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 Replies: 19 / Views: 3,756 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1234 Posts |
I'm not talking about Pocket Pieces.I just got home and picking out my pocket lint from my change I found pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters. Mostly new, certainly nothing I'd be interested in keeping. Loose change only what do you end up with after a day of shopping? AND what do you do with it? I check mine (usually quite disappointing but I did get a silver War Nickel the other day) then I chuck it into the bin ready to go back the next time I take a major load into the bank (1-2 times a week) If you only collect coins and never use them, cards only, I'd like to hear that too. I always hear about the Loonies and Twoonies north of the border, and pound coins in Britain. But what does a middle-class house-hold in (South Africa or Thailand or India, Russia, Panama, Australia, Germany, Mexico, the list goes on and on) have after a day of shopping? (Lets hear from the Brits and Canuks too;-) I'm also interested in WHAT those coins can buy... Fifty cents for a candy bar here, if you are lucky, $0.69 more likely. $0.98 for a gallon of distilled water. A jar of pickles is $2.98 maybe $2 on sale, a 2 liter of soda pop is anywhere from $0.84 to $1.98 or MORE! These days most coins are what some perceive as garbage metals: Aluminum, Tin, Zinc. So let's put that in too, if you know. Thanks all in advance... I hope this will be a fun thread, and pics as always are MORE than welcome  Edit: spelling as ussual... Edited by ASLAN TVorlon
10/22/2014 8:32 pm
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Moderator
 Australia
16832 Posts |
Here in Australia, the denominations in circulation are 5¢, 10¢, 20¢, 50¢ (all made of solid cupronickel), $1 and $2 (both made of solid aluminium-bronze). We see them all regularly in circulation. $5 is our smallest banknote. Right now in my wallet, I've got just under $5 in coinage. I do actually spend all the change I get; I never have enough accumulated to "store up" and bank. In terms of buying power, although the Australian and US dollars are fairly close to parity (though not as close as they were a couple years ago; the Au$ was even higher than the US$ at one stage there) prices in Australia are generally higher. This is primarily because distances between our big cities are typically larger than they are in America, so transportation costs are high; the economy of scale is also not as good as our country has a smaller population. "Candy bars" (we call them "chocolate bars" here) are typically in the $1.50 to $2 range; when they go on sale below $1, I stock up. a 2 litre bottle of Coca-cola is typically $2.50 to $3. Prices in the supermarkets are ticketed to the nearest cent; rounding only happens at the checkout on the total bill (and only if you pay by cash). Petrol (I believe you folks call it "gasoline") is around $1.50 per litre in the big cities at the moment. For my observations on current coinage usage in Turkey, see my recent thread about my holiday. 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
 United States
1234 Posts |
Thanks Sap, what do you call a chocolate bar with NO  chocolate? I know it's a nightmare... but still? ? ?  |
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Pillar of the Community
3772 Posts |
Australia here as well, so only can add a minor note to what 'Sap' already said.
Carry usually around A$10 in change in my pocket - mainly because of parking meters, they are very greedy: up to $4 an hour when I travel to the city. If I have any spare cash beyond that (ie when I am feeling the weight), I dump it in a box which I empty from time to time.
Sometimes the odd commemorative coin appears in change but generally it is just a dull affair, since all the older coins before converting to decimal coins are out of circulation - no, not demonetised, the reserve bank will still accept them at them conversion rate.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1234 Posts |
wait...Sap< thanks for the info, BUT... what do you have in pocket change at the end of the day? edit: TY Medieval, and all other s to come Edited by ASLAN TVorlon
10/22/2014 11:34 pm
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Moderator
Australia
16832 Posts |
Quote:Thanks Sap, what do you call a chocolate bar with NO chocolate? I know it's a nightmare... but still? ? ? There aren't any. Everything comes covered in chocolate around here. Quote:
wait...Sap< thanks for the info, BUT... what do you have in pocket change at the end of the day? Well, since I haven't spent any money so far today, what I reported earlier is what I had in my wallet at the end of yesterday. Denominational breakdown: $2: 1 $1: 2 50¢: 1 20¢: 1 10¢: 2 5¢: 3 Total: $5.05. I didn't see a couple of those 5 cent coins at first count. It is starting to get a little heavy, so I suspect after my next shopping trip it will be smaller and lighter. With that combination of coins, I can pretty much tender exact change for any amount they ask for. 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
3772 Posts |
When I saw 'Sap's post, I was tempted to check my own pocket, so here it is:
2 x $2, 4 x $1, 3 x 50c, 2 x 20c, 4 x 10c and 2 x 5c = $10.40
and lo and behold someone must have smuggled (instead of a 5c coin)a Canadian 10c in = profit (but not much).
