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Uncut Currency

usmint.gov

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Re: Uncut Currency

#251

Post by scarface_74 »

inetknght wrote: post #227
scarface_74 wrote: post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I use cash because it contributes to the local neighborhood economy more than not using cash. The merchant gets all except for a 2% fee when you don’t use cash. Cash handling also has cost - theft both from employees and outside actors - too. > I use cash because I do not want to risk a banking app being broken by a non-banking app. When has Apple Pay or Google pay ever been “broken”? Do you not use a bank at all o…

> When has Apple Pay or Google pay ever been “broken”? Dunno, don't care. I'm not going to mix my banking stuff with my non-banking stuff. Not being "broken" publicly doesn't mean it's bug-free. You and I both know that Apple Pay and Google Pay are both written with software and enabled via hardware. That doesn't mean it's bug-free. That doesn't mean it can't be broken. Why risk it? It's not worth losing your livelih…

> Dunno, don't care. I'm not going to mix my banking stuff with my non-banking stuff.

If you are really concerned with security, you should also be concerned with the security of your bank. Do you keep all of your money under your mattress?

> Why risk it? It's not worth losing your livelihood over a very slight convenience.

You realize that no one has ever lost money in an FDIC insured bank account because of either fraud or a bug in client software.

Do you also never use credit cards or debit cards? There have also been security issues with POS terminals and large retailers.

> Would you put a needle into your eye if your doctor told you to? No, of course not, you are not trained for it. So why would you install a banking app which grants access to your finances, and which cannot be proven to be secure against other apps running on the same device?

So do you fly when no one has proven with a 100% certainty that the plane won’t crash? Do you get in a car? Take medicines that haven’t proven not to have side effects? Would you go to the hospital knowing there is a chance you can get an infection that antibiotics can’t cure?

Re: Uncut Currency

#252

Post by scarface_74 »

mindslight wrote: post #247
scarface_74 wrote: post #240

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> be wielded to further economically disenfranchise most people Is Big Corp really going out of its way to “disenfranchise” consumers to make it harder to give them money?

First, yes companies make it directly harder for customers to give them money all the time with repeating high-discount sales, bespoke proprietary web/mobile store apps, captchas, loyalty/sunk cost programs, etc. These all frustrate market efficiency, so the company can then capture some of the surplus value accumulating due to friction. "Creating a moat" (aka market inefficiency) is like business school 101. But the…

> it's not that it will be "harder to give them money", but rather that you will be paying twice as much (ie not receiving coupons/vouchers to obtain the real competitive price) based on them knowing that you personally will still buy.

JCPenney has been doing that for decades. When Ron Johnson - the former CEO of Apple retail - came in as CEO and tried to get rid of the constant coupons and “sales” and implement everyday low prices, consumers rebelled and he was rapidly fired.

Even with cash, stores have loyalty programs that consumers gladly sign up for. In the mid 90s, I worked at Radio Shack which was infamous for tracking how often employees asked for names and addresses just to buy batteries

Re: Uncut Currency

#253

Post by coldpie »

scarface_74 wrote: post #208
coldpie wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those points don't come from nowhere, they come from the business you're buying from. For local businesses, I'd rather I keep 1% and the business keeps 2%, than Visa takes 3% from the business and gives me 1.5% back.

And people spend more when using credit cards than paying cash… https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/credit-cards/credit-cards...

I'm not really sure what you're trying to do in this thread. You asked why people like to use cash, and we're answering your question. You don't have to agree with us, it's OK for people to have different opinions about stuff.

Re: Uncut Currency

#254

Post by ternnoburn »

scarface_74 wrote: post #170
ternnoburn wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd argue neither political party is helping people with disabilities, and both are pretty strongly neglecting them. I don't think any of the current slate of politicians care at all. Bush I was a generation ago.

What exactly should the government be doing that it isn’t doing? I’m speaking as someone with a slight disability https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42611326 More details, it’s more of an irritation for me than a life altering issue - my CP is such that I can only grab things with my left hand and I have a slight limp because of weakness in my left foot. But properly conditioned, I can run a 10 minute mile (not gre…

Read some of the items here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42611374

Re: Uncut Currency

#255

Post by WalterBright »

forgetfreeman wrote: post #48
WalterBright wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's been a very very long time since I've seen a silver quarter in circulation.

