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 Replies: 68 / Views: 7,816 |
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Moderator
 United States
188440 Posts |
Quote:
I bought a postage stamp at the post office via a vending machine.
All I had in my wallet was a twenty dollar bill to put in the machine.
I was returned nineteen dollars change in dollar coins. For what it is worth, the post office is where I used to get my dollar coins. They took out that machine and replaced it with a cashless one a while back.  |
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Valued Member
United States
411 Posts |
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I bought a postage stamp at the post office via a vending machine.All I had in my wallet was a twenty dollar bill to put in the machine.I was returned nineteen dollars change in dollar coins.Since non of them appeared to be in MS68 condition, and I had to go home and put an extra hole in my belt buckle to get things leveled out......I was really watered-off! The US mint was giving boxes of dollar coins to people who asked in an effort to increase circulation. They were being mailed with postage being paid by the Mint. Some enterprising people figured out they could order these coins with their credit card, and then turn them into the bank. In this way they could accumulate freqent flyer miles at no cost. I don't know if the banks complained, or the idiots that developed this scam would brag about it online. I think it was the latter reason. In any case the US Mint discontinued the program I have gotten a pile of dollar coins from the USPS, and I was actually pretty pleased.It was fun to spend them or to pay people with them, especially if you were annoyed about the debt. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10038 Posts |
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I bought a postage stamp at the post office via a vending machine.All I had in my wallet was a twenty dollar bill to put in the machine.I was returned nineteen dollars change in dollar coins.Since non of them appeared to be in MS68 condition, and I had to go home and put an extra hole in my belt buckle to get things leveled out......I was really watered-off! Now imagine, like I used to be involved with years ago in handling more than normal numbers of bills, having to have 500 of these things each week to take to the bank instead of bills. There are a lot of people who would be stuck with this scenario, and its not a fun one. My Grandfather at 75 (because he still enjoyed it) was running some businesses with bill changers. I cannot imagine him having to heft these things home from the machines, processing them in wrappers (which the bank then required from him for all coins), and then having to heft them to the bank. As happened in Canada, the common man was again the one to bear the negative side when they switched. Prices had an upward adjustment b/c businesses such as the banks passed the extra postage services for shipping metal (think of the weight of 500,000 discs of metal vs paper) incurred by banks and everywhere else there was a service that dealt with a lot of the coins. $1000.00 of dollar coins is 17.88 lbs - 1,000 bills is 2.2 pounds. A bank shipping 20K of dollar coins needs pay postage of 357.6 lbs! Or if you put them into mint bags of 250 coins, you need 80 bags at ~4.5 lbs each. This might about fill up the back end of a mini-van. The equivalent of bills would be 44 pounds of one dollar bills and possibly fit into a large suitcase . Guess who the businesses pass the extra charges to? The government? Yeah...right. Its late - so my math might be off! |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
4868 Posts |
As a cashier, I see lot's of people still paying with checks. There are also a lot of credit/debit/ebt sales.
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Moderator
United States
188440 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4883 Posts |
Interesting discussion.
I actually enjoy spending $1 coins and $2 bills for the reactions I get on account of the novelty it represents, and that factor is of course due to the fact that both have been almost totally rejected by the citizenry as circulating issues.
It seems to me that the rationale for $1 coins and a hypothetical $2 one would evaporate if the U.S. government would simply produce a more durable currency, that proposition coming with two caveats - first, such would have to be produced at a reasonable cost vis-à-vis the present cloth bond versions, and second, they'd have to get the technology just right from the get-go. Perhaps a hybrid $1 bill with the familiar paper look and feel but incorporating reinforcing polymer threads would be a doable initial step in this direction.
Colligo ergo sum
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Moderator
United States
188440 Posts |
Most of the same people who complain about dollar coins would complain about plastic money, too. Some people just do not like change.
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Valued Member
United States
343 Posts |
I saw what you did there.
I'm on the fence with this. If the 1 bill is eliminated, I believe the 2 bill should be eliminated as well, but not necessarily replaced with a 2 coin. If there is already a 1 coin I don't see people in the US caring for a 2 coin. I wouldn't mind, but I like coins.
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Moderator
United States
188440 Posts |
Quote:
I saw what you did there.  |
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
7096 Posts |
I can't really see any reason to keep the pretty much worthless 1c coin in circulation, Lets face it the coin itself is made out zinc which has a very limited lifespan anyway.
As for the $1 and $2 notes What can you actually buy with these now ?
In reality anything under $5 is small change and should be coinage instead of notes.
Yes coins do cost more to produce initially but as long as they are not made out of zinc they should be useful for many years as opposed to a paper note's limited lifespan and will prove to be more cost effective.
The savings for the US taxpayers would amount to Billions of dollars in a fairly short timespan.
The ONLY thing stopping this is an unfounded and unreasonable fear of "Change" and the lilly livered attitude of the elected politicians that lack the moral fortitude to impose these needed changes.
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Moderator
United States
188440 Posts |
Quote:
As for the $1 and $2 notes What can you actually buy with these now ? The dollar notes will buy what I could get for a dime when I was a kid.  Quote:
The ONLY thing stopping this is an unfounded and unreasonable fear of "Change" and the lilly livered attitude of the elected politicians that lack the moral fortitude to impose these needed changes.  |
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Valued Member
United States
411 Posts |
Is there anything more inefficient than the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and the United States Mint run by the Treasurer of the United States?
a) Over 300 billion zinc pennies in 34 years.
b) Nickels that cost more than 5 cents to make
c) Fifty cent coins that are too heavy to be useful
d) Dollar coins that are sitting in warehouses.
e) Dollar bills by the tonne, that wear through quickly.
f) Two dollar bills that have 1.5 billion in circulation that are hoarded.
g) Fifty dollar bills that are way underutilized.
h) Massive production problems with the color c-note. Have you noticed that they only made 140.8 million of the 2013 series (Rios-Lew signatures) in the first half of FY2015 and then stopped making them completely.
What other department in the federal government can claim that most of their product is useless?
Edited by PacoMartin
12/21/2016 7:34 pm
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CCF Advertiser
United States
1533 Posts |
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Valued Member
United States
411 Posts |
Today I have around fifty dollars of folding money in my pocket.
If it were coins at one dollar , two and five dollar I would have lost my pants somewhere.
in other words I like this thing called folding money.
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Valued Member
United States
343 Posts |
I strongly agree with Paco's point g. The 50 is a good looking bill too.
And cuzzx, there can be both. A $20 and a $10 paper with 3 or 4 $5 coins wouldn't be so bad.
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Replies: 68 / Views: 7,816 |
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Posted 12/20/2016 10:00 pm
