Take a penny, leave a penny

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Take a penny, leave a penny (sometimes Give a penny, take a penny or penny tray) refers to a type of tray, dish or cup often found in gas stations and convenience stores in North America, meant for convenience in cash transactions.^[1]^[2]

The small cup or tray near a cash register is designated as a place for people to place pennies they receive as change if they do not want them. Then, customers who, for example, need one cent for a transaction can take one of the pennies to avoid needing one of their own or breaking a higher-denomination coin or bill. The tray can also be used by cashiers when dealing with amounts slightly less than others easier to work with; the cashier may take a penny from the tray and then give the customer, for example, one quarter instead of 24 cents.

The penny tray is often given to the store by vendors whose products are sold at the store. The tray may have small advertisements for products such as smokeless tobacco, newspapers, or soft drinks displayed on them depending on which vendor supplied the store with the tray.