Posted on 06/29/2011 12:38:29 PM PDT by Aroostook25
The poster implied..intentionally or not..that vending machines only accepted coins.
No big deal.....
As I was leaving the parking garage after the RLC in New Orleans, I put a $20 bill in the kiosk and it gave me coins back. I thought it gave me quarters back as change, but after removing them found they were Lincoln dollars. First I’ve ever seen them.
I haven't disputed that Congress always has its own motives and beliefs when it comes to passing beneficial or harmful legislation regarding coinage.
My point is that the coins are in use ~ just not in places where your typical NPR reporter is going to find them (where people work BTW).
Regarding how big, how small, what color, or what composition coinage should be, I think technology is going to soon eliminate the need for coins, or bills.
The eternal problem was the $20 bill, and how to give $1 bills in change.
You'll notice that at the self-service cashier stations at your local grocery or walmart or homedepot they have machines that give you $1s and $5s.
One huge contraption would let you feed in dozens of $1 bills, and still give you change after your purchase, but if there was a glitch in the process the system had to return your $1 bills to you.
Like I say it was huge ~ and that problem has never been addressed from the standpoint of taking those bills at that time and working with them rationally.
What has been done is the Treasury has put various security devices into the money ~ metallic threads, etc. The modern change making machines return bills because the bills can be IDd by something other than a primitive OCR.
That action actually displaced some of the marketing opportunities for the dollar coins.
In the near future that system will itself be displaced by a universal card machine (marketed by I don't know who, but it'll be there).
Exactly right. It worked in Canada.
Your suggestions are worthy of serious consideration.
I too have my own long-thought system of coinage.
For reference a present dime is 17.9mm in diameter and 1.35 mm thick and is 2.27 grams of 91.67% Copper 8.33% Nickel.
For reference a present penny is 19.05 mm diameter and 1.55 mm thick and is 2.5 grams of 97.5% Zinc, 2.5% Copper.
For reference a present nickel is 21.2 mm diameter and 1.95 mm thick and is 5.0 grams of 75% Copper 25% Nickel.
For reference a present quarter is 24.3 mm diameter and 1.75 mm thick and is 5.67 grams of 91.67% Copper 8.33% Nickel.
For reference a present half dollar is 30.6 mm diameter and 2.15 mm thick and is 11.34 grams of 91.67% Copper 8.33% Nickel.
For reference a present dollar is 26.5 mm diameter and 2.00 mm thick and is 8.1 grams of manganese brass clad copper (copper 88.5%, zinc 6%, manganese 3.5%, nickel 2%)
For reference the Morgan Silver dollar coin is 38 mm diameter and 2.4 mm thick and is 26.7 grams and contained 0.77 troy ounces of silver.
For reference the old double eagle twenty dollar coin is 34 mm diameter and 2.4 mm thick and is 33.4 grams and contained 0.9675 troy ounces of gold.
Pennies are so ingrained in our system of accounting and sales taxes that they should be retained BUT they should be much, much smaller. Specifically:
One Cent = Pure Copper coin 0.53 mm thick and 10 mm or 0.4 inches in diameter, 0.37 grams each or 1000 per troy pound.
(yes, troy, since all coinage should be in troy weight — as with silver).
Again a pure 100% copper penny as was minted in America from 1793 to 1857. Yes, this could become a copper standard (sad that our currency as deflated in value so much the small change would be copper rather than silver).
A one dollar roll would be 2.1 inches long and 1 cm in diameter.
With copper at $5 per pound, each penny would be worth 4 tenths of a cent. Add minting cost for a total cost of just over a penny. They would be cheaper than present pennies because they would not have the cost of coating zinc with copper.
Five Cent = Pure Copper coin 1.0 mm thick and 16.3 mm in diameter, 1.87 grams each or 200 per troy pound.
This is a little smaller and thinner than the present dime. It would be copper in color rather than nickel.
A two dollar fifty cent roll would be 2.1 inches long and 1.6 cm in diameter.
With copper at $5 per pound, each five cent coin would be worth 2 cents. Add minting cost for a total cost of about 3 cents.
Twenty Cent = Pure Copper coin 2.0 mm thick and 23 mm in diameter, 7.46 grams each or 50 per troy pound.
A quarter would be even larger—nearing that of the dollar coin, thus a fifth of a dollar may be better.
This is nearly the same thickness as the present nickel, and midway in diameter between the nickel and quarter.
A ten dollar roll would be 2.0 inches long and 2.3 cm in diameter.
With copper at $5 per pound, each twenty cent coin would be worth 8 cents. Add minting cost for a total cost of about 9 cents.
One Dollar = 96% Argentium Silver coin 0.53 mm thick and 13 mm in diameter, 0.74 grams each or 500 per troy pound.
This would be midway in diameter between the proposed one cent and five cent copper coins.
A one hundred dollar roll would be 2.1 inches long and 1.3 cm in diameter.
With silver at $44 per ounce, each coin would be worth exactly one dollar. Yes, this could become a silver standard.
Five Dollar = 96% Argentium Silver coin 1.15 mm thick and 20 mm in diameter, 3.8 grams each or 100 per troy pound.
This would be midway in diameter between the proposed five cent and twenty cent copper coins and midway between the present penny and nickel.
With silver at $44 per ounce, each coin would be worth exactly five dollars. Yes, this could become a silver standard.
Twenty Dollar = 96% Argentium Silver coin 1.8 mm thick and 32 mm in diameter, 14.8 grams each or 25 per troy pound.
This would be slightly larger in diameter than the present half dollar, but 2 mm smaller than the $20 gold double eagle.
With silver at $44 per ounce, each coin would be worth exactly twenty dollars. Yes, this could become a silver standard.
Fifty Dollar = 96% Argentium Silver coin 3.1 mm thick and 38 mm in diameter, 37 grams each or 5 per troy pound.
This would be the same diameter as the old Morgan Silver Dollars, but 3.1 mm thick instead of 2.4 mm.
With silver at $44 per ounce, each coin would be worth exactly fifty dollars. Yes, this could become a silver standard.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.