Pennies won't pay your parking ticket

We've all been on the receiving end of a parking ticket we felt was unjust wishing there was some way to, "stick it to the man," while avoiding a night in jail. One New Jersey man recently decided he was going to "fight back" by paying his $56 fine completely in pennies, only to be turned down after he lugged the 112 rolls of pennies into the courthouse. To top it all off, because of non-payment, he had to pay an additional $90 to get out on bail because a warrant had been issued for his arrest!

While the New Jersey Court hasn't commented on why it wouldn't take the coins, there is a precedent for not accepting large amounts of coins as payment. While some may argue that the government must take accept them as a form of payment, at least one district court has a policy which lets clerks turn down any amount of coins which would be a burden to accept. Something I'm sure the Bloomfield Municipal Court will be writing up in the next few days.