Personally I see this as a good thing. The less availability means the less usage. Hopefully this can eventually usher in an era of no coins what so ever.
Why do U.S. coins seem to be in short supply?
171–180 of 222 posts
Re: Why do U.S. coins seem to be in short supply?
#172Earlier quoted context omitted.
In Europe it is generally cheaper as a merchant to take credit vs cash, because they have low credit processing fees. Because of this they take credit for pretty much any transaction. In the US, it's not uncommon to see places only take credit for purchases over $20, especially restaurants.
This minimum card payment is not uncommon in Switzerland at mom-and-pop shops, in my experience. Chain stores and larger businesses always accept card payments, but I still need cash once in a while. I haven't actually seen this in restaurants in the US in a long time, although I have at some other small businesses, so maybe it's also somewhat regional.
Payment networks are relatively expensive in Switzerland and some contracts still charge a flat fee + percentage on every transaction, that's why you see these minimums at bakery shops and the like. Hopefully they'll eventually go away.
Re: Why do U.S. coins seem to be in short supply?
#173Earlier quoted context omitted.
Paying for parking without having to involve my phone or credit card is pretty nice.
I like paying for parking with my phone. It lets me extend when the time is about to run out and cancel the remainder when I leave early.
Does cancelling refund the extra to your card? I assumed most systems would just eat it so I may as well leave it for the next guy.
Re: Why do U.S. coins seem to be in short supply?
#174There’s a phenomenal amount of double-think going on in this sentence. “While there is an adequate overall amount of coins in the economy, the slowed pace of circulation has reduced available inventories in some areas of the country.” Literally the second clause contradicts the claim of the first.
You must be a conspiracy theorist! Ban him!
Welcome to the cashless society, sir :)
Re: Why do U.S. coins seem to be in short supply?
#175Re: Why do U.S. coins seem to be in short supply?
#176Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why don't Americans use half dollars? I think everywhere else I've travelled, someone (or a machine) giving change will optimize it to the fewest coins. £3.85 would be £2, £1, 50p, 20p, 10p, 5p. The only exception is something like a food stall that's set all their prices to multiples of €1 (I've seen this several times in Germany), they might keep plenty of €1 and €2 coins for change. If someone pays with smaller co…
Better yet, why don’t Americans use dollar coins? Having lived in Japan, I was a big fan of larger denomination coins. In Japan, the smallest bill is worth about $10 USD, and they have coins worth about $1 and $5. Having a pocket full of change could actually get you something nice! I actually treated two of my friends to a night out at our local izakaya for ~$100 with 20 coins. In an effort to promote the use of dif…
With the same size and very similar colours of the $1, $2 and $20 I'm not at all surprised people can be confused. I don't know how blind people cope.
They could make a $2 coin. It would fit in with other Western countries' highest-value circulating coins:
2 GBP = $2.53
2 AUD = $1.40
2 CAD = $1.47
20 DKK = $3.10
20 SEK = $2.20
20 NOK = $2.20
2 EUR = $2.29
50 CZK = $2.54
10 HKD = $1.29
2 NZD = $1.31
500JPY = $4.67
Re: Why do U.S. coins seem to be in short supply?
#177My bank told me the reason is the feds are capacity limited on coin decontamination. Bills they just burn and print more, but coins cost too much to re-smelt.
Considering the fact it cost more to make the penny than it's worth, I'm not surprised.
Re: Why do U.S. coins seem to be in short supply?
#178Earlier quoted context omitted.
That was my experience as well. It’s all odd because coins can be accurately weighed if the denomination is separated.
Often separating the coins isn’t necessary either. Because the value of a coin was historically the value of the metal it contained, many modern coin sizes still have a volume proportional to their value. US dimes, quarters, half dollars, and the old Eisenhower dollar coins are all $20/lb, for instance.
And that's today's at-home experiment with the kid locked in!
Re: Why do U.S. coins seem to be in short supply?
#179I think it might be worth it to consider what coins we use nowadays. When the half-penny was abolished, it had more purchasing power than a dime. [1] Could we get rid of at least the penny so there is less waste?
[1] https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/04/04/bringing-do...
Re: Why do U.S. coins seem to be in short supply?
#180Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yup. Father in-law had this quarter collection. For whatever reason he spent decades collections quarters from each of the states and had well over $500 worth of quarters. None of us wanted his quarters. He was able to sell them at 3 quarters per dollar, a 25% profit!
Depending on the age their might have been more value to collectors. Some coins contain far more than face value worth of metal
Anything new enough to be part of a "state quarters" collection isn't going to be old enough to have that much silver.