Changemaster

I have found more devious ways to change my small coins into big ones. While hanging around the train station this evening (as you do), I noticed that the whizzy new vending machines take 5p coins.

Needless to say, I first tested that it was happy to accept 30 five pee coins in exchange for a delcious bag of peanut M&Ms. I can confirm that it was indeed happy to do so.

A bit later I had another idea, and returned to test it further. This is one of those machines that counts up how much you're putting in, but doesn't keep "your" coins in a special place so that it can give you back if you ask for them. No sir. So if you stick 40 five pee coins in (which takes a while), all it will know is that you've put £2 in. So if you press the 'refund' button, instead of getting back a pocket full of silver, it gives you back a single shiny £2 coin. Much better.

I am pleased with this discovery and shall be using it to exchange all my small silver coins into nice big ones. And if I get any more £2 coins along the way, then that's great too. (I take the view that they're too nice to spend, so I "save" them in a little pile on the table.)

So all hail vending machines. As someone famous once said, "you've just got to know how to work 'em."