US running out of places to store money

[leroyjenkens]

You would rather the 20 dollars sit at home and not be spent because people don't want to deal with sorting through 20 dollars of nickels and pennies?

First of all, I don't care what people do with their money, it's their decision. But based on that decision, I'll decide if I want to criticize it. Second, that 20 dollars should probably sit at home anyway. People buy too much junk nowadays. Everything they do requires money and everything that used to not require money, they've found ways for it to require money, too. They weren't happy with the free stuff. Lastly, if they left their 20 dollars in coins at home because they forgot that coins are money too, then they deserve to go without.

 

[Cyrus]

First of all, I don't care what people do with their money, it's their decision. But based on that decision, I'll decide if I want to criticize it. Second, that 20 dollars should probably sit at home anyway. People buy too much junk nowadays. Everything they do requires money and everything that used to not require money, they've found ways for it to require money, too. They weren't happy with the free stuff. Lastly, if they left their 20 dollars in coins at home because they forgot that coins are money too, then they deserve to go without.

Lawlz.

 

[cronxeh]

I ordered gold, palladium , and silver bullions. platinum was too expensive. I think Australian money looks cool. Its like plastic that is water proof and tear proof, not to mention hard to counterfeit. If I had to move anywhere it would be Australia.

 

[mgb_phys]

I think Australian money looks cool. Its like plastic that is water proof and tear proof, not to mention hard to counterfeit. If I had to move anywhere it would be Australia.

Canada gets the same plastic money as Oz from next year.

plus it's closer, the beer's better and you only have to worry about moose and grizzly bears.

 

[jtbell]

I don't think I ever saw a loonie store, it's always "dollar store".

Maybe it's a local or regional thing. The one I saw was in Calgary.

http://super_loonie_store.calgarydirect.info/

Not this one, specifically; the one I saw was on 7th Avenue downtown, next to a light rail station.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

US running out of places to store money

I know the feeling.

 

[turbo]

Canada gets the same plastic money as Oz from next year.

plus it's closer, the beer's better and you only have to worry about moose and grizzly bears.

You forgot the worst thing of all - black flies!

 

[Chi Meson]

Just got back from Canada. Two weeks on Cape Breton Island; some responses:

Love the toonie! It has to be the most convenient coin ever.

The house we stayed at belongs to a fisherman (who had to go to Calgary because the large-vessel fishing industry has destroyed the fish population; different thread...). In his basement were three large jars (like huge pickle jars) one full of pennies, 5 cent and 10 cent coins. I estimated 5 or 6 hundred dollars in 10 cent coins alone, just sitting on his workbench in a house he rents out to strangers. Evidently, anything less than a quarter is not worth the time.

One hundred years ago, the smallest coin was still a penny. That's like having a dollar coin today being the smallest (OK, not exactly, I'm making a point).

The penny must go, but the Zinc Lobby (in the form of "Americans for Common Cents") love their cash cow.

Canada waited until the US Mint did the research and design for the dollar coin, and then they put it out; goldy and 11-sided. The US decided to remake the coin round (instead of endecagonal) and make it silvery. Merkins don't like fancy coins with multi-sides; them's fer commonists! (An exaggereated quote from a guy I saw on the news when the coins first came out).

People talked and talked about how it would be confused with quarters, but no one really had difficulty. They just said that they would confused them. [The best argument was how they couldn't tell the difference in their pocket, as though they commonly reached into their pockets and pulled out exact change all the time. second-best was the one about not wanting to be clanking around with $12 in dollar coins all the time, as though they currently clanked around with five bucks in quarters all the time].

30 years later, Canada has shown that it would have worked if only the US hadn't gone half-a$$ed about it. Anything that costs less than $10, you can take care of with 4 or 5 neat coins.

 

[turbo]

Personally, I'd love to get rid of nickels and cents and add dollar and two-dollar coins.

 

[mgb_phys]

There was a survey in the weekend papers, about 60% of Canadians want to get rid of the cent. A similar percentage of europeans want to get rid of the 1euro-cent coin.

Slightly higher among men (we have pockets not purses) than women.

 

[Chi Meson]

Personally, I'd love to get rid of nickels and cents and add dollar and two-dollar coins.

Dimes should go too, really, but that's like hoping for someone to give you an Acura when no one is even giving you a Kia.

 

[turbo]

Dimes should go too, really, but that's like hoping for someone to give you an Acura when no one is even giving you a Kia.

At least dimes are small enough not to be that much of a bother when you have several in your pocket. The pennies and nickels aren't worth the space they take up.

 

[Chi Meson]

There was a survey in the weekend papers, about 60% of Canadians want to get rid of the cent. A similar percentage of europeans want to get rid of the 1euro-cent coin.

Slightly higher among men (we have pockets not purses) than women.

Is their truth to the story that the penny costs more than one cent to make?

