Coin-Sorting Money Jar

I made this Coin-sorting Money Jar for the loose change that is generally scattered around the house. It can be adapted for different size coins and could easily be made with less slots for a particular currency. For us, in Australia we have 6 coins to keep track of so the version I made has 6 openings with the sizes matching with the coins.

Supplies

1 Large Mason Jar with 2 piece seal lid - (I used a 1.5 litre or 19cm high)

Step 1: Gather Supplies and Tools.

Material Supplies:

1 Large Mason Jar with a 2 piece lid - (I used a 1.5 litre or 19cm high)

2 packets of makeup blender triangular sponges. (I picked these up at Kmart very cheap).

1 foam sheet

1 piece of cardboard Pipe Cleaners or a length of cord.

Blank piece of paper

Tools Required:

PVA Glue

Scissors

Marking Pen

Pen Knife

Chopstick

Small container or glass to trace a circle around.

Printer: If you would like to make copies of the coins you will need a printer.

Step 2: Making the Dividers.

To make the dividers for the coins to drop into you first need to roughly measure the jar. The height and width of the cardboard can be traced from the jar. Cut out one of these shapes from cardboard and check that it fits inside the jar. It needs to be touching the sides and bottom but just reaching the top at the thickest part of the jar.

Trace this shape you have made onto the cardboard and cut out 2 more of the same shape.

With the 3 shapes lined up side by side use the marker to mark halfway down each piece. Cut along the lines. Rotate the centre card so that you have 2 cuts from the top and 1 from the bottom.

Step 3: Making the Dividers Part 2.

Slot the card pieces together along the cut lines.

Fan them out so that they are divided into 6 parts.

Step 4: Preparing the Inside of the Jar.

Using one packet of the make-up triangles drop them into the bottom of the jar. Next put the card divider from the previous step into the jar and with the help of the chopstick manoeuvre the cardboard in-between the individual triangles.

I divided the triangles with 4 single triangles and 2 doubles. We have a large 50c and large 20c coin so the double space allowed them to fit.

If you feel there is too much space you can cut pieces from the second packet of triangles and add them in.

This is where I added the pipe cleaners. First the I joined them together with 2 small twists on the end then using the chopstick I pushed them around the inside of the bottom of the jar. This helped keep everything in place and prevented the coins from falling into the front of the jar. It looks a bit fancier too.

Step 5: Separating the Dividers at the Top of the Jar.

To make sure the card dividers stay apart at the top I used the second packet of triangles. I marked out a small circle on the top and cut outside this with scissors. I then glued a pair of the smaller triangles together for the larger coins. These were glued into the dividers. I dropped coins in at this stage to make sure i had the right fit and space for them to drop through.

Step 6: Making the Lid - Part 1

The next step was to make the lid for the coins to slot through.

Separate the 2 parts of the lid. Place the inner lid on the foam and mark around it. Cut this circle out and replace the inner lid into the outer ring with the foam cut out. Make sure this fits nicely.

Take the foam again and move to the next step.

Step 7: Making the Lid Part 2 - Completing the Coin Slots.

Place your coins around the foam circle so that they evenly spaced with enough room on each side so as to allow for separate slots.

Mark each side of the coin and then rule small rectangles just big enough for each coin.

Carefully cut these out with a penknife.

Step 8: Adding the Lid to the Jar.

Place the foam with the slots back in the lids outer ring.

Screw on to the jar making sure the slots line up with right dividers inside the jar. You may find it easier to place the foam on the jar in the right portion and the while carefully supporting it screw the outer ring on.

Step 9: The Finishing Touches.

To finish off I printed out photos of the coins for the sides of the jar and coin values for the top. I used PVA Glue to stick the values to the top and clear tape for the photos of the coins on the sides.