Time to dump those heavy 50c coins into the bin.
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Moderator
Australia
16832 Posts |
I didn't mention coin designs. They were all the normal generic circulation types, except for one of the $1 coins, which was a circulating commemorative from 2001 for the Centenary of Federation.
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
Germany
1238 Posts |
OK, here is what I currently have. 3x €2, 1x €1, 2x 50ct, 1x 20ct, 3x 10ct, 2x 5ct. A little more than what I usually have in terms of coins. All "regular" circulation pieces (that is, no commemorative €2 coins). Most are German pieces, except for €2 France, €2 Netherlands (new, featuring Willem Alexander), and 10 and 50 cent Austria. The 1 and 2 ct coins I do not keep (in the Netherlands, Finland and Belgium they are usually not used anyway), the rest I use for, surprise, purchases. :)
Christian
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Pillar of the Community
Russian Federation
5174 Posts |
I'm not much of a household, but just checked my own pocket... 4x 10 ruble, 2x 5 ruble, 3x 2 ruble, 2x 1 ruble, 1x 50 kopek, 4x 10 kopek. That comes down to 58.90 rubles (an amount that I would think of as "about two dollars", though in reality it's about $1.40).
Two of the 2 rubles and one of the 5 rubles are cupronickel (1997, 2007, 1997). Everything else is variously colored post-2009 plated steel. The 1997 and 2007 coins have slightly different designs; the third one (2013) has the same design as 2007.
This is slightly less than what I tend to have normally, but, well, whatever.
Examples of what can one buy for (approximately) 58 rubles:
a bottle of pasteurized milk (the one I bought yesterday was exactly 58)
a 0.5 liter bottle of beer (can get surprisingly decent even for that price, though I don't like alcohol in any form)
a 1 to 3 liter bottle of kvas (popular Russian fizzy drink, and I'm not kidding about the 3 but it won't be particularly good quality)
a 1 to 2 liter bottle of (correct-brand) Coke or Pepsi, depending on where you're looking (the 1.25 bottle of Pepsi I bought yesterday was exactly 58)
2-3 sausages, or 2 sausages in a bun if you find a particularly low-end place
6 kilograms of dirty potatoes, if it's the season
4 kilograms of onions
1 kilogram of oranges
no idea about candy bars, not sure what they are
2 liters of benzin (petrol/gasoline) if you have a car
That all, of course, has nothing on Bulgaria, where coins in one's pocket can pay for dinner in a restaurant (I'm not making it up, that really happened to me once, though it wasn't a particularly high-end restaurant).
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Valued Member
Japan
349 Posts |
I only had 300 yen at the end of the day: 2x 5 yen, 9x 10 yen, 2x 100 yen Usually I have more, at least $10-$20 worth, because of the 500 yen ($5) coins. So I cheated and withdrew exactly 666 yen from the ATM. That gives me 1 of each coin: 1 (Al), 5 (65%Cu 35%Zn), 10 (95%Cu +Zn/Sn), 50 (Cu-Ni), 100 (Cu-Ni), 500 yen (72% Cu 20% Zn 8% Ni) That number is pretty much the only interesting thing about circulating coins in Japan. Sometimes you will get an old pre-1959 10 yen coin with edge reeding. (They are plain edged now) You won't find many commemorative coins, even though there are a few 100 yen and 500 yen coins that were meant to be circulated. I tried to use one the other day, but they wouldn't accept it. So I just put in in a vending machine and got back a normal one. Now I have 966 yen, this is about 9 US dollars now. If I had a bit more, I could buy a 6-pack of canned Japanese beer, but here stores don't usually have quantity discounts. It costs the same if you buy 6x 1 can or 1x 6-pack, so I would just buy 5 cans. Having one of each circulating coin (666 yen  ), I could buy: 1 bottle of European beer and a decent snack. Coffee and cigarettes (1 pack) 4 liters of gasoline (one gallon) Squid ink died Halloween themed hamburger+Fries+Drink set at McDonald's. A bowl of ramen. Maybe half of a cantaloupe, if on sale at a discount for some reason. 1kg of good rice. Instant coffee, 100 cups worth. I could only talk for 1-10 minutes using a public telephone, because they only accept 10 yen and 100 yen coins. Only 1 minute if far away, 10 minutes if nearby. 5 silver 100 yen coins. (60% junk silver) Postage for 8 domestic letters. Postage for an international registered letter. (up to 25g) A one day subway pass, on the weekend. These are the exact coins that came out of the ATM:  The newest is from 2000 (500 yen, top left) First year being Nickel-Brass. The oldest is from 1961, (10 yen, bottom left) Edited by bungle
10/23/2014 10:32 am
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
1321 Posts |
Here in the UK I have the following,
2p - 1
20p - 2
£1 - 6
£2 - 3
total £12.42 - about USD $20 (in 12 coins.)
