The TSA Made $675,000 Off Spare Change Left At Airport Security Checkpoints Last Year

The TSA Made $675,000 Off Your Spare Change Last Year
FILE - In this June 27, 2008 file photo, shoes and small liquid containers are placed in bins to be screened by TSA Supervisor Jennifer Haslip at the x-ray machine at Washington's Ronald Reagan National Airport. The TSA has demonstrated a knack for ignoring the basics of customer relations, while struggling with what experts say is an all but impossible task. It must stand as the last line against unknown terror, yet somehow do so without treating everyone from frequent business travelers to the family heading home to visit grandma as a potential terrorist. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)
FILE - In this June 27, 2008 file photo, shoes and small liquid containers are placed in bins to be screened by TSA Supervisor Jennifer Haslip at the x-ray machine at Washington's Ronald Reagan National Airport. The TSA has demonstrated a knack for ignoring the basics of customer relations, while struggling with what experts say is an all but impossible task. It must stand as the last line against unknown terror, yet somehow do so without treating everyone from frequent business travelers to the family heading home to visit grandma as a potential terrorist. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

Next time you pass through airport security, double-check your pockets. It's just common cents.

On Monday, the Transportation Security Administration released its 2014 fiscal year report, which disclosed the government agency collected almost $675,000 in loose change left behind by travelers in 2014 -- and it gets to keep every penny.

"TSA makes every effort to reunite passengers with items left at the checkpoint, however there are instances where loose change or other items are left behind and unclaimed," TSA press secretary Ross Feinstein said in a statement Tuesday. "Unclaimed money, typically consisting of loose coins passengers remove from their pockets, is documented and turned into the TSA financial office."

Last year's haul of $674,841.06 is only the latest in a steady increase of yearly collections: In 2008, the TSA collected a "mere" $383,413.79.

In a followup to the report, Feinstein added the airport with the most loose change last year was New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport, where passengers left behind $42,550 in spare change at the security checkpoint.

Last year's other top grossers include Los Angeles International Airport ($41,506) and San Francisco International Airport ($34,889). Here are the top 20:

loose change tsa airports

Before You Go

10. London Heathrow Airport, London, United Kingdom

The World's Best Airports For 2014

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