This has probably been talked about in the length of this thread, but seeing as many of the commentators on the NPR story have mentioned it... there is a strong argument to be made that by taking the coins and putting them right in the bank you are violating the terms and purposes of the program (arguable obviously since you might want to say taking them to the bank is putting them in circulation).
Assuming this is against the terms, do you think most poskim would find it ethical OR halakhic to do this?
Ethical = because it doesn't violate the rules per se, but is definitely not in their spirit.
Halakhic = because it could 1) be a violation 2) Hillul Hashem if many Jews are doing it or 3) arguments about stealing from US taxpayers who foot the bill
Just a conversation piece. Not sure what the right answer is.