Pockets getting heavy time I spent some. A mixture of designs, and when I looked at them properly one of the 20p turned out to be from Jersey.
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New Member
United States
33 Posts |
Here in China we have but 3 current coins, 1 Jiao, 5 Jiao and 1 Yuan. There are paper versions of the 1 Jiao and 5 Jiao but here in Hubei Province the coins are the most common. Sometimes you will get 1 Jiao and 1 Yuan coins from the previous series that are mostly 1999 and older. One day recently the super market slipped me a 1 Yen coin from Japan which I didn't fuss about. My wife on a visit to her parents in Henan found a 500 Won coin from Korea in the change pot of their market shop, probably slipped in with 1 Yuan coins.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2637 Posts |
Quote:
Having one of each circulating coin (666 yen), I could buy:
5 silver 100 yen coins. (60% junk silver) That would be $8.00 US in silver. Seems like a bargain. |
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Valued Member
Japan
349 Posts |
Quote:Quote:
Having one of each circulating coin (666 yen), I could buy:
5 silver 100 yen coins. (60% junk silver) That would be $8.00 US in silver. Seems like a bargain. Yes, and you can get 500 yen back from a bank any day. But they would be the common dates in low grade. Dealers won't give you a good price for them, they might buy 6 for the same price. |
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
856 Posts |
Fun! I have to admit I rarely use cash, making pretty much all purchases by card. But I do have a small purse which contains the following UK coins: 1p (2014) one, 2p (2005) one, 5p (2003) one, 10p (2008) one, 20p (1994/97/2008), 50p (1977) £1s (1771, 1997) and a £10 note I got from an ATM when I travelled to London in case I wanted a coffee. Pretty typical mix of coins and dates. You occasionally get Euro 2c as they are close to 1p size (very rarely a US 1c) and I did find a Polish 1 Zloty (5p size) by a coinstar machine. Our coins are all copper coated steel ('copper 1p, 2p) or CuNi (the rest) and then the £1 which is Nickel-brass and our largest value circulating coin. As to value, I just thought I'd post for comparison with january1may's $1.40: Quote:
Examples of what can one buy for (approximately) 58 rubles:
a bottle of pasteurized milk (the one I bought yesterday was exactly 58)
a 0.5 liter bottle of beer (can get surprisingly decent even for that price, though I don't like alcohol in any form)
a 1 to 3 liter bottle of kvas (popular Russian fizzy drink, and I'm not kidding about the 3 but it won't be particularly good quality)
a 1 to 2 liter bottle of (correct-brand) Coke or Pepsi, depending on where you're looking (the 1.25 bottle of Pepsi I bought yesterday was exactly 58)
Milk 2 pint/ 1.13 litres skimmed £0.89 US$1.43 500 ml bottle beer £2.09 $3.36 1.75l Coke £1.85 $2.97 Galaxy Ripple chocolate bar £0.63 $1.00 Bread (Hovis) 800g £1.49 $2.40 Petrol (unleaded) £1.22 litre = $7.43 a gallon And a couple more from recent purchases, 3 month prescription of my blood pressure meds, £8.05 $12.95 Pair of lightweight waterproof boots (Karrimor) to get to work £32.99 $53 Train to London (day return ticket, including underground) £27.50 $44.25 Last coin I bought £170 $274  Edited by Tom Goodheart
10/25/2014 06:54 am
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Replies: 19 / Views: 3,756 |
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Posted 10/22/2014 11:25 pm
