Currency changes

[stormerne]

To someone outside the US, $1 coins seem the way to go. BUT... it's a HUGE change. The reason is that (unlike much of the rest of the world) most vending machines have $1 note acceptors in additional to small change coin mechs. So most vending machines in the US would have to change, and it would probably need 2 years notice and a 1 year phase in.

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

US vending machines only accept $1 bills? Not higher denominations? If the latter is the case, then it's just a simple reprogramming.

 

[JohnRM]

You CAN'T replace dollar bills with coins! Think about the strippers! Poor girls can't carry coins in their g-strings!

 

[Bamspeedy]

Besides in collector sets, Airport vending machines are the only place I have ever seen dollar coins since the 1980's when I would occassionally get some from my grandpa.

 

[Maniacal]

I'm fine with the penny being eliminated, too many fools throw them out like garbage which is a complete waste of the metals used. We should keep it for electronic transactions, but not as hard currency.

 

[Cashie]

I'm mostly happy with the Australian set-up.
Notes: $100 (uncommon), $50, $20, $10, $5
Coins: $2, $1, 50c, 20c 10, 5c

We ditched 1c & 2c coins about 20 years ago - hopefully we'll ditch the 5c soon, too. I've always liked the idea of the American quarter, though. ATMs only dispense $20s & $50s; $5 notes are super-common, there are plenty of $10s, but you need to specifically ask at the bank for $100 notes - anyway, how often do you actually need one? Also, wouldn't it suck to lose one.

What baffles me about American notes is that they are all the same colour, and still made of paper. Polymer notes are the go. I like the idea of a Euro-style currency union for the Asia/Pacific, too. It would be cool to get foreign money from time to time. Other than NZ coins, that is - especially the gold coins, they're impossible to get rid of.

I'm semi glad the Kiwis changed their coin sizes.

 

[Camikaze]

Newer NZ coins kinda screw with the 20c exploit. Although you still see heaps of them in circulation.

 

[Cutlass]

I'm mostly happy with the Australian set-up.
Notes: $100 (uncommon), $50, $20, $10, $5
Coins: $2, $1, 50c, 20c 10, 5c

We ditched 1c & 2c coins about 20 years ago - hopefully we'll ditch the 5c soon, too. I've always liked the idea of the American quarter, though. ATMs only dispense $20s & $50s; $5 notes are super-common, there are plenty of $10s, but you need to specifically ask at the bank for $100 notes - anyway, how often do you actually need one? Also, wouldn't it suck to lose one.

What baffles me about American notes is that they are all the same colour, and still made of paper. Polymer notes are the go. I like the idea of a Euro-style currency union for the Asia/Pacific, too. It would be cool to get foreign money from time to time. Other than NZ coins, that is - especially the gold coins, they're impossible to get rid of.

I'm semi glad the Kiwis changed their coin sizes.

I don't think they want to have bills last longer. They're changing the design regularly to slow down counterfeiters.

 

[say1988]

Now with technology, it's likely inefficient to have more than $100 bills anyway.

No, it provides too much ease for laundering and other illegal activities.

they've tried to introduce a dollar coin several times, but George Washington is a lot cooler than Eisenhower, Susan B. Anthony, and Sacajawea(praise be to firefox's spell check) combined.

People resist change. Release a dollar coin, stop printing bills and have banks stop circulating dollar bills. Change will be completed quickly.

To someone outside the US, $1 coins seem the way to go. BUT... it's a HUGE change. The reason is that (unlike much of the rest of the world) most vending machines have $1 note acceptors in additional to small change coin mechs. So most vending machines in the US would have to change, and it would probably need 2 years notice and a 1 year phase in.

The US isn't unique in that regard. You leave a transitional period. And after that people need a few more quarters until the machines are updated.

You CAN'T replace dollar bills with coins! Think about the strippers! Poor girls can't carry coins in their g-strings!

Actually strip clubs don't like the dollar bill. If that didn't exist they would get twos and fives. They are one of the biggest distributers of $2 bills.

 

[GamezRule]

US banknotes are not made of paper.

 

[TheLastOne36]

Poland uses coins for 5 Zloty, which is something that may be worth considering for Canadians (and Americans) as well.

Wouldn't mind the minting of both 5 Dollar coins as well as 5 Dollar Bills.

Also, get rid of the penny and nickel. Mint more 50 cent pieces. America should adopt Loonie and Toonie.

