How to Estimate How Much Money Is in Your Change Jar

Image: John Brueske (Shutterstock).

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The catch with utilizing these numbers to make your own quick price quotes is that you will still have to separate your coins prior to you weigh them, which is a little a hassle– but thats where the Coin Jar Calculator actions in. This basic site offers you a strong price quote based upon the weight of a container of combined coins as judged by a representative handful of coins.
Obviously, if you just desire to turn the cash into cash, you can always hit up your bank or a Coinstar at your grocery shop. If you want to make a fast estimate of what you have lying around, the by-weight calculation is a beneficial trick to keep in mind.
This post was originally published in May 2011. It was updated in August 2020 by Joel Cunningham to add contemporary context, replace ended links, refresh screenshots and include a new header image.

America is in the midst of a significant coin scarcity, and like nearly every blaze contributing to this trash fire of a year, this one was lit by the pandemic. As we first explained back at the beginning of July, the decrease in in-person shopping and banking during the COVID crisis has kept countless coins out of blood circulation.

As we initially discussed back at the start of July, the decrease in in-person shopping and banking throughout the COVID crisis has actually kept countless coins out of circulation. If your coins are separated by denomination, its a simple matter of making an estimation based on weight. According to the United States Mints coin requirements page, a quarter weighs 5.67 g. Turns out that $10 in quarters weighs half a pound, which is definitely hassle-free.

Screenshot: Joel Cunningham (( Fair Use).

Perhaps prior to you do, you wish to choose if heading to the bank deserves the journey (even if you are masked and keep your range, every outing brings some degree of danger, after all). If so, theres a simple way for you to approximate how much cash is in your change container– without counting it.
Its a simple matter of making a computation based on weight if your coins are separated by denomination. For instance, according to the United States Mints coin requirements page, a quarter weighs 5.67 g. Turns out that $10 in quarters weighs half a pound, which is definitely hassle-free. At 2.268 g per penny, one pound of pennies also equates to $20. Things arent as clean with other coins– one pound of nickels (each 5g) comes out to approximately $4.50, for example.