What is the point of bi-metal coin compostion?
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Sgt. LED
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$ and durability.
Hooked on Fenix
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Money. Pennies aren't made of solid copper anymore because the value of the copper would now be worth more than the penny. Now they're copper plated zinc. The cost of nickel has gone up in value so now nickels are nickel plated copper. I'm not sure about dimes and quarters, but I think they are copper and nickel, but with more nickel than the less valuable coins. When coins become less valuable than the metal they are made of, there is always a chance that people will start melting them down to make money and depleting the number of coins in circulation.
jtr1962
Flashaholic
The composition of the nickel is the same as it's always been. Proposals are under way to change it to something less costly. IMO, pennies and nickels should no longer be made. They cost more than their face value to make. As a bonus, this would free up two trays in cash registers for higher denomination coins ($1 and $5 perhaps). That in turn could save even more money by getting rid of the $1 and $5 notes, replacing them with coins which last several times longer.
BB
Flashlight Enthusiast
The dimes and quarters are also designed such that coin changers will operate the same with the new coins as the old coins (like falling through a magnetic field to detect slugs).
-Bill
-Bill
jzmtl
Flashlight Enthusiast
We have $1 and $2 coins here and everybody hates them. It's one of those things that's good in theory but blows in practice.
jtr1962
Flashaholic
I imagine a $2 coin is about as useful as a $2 bill, which is not very. But $1 and $5 coins might work here. Do they still make paper currency in $1 and $2 denominations? If so, that might be one reason everyone hates the coins. They don't circulate, and nobody has a chance to get used to using them. Regardless of whether we make higher denomination coins, it's long past time to get rid of the cent and nickel. At this point they're just a burden.
jzmtl
Flashlight Enthusiast
No paper $1 and $2 anymore. The point is not what the denomination they come in ($2 coin do get a lot of use), but rather they are a pain in the butt to carry while paper money can be stored easily in wallet, especially for people who don't carry purse/murse with them (which is every guy I know). A friend always dump coins in a 5 gallon bucket and he almost filled the bucket in two years.
jtr1962
Flashaholic
I think the trick is just not accumulating a lot of $1 or $2 coins by using them to pay for smaller purchases rather than breaking bills. I do this all the time to avoid accumulating too many dollar bills. I can see how $1 coins are a burden if you have 20 of them in your pocket though.
Pennies here tend to end up getting dumped in buckets as they're a nuisance to carry given what they buy. I know some people who have 55 gallon drums filled with pennies in their basement.
Pennies here tend to end up getting dumped in buckets as they're a nuisance to carry given what they buy. I know some people who have 55 gallon drums filled with pennies in their basement.
jzmtl
Flashlight Enthusiast
When it's only pennies and quarters breaking a dollar bill won't result in many coins, but when you need to break a $20 bill and end up with a lot of penny, dime, quarter AND dollar coins even one transaction will give me more coins than I'd want to carry (which is ideally zero).
I use CC as much as possible to avoid coin in my pocket but there are times it's not possible, so I always ended up with piles of them on my dresser.
Oh yeah, when OP said bi-metal coin, I tought he was talking about this type:
I use CC as much as possible to avoid coin in my pocket but there are times it's not possible, so I always ended up with piles of them on my dresser.
Oh yeah, when OP said bi-metal coin, I tought he was talking about this type:
kaichu dento
Flashaholic
The difference between liking a denomination and not liking it lies in its usefulness. The Japanese didn't like their $1 and $5 (okay 100円 and 500円) coins until the machines all started accepting them. I all machines that accept money are altered to accept the higher denomination coins everyone will accept them.
No more standing there trying to get the machine to accept the wrinkled damp bills from your wallet. Just drop in the coins , hit your choice and go!
No more standing there trying to get the machine to accept the wrinkled damp bills from your wallet. Just drop in the coins , hit your choice and go!
2xTrinity
Flashlight Enthusiast
Agreed with eliminating the $0.01 and $0.05 as they are worth so little. Several other countries in the world (eg Australia and NZ), and round cash transactions off to the nearest $0.10, and actually circulate enough $1 denomination coins that they are relevant.
As it is, many businesses already round to the nearest $0.05. The cashiers will either give round up to the next nickel, or ask the customer if they want the penny and round down if they say no...
In the USA we could move Lincoln's head from the penny on the brass $1 coins currently dispensed as change from many vending machines. The lame thing about this is that most machines that give the US $1 coins as change don't actually accept the coins. You have make purchases in nickels, dimes, quarters and $1/$5 bills. Dollar coins are given as change, as the machine has no mechanism to give bills as change, and they don't want to waste 16+ quarters on people trying to break a $5...
Eliminating the penny and nickel penny however would "Free up" change drawers in existing cash registers etc for dollar coins. Circulation should then be ramped up to the point that the coins are actually used. Not sure about $5 coins, I woudnl't mind it, but as it is just about any purchase above $5 is handled by CC these days, so there woudln't be a lot of incentive to retool machines to accept them.
I recall last time I went to a theme park the vending machines were so expensive they didn't even try to accept change, you had to feed them bills or swipe your credit card...
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We've had $1 coins for over 200 years, and it's never achieved more than novelty status. Since the newer incarnation is barely able to be casually distinguishable from a quarter, I wouldn't expect anything more than a novelty status from it either.
