and electricians who were working on the business next door and were on a coffee break. Probably an honest mistake. I also once got a 25-cent tip from a table whose bill was over $70, but that's another story.

[Arcus]

I used to work as an arcade tech. I have pulled things out with the coins that I have no idea how they made it to the cashbox. Because of this, I got very good at adjusting the coin mechs so they would only take quarters (I kept a stack bicentennial quarters on hand for testing because they were the thickest quarters ever made and would jam everything up on a poorly adjusted mech.) My hands were always black at the end of collection day from how dirty the coins were.