Penny Dreadful - Currency Discussion

[LancerEvo7]

For what it's worth, the US has issued the following denominations for circulation:

A minor correction to that: we've never made a 2 dollar coin, we had the quarter eagle, which was a $2.50 gold coin.

 

[Liquid]

Yes, that's why I specified US notes.

Fair point. I equally disagree with Slashfan's assertion that notes are easier than coins. It's far easier to damage a note beyond use than a coin.

 

[Grayfox]

Fair point. I equally disagree with Slashfan's assertion that notes are easier than coins. It's far easier to damage a note beyond use than a coin.

It's only easy with paper notes.
I still don't get why the US is using paper fur it's money rather than plastic.

 

[BobK]

A minor correction to that: we've never made a 2 dollar coin, we had the quarter eagle, which was a $2.50 gold coin.

You are absolutely right. I stand corrected. Thanks for pointing that out.

I still don't get why the US is using paper fur it's money rather than plastic.

Oh, that's an easy one. Do a bit of research into who produces the paper the money is printed on and what political connections they have.

 

[Slash]

Debatable. Can you tell the denomination of a US bill by touch, for instance?

No but t isn't exactly hard to just look at it. Your going to count it out anyways.




Can you handle $1,500 (or any large sum of money) worth of coins in the palm of your hand? Didn't think so.

 

[Tornado]

No but t isn't exactly hard to just look at it. Your going to count it out anyways.

He's referring to people with impaired vision. Which, fair enough if you just don't care (I honestly don't; and personally loathe carrying any kind of coinage compared to bills so certainly don't want to see any proliferation of dollar coins), but his point still has merit.

 

[Slash]

He's referring to people with impaired vision. Which, fair enough if you just don't care (I honestly don't; and personally loathe carrying any kind of coinage compared to bills so certainly don't want to see any proliferation of dollar coins), but his point still has merit.

In that sense then yes he has a point.

 

[BobK]

No but t isn't exactly hard to just look at it. Your going to count it out anyways.




Can you handle $1,500 (or any large sum of money) worth of coins in the palm of your hand? Didn't think so.

Apparently you missed the part where I'd made a distinction between large and small amounts of money.

Interestingly, you'd edited your post to change the $200 to $1500. Pity, because I have in fact handled not only $200, but $250 in coin in the palm of my hand and it wasn't even particularly difficult.

As for counting, can you do it your way in the dark?

 

[Slash]

I didn't think $200 was high enough

At least in US coins, I'd find that amount of money in coins to be rather difficult to hold, not to mention the weight in your pocket. That goes for any amount of coins.

It wouldn't be easy to do in the dark, but when your eyes adjust to it, yeah I can.

At least for me, bills are much easier to carry large sums of money without all the added stress of coins.

 

[Dotini]

Can you handle $1,500 (or any large sum of money) worth of coins in the palm of your hand? Didn't think so.

20 American Eagle or Kruggerand gold coins are very easy to hold in your hand. That's worth well over $25,000.

 

[Tornado]

You'd be chased by Mel Gibson for having them, though.

 

[Slash]

20 American Eagle or Kruggerand gold coins are very easy to hold in your hand. That's worth well over $25,000.

Where are you going to find them? lol

 

[Dotini]

Where are you going to find them? lol

I purchased them when they cost under $300 each. They currently rest in a vault.

 

[Joel]

(I honestly don't; and personally loathe carrying any kind of coinage compared to bills so certainly don't want to see any proliferation of dollar coins)

Don't you dare talk 🤬 about loonies.

 

[Tornado]

Don't you dare talk 🤬 about loonies.

Why don't you just take your ridiculous colored money and *exchange it for goods and/or services*

 

[Dotini]

Why don't you just take your ridiculous colored money and *exchange it for goods and/or services*

Goods and services are perishables. Money is a store of wealth.

 

[Slash]

I purchased them when they cost under $300 each. They currently rest in a vault.

Yeah but it's not like you are carrying them around, spending them frequently.

 

[Johnnypenso]

I'm sure others have mentioned this but Canada dropped their penny a year or two ago and other than a couple of signs at the cash register at the local coffee shop, no one really noticed or cared. The Loonie and Toonie came in a few years ago and everyone adapted. I prefer a little change in my pocket to buy coffee or small items to always having to haul out the wallet to pay for something and then pocket even more change along with a wallet stuffed with singles and deuces.