 

[say1988]

The only thing minting more 50 cent pieces will do is fill up government warehouses. People don't want the 50 cent piece. You would have to create a demand, most likely through encouraging businesses to give out 50 cent pieces in change and getting people to recognize that they are real.
The other problem is that the main use of them would be vending machines, none of which accept 50 cent pieces and there would be reason to retool them, they would just be replaced through attrition (just like there are still vending machines around that don't accept toonies).
Besides that, I just don't think it is necessary.

 

[PiMan]

US banknotes are not made of paper.

They aren't made of wood pulp, but they are still considered to be paper. They crease, rip and burn like regular paper does.
On the other hand, polymer notes don't crease, rip or burn easily at all.

 

[Cashie]

To someone outside the US, $1 coins seem the way to go. BUT... it's a HUGE change. The reason is that (unlike much of the rest of the world) most vending machines have $1 note acceptors in additional to small change coin mechs. So most vending machines in the US would have to change, and it would probably need 2 years notice and a 1 year phase in.

Please, won't people consider the vending machines! That is possibly the lamest reason I've ever heard. Naturally there would be a phase-in period.

 

[Cutlass]

They already make vending machines that take bills and credit/debit cards.

 

[Tani Coyote]

You round up or down to the nearest nickle. Why would you do it any other way?

Since two cents is closer to what the penny is worth... though this is indeed a non-issue if the penny is rid of entirely, whether one cent or two cent.

No, there isn't. Cause you get rid of that too while you are at it.

This is true... the two cents comes from the fact that'd be closer to what the penny is actually worth.

Wait a sec. This is a trap. You're trying to make a lefty insist that markets work, don't you?

Foiled!

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@ Integral:

That is fairly interesting then. Seems like "prices will go up" is a bit of paranoia. Guess we'll have to find out...

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This thread as a whole has convinced me of e-currency as the future, and hard currency as a bit of a waste. Then again, most of our currency is digital already...

 

[GamezRule]

They aren't made of wood pulp, but they are still considered to be paper. They crease, rip and burn like regular paper does.
On the other hand, polymer notes don't crease, rip or burn easily at all.

US banknotes can stand up to water much better then paper, I am pretty sure they come from a cotton base.

 

[warpus]

I was just in New Zealand, where they have 10c, 20c, 50c, $1, and $2 coins.

I liked it much better than the 1c, 5c, 10c, 25c, $1, $2 coin system!

 

[Leifmk]

In Sweden, we have coinage for the equivalents of 1 euro (10kr), 50c (5kr) and 10c (1kr). For the equivalents of 2 euro, 5 euro, 10 euro, 50 euro and 100 euro we have banknotes. We just recently scrapped the 5c (50 öre) coin.

We don't have any notes for 200 kr, 2000 kr and 5000 kr like there are 20/200/500 bills.

The Norwegian situation is similar but not identical -- we still have our 0.50 NOK coin (closest in worth to a US dime; the exchange rate fluctuates but is mostly close to 6 NOK = 1 USD) but there is some movement toward killing it off, and good riddance say I. We also have a 20 NOK coin, then banknotes for 50 NOK, 100 NOK, 200 NOK, 500 NOK and 1000 NOK. (The biggest notes are also endangered in the short/medium term, this as a measure towards making life less convenient for those involved in the organized crime/black market economy).

Within my lifetime, we have already gotten rid of coins for 0.01 NOK, 0.02 NOK, 0.05 NOK, 0.25 NOK and 0.10 NOK. Rounding is a non-issue; yes, if you pay in cash [1], the final sum at the register is rounded to the nearest 0.5 NOK as that is the smallest coin you can actually pay with. But statistically, said rounding will be in the customer's favour as often as in the shop's favour. (Sure, no single item will be priced in anything that's not a valid cash amount -- but you can end up with odd sums anyway whenever you buy anything that's priced by weight.) And if you get rid of the penny, then just about everything that used to be priced as $9.99 will suddenly cost $9.95, anyway.

[1] And most people do not pay in cash except for pretty small purchases, anyway. There is no rounding when you pay by card.

 

[say1988]

One thing, in North America sales tax is added on to the advertised price, so (on average) 4 out of 5 cash purchases would be rounded. However, the amount be remain a very small proportion of the purchase.
Which also means that there will be no advantage pricing at x.95 over x.99.