If I want to pay with pennies, I should be able to!

I've never tried to use that many pennies at one time to pay for something to drink or eat. I have emptied my billfold of lots of change - many dollars, though, and the cashier was always happy to get it. In fact, I've been asked for pennies myself by cashiers at the fast food restaurants. I think we get so set on giving them $1,$5,$10, & $20's that we actually forget it takes lots of change at times to give us what we have coming back to us. But then, some cashier's can't even make change! This morning I paid for 2 breakfasts with $20. The cashier handed me $2.25. I looked at her sort of funny and said, "I gave you $20" and she said, "No you didn't". I told her I did because all I had in my billfold was 2 one dollar bills and the $20. She was going to call a manager, but she looked down at the ticket, and I think she realized she had keyed in $10 instead of $20 and that's why she gave me the wrong change. She couldn't count in her head. She finally opened the drawer and gave me my $10.

On a technically yes, any legal monetary tender has to be accepted even pennies, but I'm gathering you didn't have the pennies rolled up. Sometimes when I'm short I drag out my jar that is loaded with pennies, but I do wrap them up in rolls...believe it or not though I don't take them to a bank...my bank will actually charge a fee for accepting pennies, can you believe that? ...I have better luck getting the cash (bills) equivalent if I give them to a mag/cig store.

Oh thats not right! Ive paid for things in change lots of times. They probably were too lazy to count it!LOL

I get rid of my small change a handful at a time in the self checkout machines in the Supermarket!

Usually most stores over here in The Bahamas is always looking for change,lol.I try and keep all of my change and at the end of the month I roll it up and take it to the bank.It is usually enough to pay at least my cable bill,sometimes another bill as well.This is of course if my kids dont find it and use it for junk food at the store.I enjoy keeping my pennies though snd dont use them,lol.I have some huge glass bottles that I put them in and then when I am really broke I wil break the bottles and change the pennies into paper money and do something useful with it,So far I have one jar completely full and I am guessing its about $60.00-$80.00 in there.

Thats one of the most absurd things I have ever heard of, especially since money is money. I have never encountered a problem with using change as payment, actually, sometimes I wind up collecting so much change that I bring it in to the local candy stores or delis and exchange it for bills, and they are more than happy to make the exchange.

I have been a lot of places that would not take pennies like this. One place even said if they would have been rolled up, they would not take them either. I think the thing is a lot of people do not want to take the time to have to count them, and them roll them up. I know back when I was a Cashier, it would depend on how busy we were as if I could accept them like that or not. My best suggestion for you, would be to consider rolling them yourself, and then try using them there. They should have no problem I would think accepting them then. It is worth a shot.

well, to be honest with you, i work as a cashier and i will be very annoyed if a customer pays me with so many pennies... especially if i have a long queue of customers waiting and it takes time to count that money and put them in my til... also, i don't have that much space to count that many loose change... on top of that, if i loose the penny, then i won't be balance at the end of the day... so, why don't you bring them to the bank and change them there??? it is much easier and that is what bank is for... i know money is money... but you have to be considerate to other customers as well when you go shopping and then pay with pennies... take care and have a nice day...

I also remember a bus driver refusing to take some pennies in payment for a bus fare many years ago in Australia. He reckoned it was not legal tender! Money is money, I thought!

Lol, I worked as a cashier in a restaurant before and if someone paid with rolls of change, I think we had to open them up to make sure they were full of money, but we still took them. I've had to pay for things with wrapped change before, but not quite $50 in pennies. That would be alot. I've taken $50 in pennies to the bank to cash in before, and even there I felt like I was being a pain even though it's their job! Lol.

Why would want to do that. Don't you know that pennies takes long to count. Time is money and money is time. Didn't you did time management in school. The time they are going to take to count those pennies they maybe loss three to four customers. Have a heart when you go those shops. Go to the bank with those small things and make them weight it and give you paper.