 

[Pupik]

Drop the one-cent piece already and the silly little dime. A nickel and quarter are all that's needed; they're different sizes, weights, and only one has milled edges.

The US Mint could reasonably halt minting of any coinage for 3-4 years and nobody would notice. After all, fewer amounts of coinage is necessary with ever-increasing electronic transactions and there's billions of pieces floating around everywhere.

 

[Johnnypenso]

Quarter, nickel and dollar coin are all that are really necessary IMO along with the $5, $20 and $100. Our toonie, $10 and $50 are not really necessary, they only allow you to carry a couple of less bills or coins.

 

[MatskiMonk]

Slightly off-topic, but I believe the 25p piece is still legal tender in the UK, should you come across one.

 

[Liquid]

Slightly off-topic, but I believe the 25p piece is still legal tender in the UK, should you come across one.

You'd be stupid to spend it as a 25p. Its cultural value is more. I have one.

I don't think many shops would accept them because old crowns don't have their value on them.

You can always cash them in at the Post Office though.

 

[LancerEvo7]

Yeah but it's not like you are carrying them around, spending them frequently.

That's only because their intrinsic (metal) value is far, far more than their face value.

 

[Slash]

That's only because their intrinsic (metal) value is far, far more than their face value.

That's not the point.

 

[Liquid]

Could some of our more economically astute members offer some thoughts to this?

My main worry with getting rid of pennies is price increases and inflation. Australia and New Zealand got rid of their pennies years ago, long before the great recession. I don't think it would be wise to remove the penny at the moment at least, if it was to be withdrawn at all; which I don't agree with personally.

Does the penny even help to combat inflation? I would assume yes, as would a halfpenny, but whether the penny is effective at combating inflation any more is debatable given how terrible its purchasing power is these days, and this obviously precludes reintroducing a halfpence.

 

[Danoff]

Could some of our more economically astute members offer some thoughts to this?

My main worry with getting rid of pennies is price increases and inflation.

Nope.

Prices are not held in check by the existence of small denominations of money, they're held in check by supply and demand. Pennies do not hold prices down, and the introduction of a half-cent would not reduce prices either.


Edit:

Suppose for a moment that $100 were the smallest denomination of currency that were allowed. How would you buy a hamburger at McDonalds?

Well, for starters the lack of a smaller denomination would cause pressure on a barter system - a new currency would likely develop if allowed to enable people to exchange portions of $100 rather than an entire $100. Let's pretend that the government squashes that attempt. How would you buy a hamburger at McDonalds?

You wouldn't, you'd buy a membership card at McDonalds that entitled you to 100 hamburgers and you'd use it over time. McDonald's would not raise the price of their hamburger to $100.

 

[Liquid]

Ah, I need to revisit my economics 101.

Inflation is inevitable but I'd always had an inkling that small denominations kept the rate of inflation lower than it might otherwise be, because prices and the arithmetic gap between prices is minimal year on year, increasing by 1 or 2 pence instead of 5 or 10.

 

[Mikeybc]

So much nicer that the penny is gone here, all the penny was to me was a burden !

I'm also glad we use 1 and 2 dollar coins, much easier to handle. I was resistant to the 1 and 2 dollar coins at first but after living with them I find them much more convenient...no more need for unravelling and straightening out wrinkled bills and having them thicken up my wallet.

 

[Danoff]

The advantage of coins is that despite the higher cost to create than paper, they last substantially longer than paper. The average lifespan of a paper bill is much lower than the lifespan of a coin. So there is an argument to be made for the $1 or $2 coin. The problem with coins is that they're harder to keep track of, organize, and generally take up more space and are a pain to carry. As such, I'd rather the mint pay extra to keep paper dollars in circulation than go to coins - which I detest.

If I have my keys in one pocket and my phone in the other, where do the coins go? In my purse?

All in all, the mint probably doesn't need to keep as much hard currency in circulation as it once did thanks to the advent of digital currency exchanges.

 

[Liquid]

The £1 note was finally withdrawn in 1988 by the Bank of England, but Scottish £1 notes are still printed, I believe.

There has also been talk from time to time of withdrawing the £5 note with a £5 coin intended for circulation, instead of the more commemorative £5 crown coin we have at the moment. But as it happens, we are switching to polymer notes in 2016 and this includes the fiver so I doubt we'll be withdrawing it anytime soon.

Polymer notes are said to be cheaper to produce, harder to counterfeit and they are more durable, so perhaps the US Mint could switch to polymer in the future, if they haven't already.