From the sound of it, the rate at which you turn the handle isn't directly connected to the dispensing rate.

I suspect the crank just turns a small generator that powers the rest of the mechanism, which dispenses pennies at fixed intervals.

Attaching the crank to a motor might kill the electronics with an overvoltage, but probably wouldn't produce any additional payout.

I'm a little confused by your comment in relation to tungsten's. I think he was just saying "easy money." A way around the need to manually crank.

Between your comment and tungsten's, I think I'm missing something.

Imagine for the sake of argument that these cranks produced value and were installed widely.

What would actually happen is that instead of motors, sweating wage slaves would be charged most of their crank's output merely for the privilege of being permitted to stand near it and turn it. Queues would form. Men with guns would watch and ensure that "their" crank's pennies are not "misappropriated."

If you find this scenario outlandish, realize that I have just described the history of land (and all other natural resource) ownership.