End Of Circulating Coins?

I have tried to raised this point in the oz section about plastic and what it is and will do to collecting coins and got pretty much the same mixed reaction but I can't explain my self properly sometimes due to a brain injury so thanks very much for wording the question much better than I ever could n9jig, much apprectiated mate .

We have also talked about when we got rid of our 1 & 2 cent and notes and the problems and easy loss of especially the $2 coin as it is very small. Here is a pic of what I'm talking about see how small they are..and it doesn't take much, only five of these little suckers and you have $10 or a small hand full is about $50..I miss the old money as they're easier to keep track of



In a way I think it's like our freedoms, in that if they've been taken away so your none the wiser and never know what you've been missing..if kids don't/can't have the opportunity and fun that we all have as kids finding and playing with money that has lead to bigger and better things with our collecting how can we expect our fun/hobby/passion to flurish things just aren't looking good..anyone got a time machine

After reading a lot of posts about what the mints are doing and how they're trying to change what we are collecting by bringing out so many new coins all the time but then trying to take them from circulation

I can't afford such nice coins all the time so I feel it's very quickly becoming an even richer mans hobby and I feel this is a real shame for the fun of collecting coins in the long run. But then it's all about the all mighty dollar these days

Sorry people, feeling a little down after reading another countries following us and the kiwi's but they've not long changed all their coinage and nothing under 10 cent as that's the smallest coin they have now. What happens in this new and very expensive world to the people like me and many many many others like me..makes you think

Just pray you don't ever end up like me, so be good to your selves and each other

No one can skim my Benjamins at the pump!
( actually, I use Jacksons and/or Grants right now, but at the rate we're going... )


* Unless your bank declines it and catches you off-guard.
That's how I got the last sale TV in stock at Best Buy one day: Cash never comes up "unable to process".
The guy in front of me had the last TV and a debit card. I had cash. Guess who ended up buying the TV?

* Until the magnetic strip on the back of your card wears out.
I can always tell when a never-cash payer is in front of me in line, their card won't read.

just carl: That can be a very nasty situation to find yourself in, if you are relying on your card, and you happen to be travelling outside of your home country.

I try to pre pay as many of my expected expenxes as possible before leaving home.

When I am overseas, I split my money into three equal portions:
1. Cash
2. trevellers checks
3. debit card.

That is the order of priority in which I spend the money. I take double of the estimated budget, split in the above three ways. At the time of purchase you also have the flexibility on which of the three to draw against.

If you are going to be months out of your country, make pre arrangements to access money overseas with your bank, e.g., set up an account in a bank of your choice for yourself overseas, before you you travel. I have used such a facility to re charge my cash draw down in the priority mentioned above. This is useful if you are planning a working holiday.


I have never had a credit card, nor felt the need to have one.

I worry about the demise of using coins in transactions also. I wish they would stop making $1 bills and circulate the coins. Most people that I talk to in stores are very receptive of the dollar coins. They would be accepted much faster in the U.S. than the politicians realize. I also realize that worrying about declining use of coins gets nowhere. Coins (and currency) will be around for a long time, no matter what Visa wants us to believe. There are too many poor people and poor countries that rely on cash only and this will not change any time soon. And if you want to see $100 bills, just go to a casino. This is the preferred bill to use by the casinos.

One last comment about a cashless society. Do you remember the movie 'Demolition Man' when Sly was trying to get money or "credits" from the ATM? It was comical. A cashless society right now would never work.

Where do you see a "large cash only economy"? Just about everywhere I go, they take plastic. The only places that take cash only are, small Mom and Pop businesses, flea markets, ball games from vendors, etc. And when you compare to all the places that take them, it is very tiny. Even McDonald's and movie theaters take plastic now.




How does using cash save anything?

I get cash back on my credit card, so it makes me money.

Most people can't spend on a budget. Hence they get into debt very fast using plastic.

Obviously stated by someone that does not attend flea markets, shows such as gun, knife, coin, electronics, etc. Also, garage/yard/estate sales. And some stores will tell you if you use cash, they will give you a % off the prices.
Impossible to haggle a price when using anything except cash. Actually I've haggled down prices even in department stores by not using a card, only cash.
My Son is a fantastic opposition to cash though. He owns his own buisness and uses credit/debit cards for everything possible. He says for documentation, it's the only way to go. Also, a small percent of those transactions get lost so sometimes things are free with plastic.
Don't know if anyone has read about the latest scam with credit cards that have the RF chip built in. Scanners can be purchased that can read such cards even in a waller.

Indeed there is many pros and cons regarding currency. The fact that we are an ever evolving species means at some point perhaps we will come up a different system than money. Fact is though, it's been around since the beginning of time. Have pennies obsolete and too costly to make? probably. Can we eliminate the need for pennies? probably. But all coinage? I doubt it. The very foundation of fractional currency demands the inclusion of all decimals for it to work properly. Barring some unforseen mathematical equation of a tax rate that always comes up with a whole number, it would seem as though the current system will remain the way it is.