There's no need to get rid of the penny or the nickel either. If one had to go, it would be better that the nickel went. I could make up the lack of a nickel with five pennies.
2xTrinity
Flashlight Enthusiast
A smooth-edged brass coin with is difficult to distinguish from a thinner ridged-edge, nickel-plated copper coin? :thinking:
I agree the Susan B Anthony dollar was a very bad design. When it was introduced weople would get short-changed $0.75 as a result of the confusion. I actually like new brass coin much better. That said, IMO if they were going to promote it as anything more than a novelty, they should have stuck with the tradition of Presidents, or at least people involved in American Politics on the coin. (I'm aware that the dollar coin IS being produced with the heads of the different presidents on it, but only as a collectible, not for general circulation...)
The penny absolutely should be eliminated. Vending machines don't take them. Many cashiers simpyl round up to the nearest nickel when giving change as well, or ask their customers if they want the penny as change -- for many, the nuisance of carrying the coin is not worth $0.01 ...
Nickel actually should stay now that I think of if. The countries that round to $0.10 have $0.20 coins, not $0.25 coins. As it is, two dimes and a nickel can be combined to make $0.25. There would also be no way to make $0.30 by using a quarter and a nickel.
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kaichu dento
Flashaholic
I liked the dollar coin from the start, but just can't understand why they made a coin that for the most part, both looked and felt like a quarter!?! When the first Washington coin hit my hands I thought they'd finally done it, but with no move to implement making them user friendly, it was pretty much impossible to break the paper money habit.
I've lived in both Canada and Japan several times and have no problem getting used to using a coin in lieu of a one, a two or a fiver and think that with the slightest push to add vending machines/parking meters that would accept the dollar coin, most people would virtually forget we even had a paper dollar in a very short time.
What needs to happen for adoption is the government needs to issue $1 and $5 coins AND simutaneously begin to eliminate the paper versions. In Japan, there are 100 and 500yen coins. I much prefer using those over the paper bills.
I dunno about scrapping the penny. I buy smaller stuff mostly with cash and knowing how some places think they would try and mark stuff up an extra penny to get 4 free ones by making something cost 81 cents instead of 80..... where would they have to give you a nickel back instead of nothing? on 2 cents over? 3 cents? 4 cents or never?
HarryN
Flashlight Enthusiast
The conversion from the various European currencies to the Euro has some interesting lessons. I had the pleasure of bring in Germany for the event. (BTW, the Germans handled it remarkably well)
Now keep in mind, before this transition, every country had its own currency. There actually were some benefits to this, and the currencies contained some rich history that is really lost, but visiting multiple countries was kind of a pain.
If you think we have too many coins, let's look at the Euro currency (which was quite well thought out actually)
The Euro coin list
1 C
2 C
5 C
10 C
20 C
50 C
1 Euro
2 Euro
It makes perfect sense to a mathematician, and is a major PITA to use. There was a major problem hauling around all of the weight of the coins to be distributed and warehousing them, so they had to use special heavy duty trucks.
The mass of coins to do a simple transaction and deal with change is so large that it almost forces one to use a bag / man purse. (no, I don't do that, but now I understand why it is done)
So what did people do - they now use debit cards to buy everything possible and stopped using coinse because the monetary system is great for international exchange, but very difficult for everyday life. Now of course they use coins, but nothing like before. Prior to the Euro conversion, hardly anyone used the debit / smart cards, the Euro coin problem sort of forced it.
JTR - your point about cost of printing the US $ 1 and $ 5 are good points, but spend a month in Europe, and you will really appreciate paper bills a lot more. I am all for stopping production of pennies and maybe go to just a 5 C and 25 C coins.
Unlike the Europeans, Americans really view coins as "children's money" - with relatively little value. Perhaps the primary value of the penny and dime are to teach children to count. Is that enough - maybe not.
Now keep in mind, before this transition, every country had its own currency. There actually were some benefits to this, and the currencies contained some rich history that is really lost, but visiting multiple countries was kind of a pain.
If you think we have too many coins, let's look at the Euro currency (which was quite well thought out actually)
The Euro coin list
1 C
2 C
5 C
10 C
20 C
50 C
1 Euro
2 Euro
It makes perfect sense to a mathematician, and is a major PITA to use. There was a major problem hauling around all of the weight of the coins to be distributed and warehousing them, so they had to use special heavy duty trucks.
The mass of coins to do a simple transaction and deal with change is so large that it almost forces one to use a bag / man purse. (no, I don't do that, but now I understand why it is done)
So what did people do - they now use debit cards to buy everything possible and stopped using coinse because the monetary system is great for international exchange, but very difficult for everyday life. Now of course they use coins, but nothing like before. Prior to the Euro conversion, hardly anyone used the debit / smart cards, the Euro coin problem sort of forced it.
JTR - your point about cost of printing the US $ 1 and $ 5 are good points, but spend a month in Europe, and you will really appreciate paper bills a lot more. I am all for stopping production of pennies and maybe go to just a 5 C and 25 C coins.
Unlike the Europeans, Americans really view coins as "children's money" - with relatively little value. Perhaps the primary value of the penny and dime are to teach children to count. Is that enough - maybe not.
