What to Do With Old Pennies: Practical Options - Creative Crafthouse

Updated October 21, 2026

You can still spend or deposit U.S. pennies where they are accepted. The U.S. Mint ended production of the circulating penny in November 2025, but existing pennies remain legal tender. For a jar of change, choose where you want the value to go, check that destination's rules and keep a handful if you want to play a game with them.

The U.S. Mint's final-production announcement and Treasury's penny FAQ explain the change. Stopping new production is different from taking every penny out of use. The coins on your dresser still hold their face value. The useful question is where you want it to go, and how much preparation or cost that choice requires.

Decide what you want before emptying the jar

Keep a fewSet aside pennies with a family connection before taking the jar anywhere.

Choose a payoutCompare a deposit, cash, a usable gift card or a donation in the table below.

Keep some for Penny DropPenny Drop starts with twelve pennies per player.

Choose the destination before preparing the jar. Keeping some pennies and depositing the rest can be one plan.

Do you want cash, a deposit, a gift card you will actually use or a donation? Those are different outcomes. A convenient machine may have a fee; a bank may want coins prepared in a particular way. Choosing first avoids arriving with a heavy jar and finding that the option you wanted is not available.

Set aside coins you want to keep before taking the rest anywhere. That can be as simple as a coin with a family connection. If you suspect a collectible, obtain a knowledgeable appraisal instead of treating a date list on a shopping blog as a valuation. This guide does not price rare coins or estimate copper scrap value.

Option	Before you go	What to keep in mind
Deposit at your bank	Ask your branch about rolled or loose coins, account requirements and any charge.	Treasury says some banks may require larger quantities to be rolled or wrapped.
Spend them	Check the shop accepts the payment you plan to make.	Legal-tender status is not a promise about every shop's payment policy. Treasury says stores may round the final cash total to the nearest five cents when penny change is unavailable; state rules can differ.
Coinstar cash	Read the fee shown for your kiosk and choice.	Cash fees vary; compare the amount you will receive.
Coinstar eGift card	Choose an available brand you will use; check its fee.	Many U.S. locations offer 0% options, but fees and availability vary.
Donate	Check the charity or collection accepts loose coins.	For kiosk giving, read processing terms too.
Keep some for play	Put 12 pennies per player with a penny-edition Penny Drop.	The same pennies are redistributed for the next round.

For a bank deposit, call the actual branch

Treasury advises checking with your bank in advance and notes that some banks require larger quantities to be rolled or wrapped. Ask whether the branch will accept your coins, how to prepare them and whether you need an account there. Do that before spending an evening rolling them.

Ask the branch before you roll

AcceptanceCan I deposit this jar, and do I need an account?

PreparationShould the pennies be loose or rolled?

Cost and amountIs there a fee or a limit?

Keep the branch's answers with the coins so whoever makes the deposit has the same instructions.

For a coin kiosk, compare the payout on its screen

On October 21, 2026, Coinstar's help center says cash fees can include up to 15.9% plus a transaction fee up to $0.99, with fees varying by location. Coinstar says most U.S. locations have 0% eGift-card options, but fees vary by brand, retailer and location. Read the actual choice before beginning; do not assume every gift card is fee-free.

Coinstar: before, during and after

Prepare the coinsCoinstar requires clean, dry coins with debris and other objects removed.

Check the payoutRead Coinstar's displayed fees before beginning. Check the return tray for rejected coins.

Keep the voucherRedeem a Coinstar cash voucher on the day Coinstar issues the voucher.

Coinstar's help center is the source for this kiosk checklist. The exact choices and fees depend on the kiosk.

If you choose a gift card, choose somewhere you will use it. A fee saving is not useful if the balance sits unused. Keep the printed code securely and follow the redemption instructions. For a donation, read the processing terms; the amount processed and the charity's receipt should not be guessed.

Keep enough pennies for a game

Original Penny Drop wooden box with numbered playing lid and wooden die — The numbered sliding lid is the playing board. Players supply their own pennies.

If your family enjoys deciding whether to risk one more roll, keep twelve pennies per player from the jar for Penny Drop.

Creative Crafthouse's founder Dave Janelle invented Penny Drop in 2015. Penny Drop is a wooden dice game in which players race to empty their pennies, deciding whether to keep rolling after a safe roll. Creative Crafthouse recommends Original Penny Drop for 2 to 10 players. The printed Penny Drop rules allow two or more players, starting with twelve pennies each. Forty-eight pennies equips four players; that is forty-eight cents from the jar.

Penny Drop Original Premium includes a board and storage box, a die and printed rules. Players supply the pennies for Original Premium Penny Drop. If you want to keep a small game set ready, count the pennies into a container and store it with the board. The Penny Drop rules redistribute the pennies for another round, so you do not need a fresh supply each time.

Penny Drop: what one roll does

Roll 1-5: empty slotPlace ONE penny in the numbered slot that matches the die.
Roll 1-5: occupied slotTake ALL pennies showing on the board. Your turn ends.
Roll 6Drop ONE penny through the six into the Penny Drop box, where the penny stays out of play for the round.
After a safe rollRoll again or pass. You must roll at least once per turn; first with no pennies wins.

Highest opening roll starts; play moves clockwise. This rules diagram is for the penny editions.

A five on the die means the slot labeled five, not five pennies. That distinction is easy to miss in a short illustration. A six is also one penny, sent into the box. Repeated sixes are allowed; an occupied numbered slot is what ends a turn with a take-back.

The full official Penny Drop rules explain setup and the roll-again decision. You can also print the one-page rules and a score sheet from our Penny Drop rules and score sheets page. If you are choosing a board, compare the Penny Drop editions. Check the edition's playing pieces: Penny Drop Giant uses standard 39 mm poker chips rather than pennies.

Choose Original Penny Drop for a sliding-lid game you can put away with the pennies ready for next time, or compare the Penny Drop editions for your table.

Make the jar useful without buying anything

You can deposit, spend or donate the entire jar. You do not need a craft project or a shopping trip to make the jar useful. A deposit or donation may be exactly what you wanted. If you do not own a Penny Drop board, decide whether a shared dice game is something your household wants before buying one.

For more ways to choose something the household will actually play, see our family games guide.

Our guide to choosing and teaching a game night explains how the roll-again decision feels in play. For a gift, our ready-to-play wooden games guide lists the extra components to include before wrapping.