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Posted 07/19/2009 09:21 am
The first coin operated vending machine dates back over two thousand years.
And the Hobbes company was NOT a major vending machine company. They were actually a small wannabe company that had recently landed a government contract to supply the machines for some agency and they wanted to make sure their newfangled Counterfeit Detection mechanism worked with the new coins. They kept demanding changes to be made so a machine that wasn't even in production yet would work with the new coins. The other machine makers had not problems or made slight adjustments to their machines and they worked fine. Hobbes wanted the coin changed to match his machine. Even once he did get the machines into the marketplace they were a flop. They suffered frequent break downs and most locations that had them soon changed to his competitors machines. There are a couple of excellent sections on Hobbes and his batttles with the mint on both the Buffalo nickel and Mercury dime in RWB books Renassance of American Coinage 1909-1915, and 1916-1921.
Basically just the nickels (unless they are severely worn and underweight), and not the Shield nickels. Most modern machines won't work with the silver dimes and quarters because they are too heavy and they don't have the proper electromagnetic signature. (Coppernickel clad and 90% silver do not have the same signature. Back in 1965 the coin mechanisms were strictly mechanical and didn't check the signature so that was not a concern. That test was added years later after the silver was out of circulation. It only really became a concern when the Sac dollar came out because the machines had to be able to accept both the SBA and the Sac so they had to create an alloy that did match the signature of coppernickel.)
And the Hobbes company was NOT a major vending machine company. They were actually a small wannabe company that had recently landed a government contract to supply the machines for some agency and they wanted to make sure their newfangled Counterfeit Detection mechanism worked with the new coins. They kept demanding changes to be made so a machine that wasn't even in production yet would work with the new coins. The other machine makers had not problems or made slight adjustments to their machines and they worked fine. Hobbes wanted the coin changed to match his machine. Even once he did get the machines into the marketplace they were a flop. They suffered frequent break downs and most locations that had them soon changed to his competitors machines. There are a couple of excellent sections on Hobbes and his batttles with the mint on both the Buffalo nickel and Mercury dime in RWB books Renassance of American Coinage 1909-1915, and 1916-1921.
Quote:
Would vending machines accept old coins from the 1800's and early 1900's?
Would vending machines accept old coins from the 1800's and early 1900's?
Basically just the nickels (unless they are severely worn and underweight), and not the Shield nickels. Most modern machines won't work with the silver dimes and quarters because they are too heavy and they don't have the proper electromagnetic signature. (Coppernickel clad and 90% silver do not have the same signature. Back in 1965 the coin mechanisms were strictly mechanical and didn't check the signature so that was not a concern. That test was added years later after the silver was out of circulation. It only really became a concern when the Sac dollar came out because the machines had to be able to accept both the SBA and the Sac so they had to create an alloy that did match the signature of coppernickel.)
I am not normally the sue happy type but that guy had a major violation of his civil rights, all because he tried using perfectly legal currently circulating US currency and the cops and Best Buy employees were completely clueless
I sure hope the Secret Service agents completely berated the cops over wasting their time.