When was the last time you changed a $5 bill at a carwash?

I have a jar of quarters from throwing my change in it. No silver quarters, ever. And yah, I can spot a silver one immediately. The color and feel is different, and the edge of course is the dead giveaway.

Re: Uncut Currency

#256

Post by scarface_74 »

inetknght wrote: post #244
scarface_74 wrote: post #241

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m saying it doesn’t “hurt” the merchant

Indeed? I'm saying it likely does hurt the customer and in ways that the customer often doesn't realize. That doesn't make it bad per se, but it would be great if more people would realize and address the risks involved.

> Those credit card perks are directly subsidized by the handling fees they charge your local businesses

The “local business” more than makes up for credit card fees via increased spending. They know their margins and the minimum amount needed to make a credit card transaction worthwhile. That’s why many have minimum transaction amount to use a credit card.

Re: Uncut Currency

#257

Post by valarauko »

rybosworld wrote: post #183
anonu wrote: post #117

50 $1s for $86 - thats highway robbery

There was a time when the mint would sell coins and bills at face value. The problem is, people started using that for manufactured spending to rack up credit card points. They added a premium to prevent this.

That seems reasonable, but why would the US Mint care about manufactured spend for credit card companies?

Re: Uncut Currency

#258

Post by muhammadusman »

nlh wrote: post #154

(Professional coin & currency nerd here) Fun fact about these — when the treasury first issued these, many people decided to cut them into odd off-center pieces and sell the resulting notes as miscut errors. Once that started happening, the treasury (BEP to be specific) very quickly changed the serial numbers so they’re all very recognizable as having come from an uncut sheet. I didn’t check the latest for all denomi…

kinda off topic but since you're an expert here: what do people do with these uncut sheets? Is it mainly for collectors?

also, my favorite form of getting currency is $2 bills in a 100 stack (so $200) from the bank. I used to use these for gift money on holidays :) but unfortunately my credit union doesn't order new stacks anymore, just jumbled up old $2 bills now.

Re: Uncut Currency

#259

Post by bityard »

bufferoverflow wrote: post #194
rufugee wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm shocked someone would pay $500 for an erroneously cut $1 bill.

Just because it's listed at $500, doesn't mean someone will pay that.

The sold listings for "miscut dollar bill" would beg to differ.

I am _always_ and _continually_ surprised at what people will pay for things. Literally _nobody_ scaled back their consumption or purchasing during post-COVID inflation. Home prices are sky-high but it's still a sellers market because buyers are scared that prices will jump again and instead of simply being a difficult purchase, maybe next year it will be an impossible one. Must be easy money being a realtor right now.

Every time I have sold something on Craigslist or FB Marketplace in the last few years, I list it 25% higher than what I'd actually pay if I were buying it myself and expect to be negotiated down to something sensible. So far, excluding the low-effort moronic "what's your lowest price" texts, exactly ZERO buyers have tried to negotiate down.

I have come to the conclusion that most people simply have no upper limit to what they will pay for something they want. A few will scoff and turn away. Some will complain about it on the Internet, but most will buy it anyway. I don't run a business but if I did, this would be my golden rule of pricing.

Re: Uncut Currency

#260

Post by nlh »

muhammadusman wrote: post #258
nlh wrote: post #154

(Professional coin & currency nerd here) Fun fact about these — when the treasury first issued these, many people decided to cut them into odd off-center pieces and sell the resulting notes as miscut errors. Once that started happening, the treasury (BEP to be specific) very quickly changed the serial numbers so they’re all very recognizable as having come from an uncut sheet. I didn’t check the latest for all denomi…

kinda off topic but since you're an expert here: what do people do with these uncut sheets? Is it mainly for collectors? also, my favorite form of getting currency is $2 bills in a 100 stack (so $200) from the bank. I used to use these for gift money on holidays :) but unfortunately my credit union doesn't order new stacks anymore, just jumbled up old $2 bills now.

A great question - it's something the BEP offers to collectors basically for the cool factor. People frame them, give them as gifts, etc. It's just kind of fun to see real money as it comes off the press (and, thankfully, it inspires lots of collectors!)

$2 bills are SUPER fun. 99.9% are not worth more than $2, but they still bring a smile to peoples' faces when you leave them as tips, etc. I always keep a stack in my cash box at coin shows to give out as change to kids, tips to the pages, etc.

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