And another comment on the dollar coin: the designs that we have chosen for them have helped to ensure their non-use. The statue-of-liberty reverse is good, but the 3/4 view of the presidents' visages makes them look like commemorative coins, not currency. If you are going to do that, then stop printing the buck. People need a period of time to "get over it." Like twelve years ago when the other bills started to change and people said the new $20 looked like "monopoly money" (when it clearly didn't). What they really meant was "it looks different." Now we have gotten over it so much, that when they started coming out in different colors, the response became "oh look, the $50 is peachy color."

 

[xxChrisxx]

I hate shrapnel, and wish they'd get rid of 1 and 2p, but I've no problem with carrying £1 and £2 coins. Also on the Coinstar thing, I don't know how long it would take to roll? (I assume that's like bagging coins) but it's probably only take a few hours. Assuming 10 hours, you'd effectively be paying yourself $9.80 and hour. Sounds like a good job for a young son/daughter/nephew/neice etc (child labour for the win).

edit: oops caps. been dimensioning drawings : /

 

[turbo]

Is their truth to the story that the penny costs more than one cent to make?

For the last 4-5 years, it has cost more to mint pennies and nickels than their face value. For a time, when zinc and copper prices were on the rise, it actually cost about 2 cents to mint a penny. Both of those coins should go!

 

[xxChrisxx]

For the last 4-5 years, it has cost more to mint pennies and nickels than their face value. For a time, when zinc and copper prices were on the rise, it actually cost about 2 cents to mint a penny. Both of those coins should go!

I assume there is a law about not weighing them in for scrap

 

[mgb_phys]

I hate shrapnel, and wish they'd get rid of 1 and 2p,

It's worse in the US and Canada - the various sales taxes aren't included in the price.
So even if you buy something for $1 there are a bunch of federal, state and city tax % added to it so the price always ends up as some odd number.
And since you never know which taxes apply to which items you can't have the correct money ready.

If the law required the listed price to include all taxes (like in europe) then the shop could round this off to a sensible number and you wouldn't need as many pennies.
Timmy's (the Canadian official religion) sort of does this - their coffee are all priced at some odd number like 1.78 , so that with tax it comes out to a round $2

I assume there is a law about not weighing them in for scrap

When copper price went through the roof a couple of years ago and the $ was valued so low it reached the point where a c was worth about 1.1c in scrap and they did have to introduce a law limiting how many you could get form the bank.
They also changed the coins to plated steel.

It's not just the cost of making them, since coins last 30years the cost vs the face price isn't really that important. But having $bn sitting around in jars instead of being spent or invested does have an effect. Although the biggest effect is the cost to shops and banks of dealing with them it costs a lot more than a penny to count, wrap, store and transport pennies.

 

[Chi Meson]

Timmy's (the Canadian official religion) sort of does this - their coffee are all priced at some odd number like 1.78 , so that with tax it comes out to a round $2

Off topic, re Timmy's:

We have Tim's in Connecticut, but they aren't doing as well as Dunkin. Went to Canadian Timmy's a few times over the past two weeks and discovered something: they CAN make coffee that tastes...uh..."OK"!

The Timmy's in CT don't seem to feel the need to replace coffee filters daily, I guess.

Back to the thread...

 

[mgb_phys]

Went to Canadian Timmy's a few times over the past two weeks and discovered something: they CAN make coffee that tastes...uh..."OK"!

To be honest their coffee isn't fantastic - I think it's more a case of not being starbucks!
They call them small,medium, large, x-large for instance - not some madeup words, and they understand that tea should be made with boiling water, a technology that starbucks haven't discovered yet.

Here there a lot of other options, Wavez, Beanz, coffee around the world - but we are close enough to seattle.

Personally I like McD's coffee - but you can't tell anybody that.

 

[CRGreathouse]

I assume there is a law about not weighing them in for scrap

There have been regulations in place (for the first time I'm aware of!) for about 1-2 years now, but no laws as such.

 

[turbo]

At one time, nickels were made of silver and pennies were made of steel because actual nickel and copper were needed for the war effort. There is nothing sacrosanct about either coin and we should put them on the chopping block since they have outlived their usefulness. If gas stations want to sell gas, they should price it in even increments, not in 10ths of a cent/gallon. Same thing for taxable consumer goods. Price everything in even increments so that state/local sales taxes are part of the purchase price. Really, who ever buys anything for a nickel or a penny these days? 50 years ago, the cheapest candy bar you could buy was a Hershey lunch bar for 3 cents. Back then, pennies could actually have enough value to warrant their use. Not today.

Coincidentally, my wife brought home a dollar coin today. A lady at work had gotten it in change somewhere and wanted a bill to use in a vending machine. It's a James Polk. A slave-owner who, apart from starting the Mexican-American War, accomplished little of note.

 

[CRGreathouse]

Coincidentally, my wife brought home a dollar coin today. A lady at work had gotten it in change somewhere and wanted a bill to use in a vending machine. It's a James Polk. A slave-owner who, apart from starting the Mexican-American War, accomplished little of note.

He did reduce tariffs and set up the Treasury; that's more than nothing.

Not a whole lot to hang your hat on, though.