Oh wow that is strange .You should be able to pay in change no matter if it is pennies .I am sorry that happened to you .I assume the cashier just didn't want to take the time out with the pennies. I have paid in dimes before ,because that is all i had in my pocket at the time.My gram used to keep rolls of pennies all the time ,and one time went food shopping with that .It was crazy she had had like 20 rolls .

Don't really know where you live, but I remember that in Canada, there's a maximum number of pennies you can pay in one transaction. Can't remember if it's 25 or 24, but I'm pretty sure 150 is well over 24 and 25. Besides having it illegal, nobody working as a cashier would want to count "one... two... three... four..." all the way to 150. I know it's legal tender, but it's much less than entertaining for the cashier to count all the pennies.

They are still legal tender in the US and I don't think by law a company can refuse to take them.. not really sure what you could do about it though. Kind of unrelated, but a coworker of mine went to a fast food restaurant (sandwich place) and had his order made. He goes to pay (it's 5 pm so during the dinner rush), and he hands them a $20. His order was somewhere around $6. The cashier said they couldn't take a $20 as they couldn't make change. Seriously? Places need to plan better... they told him that he'd have to pay via credit card, he refused and said they would have to give him the food for free if they couldn't take his legal tender. They gave it to him.

Yes, it is legal tender. I do not understand, most places are actually anxious to receive pennies and welcome them eagerly. I would not patronize that store,in the future. Did they give a reason?

well in my country we have limits on coins. they are legal tender only up to certain amounts. for five cent coins, we can only use them to pay up to $2 worth of bill. for ten and twenty cent coins, we can use them for up to $10. there are no limit on $0.50 and $1 coins. i find that it's pretty good in this sense as i cannot imagine a person paying a $120 bill with all five cents. however, they should not reject your payment simply because it's in pennies. a buck fifty in pennies is definitely legal tender. why don't you check with your central bank and try to lodge a complain against the coffee shop?

I usually never spend change. Instead i pile it up, roll it and take it to the bank. I call it my retirement savings. Yes, it is legal but they probably didnt want to count it out. Cant blame them for that especally if they were busy. Were they rolled or loose? I did hear awhile back that they were going to take the penny out of the system. I had over $400. in change when i heard that. That is why i took them to the bank and have ever since.

I have an answer that I used in a similar discussion prior to this one. I used to work in a movie theater. It was not unusual for someone to come to the box office with a bag full of coins. I asked the manager if I could refuse payment entirely in coins. He said, "It's money, you have to accept it." There is a discussion here on myLot about a man who got upset when he tried to buy gasoline with ten dollars in pennies. Looking at an example of a gas station, it is a private business and they reserve the right to refuse service to anyone. If he had remained calm and called the police himself first, I think that things would have turned out differently. Under the right circumstances, I would not be surprised if the police would verify the coin count. Then he would have achieved his goal. What if he had handled things differently? I agree with you as a consumer, I should be able to pay with pennies. I have tried and succeeded and also been refused. Banks will give you paper rolls and make you roll your coins, get back in line and wait again. If you really want to make an issue of it, you need to spend a lot of time documenting the situation and complain to the proper government agency. I think it is the Federal Trade Commission. Most people wouldn't bother.

Dear bonbon664... I agree...pennies ARE legal tender. I'm a smoker, and at one time, I only had pennies to pay for a large pack. (and that's a lotta pennies!) Surprisingly, the store manager was greatful that day as he didn't have enough pennies to make change. Mind you, he wouldn't accept them if they weren't wrapped up. But he DID allow my purchase. I figure...if a store owner doesn't accept money, no matter WHAT denomination it's in, then they shouldn't even be in business. commanderxo

I have had that problem too. I think that they should accept it. It's still money. It's still worth the same amount. People are just lazy. I've also had problems trying to pay with $50s and $100 bills. A lot of places wont accept them cuz they are afraid of being robbed. Pretty soon I think we will only be able to pay with credit cards and not any kind of cash or checks.