Makes a lot of cents: Giant Eagle issues over $2 million in gift cards through penny exchange

From a few rolls held in one hand to buckets so heavy they were best hauled in a shopping cart, Giant Eagle’s double-your-money offer for pennies was too good for many to pass up Saturday.

“With the way the economy is, every little extra bit of money helps. This is free money,” said Nancy Planitzer of Arnold, who expected to get a $9 Giant Eagle gift card for the $4.50 in pennies she brought in a small bag to the New Kensington Giant Eagle.

“So many people have extra pennies, and they don’t utilize them. This is an excellent idea,” she said. “When someone is giving away free money and you don’t take advantage, it’s your tough luck.”

Patty Bonacci of Murrysville kept her pennies in a Mason jar at home. She brought them to the Market District in Murrysville to swap for a gift card.

“My kids — I don’t know what’s wrong with them, but they would just throw pennies away,” she said with a laugh. “But this is great. I’m going to hang onto the gift certificate to use later this month.”

For a chain with more than 200 regional stores, the promotion was an easy way to restock its supply of pennies, which are no longer in production at the U.S. Mint and are being phased out in the national currency supply.

In a matter of hours, Giant Eagle received more than 100 million pennies across its 200 stores, said Bill Artman, president and CEO.

“This number is nothing short of amazing.” he said. “This incredible experience will ensure we can provide exact change to customers for months to come. But more importantly, it resulted in more than $2 million in Giant Eagle gift cards being awarded to our customers at such an incredibly important time for our communities.”

While the turn-in was scheduled to run from 11 a.m. to 4 pm., New Kensington store manager Alana Craig said they had people arrive as early as 8 a.m., with store employees serving them to get some practice, and more arriving around 10 a.m.

At one point, a customer said, the line to exchange pennies stretched from the checkouts at the front of the store to the deli at the back.

“Our goal is not to run out of pennies for the holidays,” Craig said, adding that Giant Eagle will shuffle the pennies around its stores as needed.

Customers weren’t required to have their pennies wrapped. Giant Eagle was determining their value by weight; at the New Kensington store, they used the checkout scales to weigh them. A pound of pennies, Craig said, came out to $1.81.

John Adams of Plum said he’d been accumulating pennies for the past three years. He brought them to the New Kensington store in plastic containers. He figured he had $75 worth, which would get him $150 on a Giant Eagle gift card.

“It’s great. It’s really great,” he said. “It’s going to help a lot of people out, believe it or not.”

Kim Holley didn’t have many to turn in, but she had a plan.

“If it gives me $15 worth, I’ll put it to seafood. They have the best frozen shrimp,” she said.

Bob Matviko of Allegheny Township said he had a habit of wrapping coins when he was mad at his wife, Sue. They had two buckets full of wrapped pennies.

“That was a lot of arguing with my wife,” Bob said.

“This is the only place I know where you can double your money,” he said. “They’re giving away a hell of a lot of money.”

Sue said they’ll give the gift cards to their kids.

“Their families could use it more than me,” she said.

While some shoppers said they will use their gift cards in the future, others turned around and spent the money right away.

“We’re just going to use it for today’s grocery shopping,” said Ellen Hanna of Murrysville. She and her husband collected pennies in small bins all over their house.

John Planic of Murrysville is a little disappointed that the U.S. Mint has ceased producing pennies.

“I’ve been collecting pennies since I was knee-high to a grasshopper,” Planic said.

But he’s not so disappointed that he didn’t collect his pennies and bring them to the store.

“I made sure to check for wheat pennies first,” he said, referring to the pennies minted between 1909 and 1958 that feature two stalks of wheat on the reverse side. The pennies are popular with collectors, and certain varieties can be rare and valuable.

Holley said she won’t miss the penny much.

“I really don’t think much of it,” she said. “You charge everything these days.”