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 Replies: 6 / Views: 1,467 |
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Pillar of the Community
708 Posts |
I read someone else's post from a while back, where they said that the Canadian half dollar coin circulated fairly well, until the toonie was introduced, then the toonie forced the half out of circulation, due to lack of space in the cash registers. So, how well did the Canadian half circulate, compared to the U.S. half? (I know that I have heard that the Canadian $2 bill circulated way better than the U.S. $2 bill before the toonie came out). Also, isn't the Canadian half a bit smaller than the U.S. half?
Oh, and one more question. Seeing as most cash registers only have space for five bill denominations, and five coin denominations, how did Canadians use halves when the Loonie came out? Because, back then, when they had their penny, you would have six coin denominations (1c, 5c, 10c, 25c, 50c, $1) so, what did the Canadians do with their halves then, put them in the slot with their loonies because you could tell the silver coins apart from the golden ones. And where did you put your toonies when they were introduced and forced the half out of circulation (1c, 5c, 10c, 25c, $1 $2) when you had six circlating coin denominations, and what happens when people would spend that seventh denomination, the half, where would you put halves?
Oh and now that Canada have ceased their penny production, is there any chance of their halves making a comeback, even though they would be faced with six coin denominations to deal with again?
Oh and do Canadian halves work in vending machines, if they are smaller than U.S. halves? Because, I have always heard that U.S. halves are only slightly to big to work in most coin slots.
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Moderator
 Australia
16810 Posts |
I lived in Vancouver, Canada for six months in 1983. The 50 cent coin was not in wide circulation while I was there. I managed to acquire two of them during my stay, and that's only from asking shopkeepers if they had any unusual coins. I had about the same luck acquiring nickel "voyageur" dollar coins. As in the US, there was the general public perception that such coins were "rare" and therefore valuable. Quote:
Also, isn't the Canadian half a bit smaller than the U.S. half? The nickel ones were, yes. Being slightly smaller does not seem to have helped them circulate. Quote:
Oh and now that Canada have ceased their penny production, is there any chance of their halves making a comeback... No, I doubt it. The simple fact is, countries that have a "25 cents" denomination do not need a "50 cents" denomination as well; There are very few places where a 25 and a 50 circulate equally side-by-side (the CFA franc in French-speaking Africa is one exception I can think of). 50 cent coins are far more practical in countries which have a "true decimal" system of 10, 20 and 50 cents coins. Take Australia. The Australian 50 cent coin is one of the largest and most cumbersome circulating coins on the planet (it's even bigger than a US half-dollar and is dodecagonal in shape), but it still sees widespread circulation here. Why? Because if you need to give 50 cents in change a 50 cent piece, although cumbersome, is still much easier for both sides of the transaction to handle than two 20s and a 10. Countries can make the transition. The Netherlands had a currency system much like America and Canada: 1 cent, 5 cents, 10 cents, 25 cents, 1 guilder, and so forth. 50 cent / half-guilder coins were a dismal flop whenever they tried to introduce them. But when the euro replaced the guilder, the new euro coins were "true decimal" (1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 1, 2). Dutch people now happily use 50 eurocent coins. So if you want to see widespread use of a 50 cent coin in Canada and America, replace your "quarters" with 20 cent pieces. For Canadian cash registers, I suspect they simply buy ones made in (or for) Canada, with extra coin slots. Six-slot and seven-slot cash registers aren't all that hard to make or acquire; registers in the Eurozone need eight slots for all their coins. As for vending machines, that's just crazy talk from lazy vending machine makers. Even our crazy Australian 50 cent coins work in vending machines just fine here. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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Pillar of the Community
 708 Posts |
That reminds me of something else I wish we still had in the U.S., a 2 cent coin, so that we can carry less pennies. I also wish the Half Cent would have stuck around, because I told people that the devil in me wishes for Half Cent slots at the casinos, however, I have heard that there are already Half Cent slot machines at casinos (I'm guessing they just round to the nearest whole cent?) Also, I wish when the 20 cent coin was around that we would have ditched the quarter instead, and left the "fifth" in circulation. As for the 3 cent coins, I'm not sure, but as I said in a thread I created, I would have liked $3 bills, had the Treasury printed them like they were planning when they first started issuing their coins and currency. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4867 Posts |
Some other things...the silver Canadian halves were slightly bigger than the current issues. Also Canadian halves have crazy low mintages. They aren't issued for circulation but available to collectors via rolls and sets. Where I work I see people pay with Kennedy halves once in a while. They are out there but not in any great quantity. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
997 Posts |
I have never heard of nor seen a "half-cent" slot machine, I doubt there ever was one or will ever be one other than some sort of novelty. Remember that most "Penny" slots do not accept coins, the base value of the bet is one cent but typical bets are upwards of several dollars (10 or more "credits" on dozens of lines equals several dollars.) These tend to "win" almost every pull, but much less than the amount bet, thus ensuring the house advantage but letting the gambler have a sense of winning.
There is no need for a half-cent, 2-cent or 3-cent coin, just as there is no need for a 3-dollar bill. Remember that pennies and nickles are only useful to make change these days, there is nothing that would be individually purchased for these miniscule amounts. When is the last time you went into a store for a purchase of less than a dime?
Back to the original topic, half dollars are as rare in Canada as they are in the USA. I have never seen one in real circulation in either country in the last 40 or so years I have handled money. I agree that if the quarter were to be replaced with a 20-cent piece the half might find a resurgence. It might be a part of a larger restructuring of the coinage system in both the USA and Canada. Imagine eliminating both the penny and nickle, and having coins in 10, 20 and 50 cents as well as $1 and $2. Bills would be $10, $20, $50, $100 and $200. The smallest coin (dime) might actually be useful again.
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Pillar of the Community
708 Posts |
n9jig_
You left out the $5 which could be either a coin or a bill. Makes no difference to me. But I think we should have a $5 coin, instead of a $5 bill, seeing as, I have read some government sites that say that the $5 bill last less longer than the $1 bill. Hard to believe, but I know I have seen this mentioned.
And yes, they should eliminate the cent, nickel and quarter, and bring the fifth back into circulation, and round to the nearest dime. and have 10c, 20c, 50c, $1, $2 and $5 for coins. And $10, $20, $50, $100, $200, but also $500, and possibly $1,000 bills. Like I said, I don't care about the organized crime ring. If we had $100 bills back in the 1960s we can have $1,000 bills in the 2010s, and once the year 2020 hits, I think we should also bring back the $5,000 and $10,000 bills and add a $2,000 bill.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1116 Posts |
Quote:
SAPThe simple fact is, countries that have a "25 cents" denomination do not need a "50 cents" denomination as well Based upon this then the nickel or 5 cent coin is needed more the dime or 10 cent piece. However the arguement is made in the US that both the penny and nickel are unneeded. I would rather see the pennny and the dime be done away with. So would you say then the Canadian nickel is more needed than their dime is. After all two nickels does equal a dime. That would leave the nickel, quarter and dollar coins for circulation. Then the $5 dollar coin would come into its own. I would say that the dollar coin and loonie would be increased in size to distinguish it more from the quarter but smaller than the $5 coin. Actually a $2 coin in the US would also make sense perhaps with Teddy Roosevelt to replace Franklin and his coin. Edit: Perhaps either the $2 or $5 coin could be silver and be circulating. Then either the Maple Leaf and/or ASE could be retired. In the US there are alread a lot of $1 coins muddying up the waters. This would tend to streamline the field so to speak. Edited by ghostrider
02/11/2013 12:13 am
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Replies: 6 / Views: 1,467 |
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Posted 02/10/2013 8:55 pm
