Coin collecting may be on the rise locally. And I'm not talking about wheat pennies and buffalo nickels.
Statistics show increased use of Metro Bank's Magic Money Machine, a free coin-counting service available to anyone, even if they don't have a Metro account.
Last week, I hung out in the lobby of the York Crossing Drive branch and talked to people as they dumped their pockets. Before counting the money, the Magic Money Machine asks users to estimate their total coinage.
If the guess is within $1.99 of the actual count, they get a prize.
One of the men I talked to, Jeff Schaffer, 59, of Dover Township, guessed wrong -- in a good way. He guessed $155.44. He left with $185.54.
Schaffer said he collected over $1,000 last year in loose change from his bartending gig.
He used the money to take a trip to Reno, Nev., where he plays Keno, a gambling game that uses Bingo balls, he said.
To read more about cashing in your coins, click here.
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