A penny saved -- gets quite a range of reactions

I've been trying to take my own advice to recirculate coins I've been hoarding.  I counted and packaged my penny collection of the 1970s into 50 cents an envelope.  Since I don't have a CoinStar machine within walking distance, I thought retailer might actually appreciate pennies. 

Silly me.  I thought it might save them having to get the coins from their bank or crack open a roll into their cash register. 

Here's my experiences...best to worst...of trying to get pennies back into circulation two envelopes (100 pennies) at a time.

• The bank:  Happy to exchange for a dollar bill.  She didn't even count them.  I didn't bring my whole stash because I'd heard that banks often charge a coin-counting fee.
• Ten Thousand Villages:  "Oh, that's nice" when I said I was trying to get my pennies back into the main stream.
• The tea shop: Took the pennies.  Didn't count them, but used their scale to estimate.  Weighing one penny, he said I probably had 65 cents in the envelopes.  Makes me really wonder how accurate their scale is when charging for tea!
• The drugstore:  My bill came to $14.97, so I whipped out my 100 pennies.  She gave a sinister laugh, then a bit of a glare.  She counted them and let me keep 3 cents.  You could tell she wasn't that pleased since she'd likely have to count those 97 pennies over and over again.
• The newsstand:  I wanted to buy a lottery ticket with my pennies.  He wouldn't take them.  I pouted as I walked away feeling a bit humiliated.  Aren't pennies legal tender?

I still have 450 pennies left to recirculate.  Wish me luck!