As we all know, the value of circulating coins varies greatly from country to country, so I'm curious to see how useful coins are for you in your daily life (and it would also be useful to mention what currency you use).
In my case, I use the Romanian Leu, which only has coins for 1, 5, 10 and 50 bani (essentially 0.01, 0.05, 0.1, 0.5 RON), making most coins virtually useless. Aside from that, if you look up our coins, you'll notice they're probably among the (if not THE) ugliest and plainest circulating coins in the world. I have circulating coins from very many places, and I'm still yet to find a country which (in my opinion) has worse designs.
As 1 USD currently equals 4.7 RON, the most valuable coin (50 bani) is only worth about 10 cents. As for usage, I use the 50 bani now and then when it comes to certain vending machines (I save them to dump them in vending machines). The 10 bani I rarely use when there's no one behind me in line at a store and I give the exact amount to get rid of some extra coins. As for the 1 and 5, I never use them. The 1 ban is worth a little more than a fifth of a cent and the 5 is a cent so they are completely worthless. Most people throw them on the ground as soon as they get them.
I estimate that about 3% to 5% of our transactions are conducted in cash, so we must use coins in these transactions, though we normally round off to the nearest $0.05, thereby making (only) the 1 cent coin useless.
$0.25 coins can still be used in many parking meters (though this is changing), and in machines at gas stations that deliver compressed air (also use of credit/debit cards is becoming an option on these).
I can safely say that I have never used a penny in a transaction. Most coin operated machines don't even accept them. I've rarely used Nickels and Dimes in either parking meters or vending machines. I use Quarters sometimes, but only in a pinch and never for more then one or two dollars at a time.
It's surprisingly hard to deposit change into one's bank account. Most people have to hand count them at the bank or go to the parasitic Coinstar machines. Thankfully, my bank is the only in the area to have an automatic coin counter for customers.
I'm surprised that people would just throw away their 1 Ban coins. Why would you take them to begin with!? Is it difficult to deposit change in Romania?
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Quote: "tdziemia"I am in the U.S.
I have a part-time job in a retail store.
I estimate that about 3% to 5% of our transactions are conducted in cash, so we must use coins in these transactions, though we normally round off to the nearest $0.05, thereby making (only) the 1 cent coin useless.
$0.25 coins can still be used in many parking meters (though this is changing), and in machines at gas stations that deliver compressed air (also use of credit/debit cards is becoming an option on these).
+1 (but in Canada)
- Sadly, we've been on a fast-track to make cash irrelevant for years now. Everybody operates with excessive debt & seems perfectly content to blissfully live by credit (or debit).
We got rid of the $0.01 a few years ago so the $.05 has become a lot like our cent, the dime more like a nickel & the quarter more like a dime. So that makes our loonie (our dollar coin) much more like a 25 cent piece & our Toonie ($2 coin) much more like a $1.00. I mean we do buy our Lotto tickets (& a few snacks) with these denominations & their buying power hasn't completely imploded (yet), but it almost seems like everything has skyrocketed with run-away inflation & one needs large banknotes or credit to buy just about anything.
I think the designs of our coins have been decent enough (nothing to complain about there) but they are becoming less relevant with such diminished buying power.
Quote: "tdziemia"I am in the U.S.
machines at gas stations that deliver compressed air (also use of credit/debit cards is becoming an option on these).
Two years ago I made a 4000 miles road trip through CA, AZ, UT and NV and was shocked to learn that you actually have to pay for compressed air! I've travelled to more than 30 countries worldwide and nowhere had to pay for that service!
Now to the original question: Israeli coins are quite high value (highest denomination, 10 NIS = 3.5 US$, lowest, 10 Agorot = 3.5 US Cents) so yes, we do use them in everyday transactions, especially in smaller businesses or vending machines. My wife, on the other hand, prefers card, even for minor purchases.
I continue to use my stack of cents every day to buy the most essential food in France. The cost of a loaf of bread suddenly rose from 1€ to 1€ 5cts and the automatic cash register accepts cents
Quote: "Some_Nerd"Another American here
I can safely say that I have never used a penny in a transaction. Most coin operated machines don't even accept them. I've rarely used Nickels and Dimes in either parking meters or vending machines. I use Quarters sometimes, but only in a pinch and never for more then one or two dollars at a time.
It's surprisingly hard to deposit change into one's bank account. Most people have to hand count them at the bank or go to the parasitic Coinstar machines. Thankfully, my bank is the only in the area to have an automatic coin counter for customers.
I'm surprised that people would just throw away their 1 Ban coins. Why would you take them to begin with!? Is it difficult to deposit change in Romania?
Yes, it is hella hard to do ANYTHING with coins, including depositing. The vast majority of banks will either turn you away or the very, VERY few that actually do that will make you feel like a criminal for even attempting to deposit coins.
Also, things like coinstar machines are non-existant. I would gladly pay a comission if such a thing existed, but such machines do not exist anywhere in this country.
American
I almost never use coins of any denomination. It's such a hassle to lug around a pocket full of anything. So much easier to slide a card out of my wallet or tap my phone.
Every so often I'll get a roll or two of dollar coins or halves to spend on snacks at a gas station. It's more just to hear to the reaction from the cashier about how cool they are and how they never see them because nobody uses them.
.01, .05, .10, .25 all just go into my coin jar when I used paper money and get them back in change. When I get enough to make the trip worth it, I deposit it into my checking account.
All banks and credit unions near me have automatic coin machines. They just dump it in and it totals it up. Easy peasy.
"What we are is not as important as what we aren't"
Have a nice weekend friends.
Czech Republic from my point of view:
In general, almost all money is useful in our country-valid. We got rid of small pennies in 2008 ( 10,20,50), and circulate the crowns they are all regular and common.
I don't know if it's common in the world (I think in civilized probably not) ..... but our small businessmen - capitalists - self-employed and barn pubs, restaurants - they do not want card payments - cashless
-they want money on hand (due to smaller declared profits), not to declare or tax income.
-Czechs also do not tip in a restaurant.( when paying by card) It is such a local folklore in our country- and waitresses also want money for service in addition to their salary ,, tragedy in our country,,
This is my wife 's in my wallet today:
This is an overview of how many coins and in what value they are in circulation and how many are issued per 1 person in the country:
And this is a graph of captured counterfeit coins in circulation in years: Green are foreign and blue are Czech, red total -counterfeit coins.
So abbreviated just about circulation and yes inflation eats us nicely ...
Ivan
Yes, it is hella hard to do ANYTHING with coins, including depositing.
This is not true at all in the U.S.
I use my coins (even 1 cent!) at the automatic cashier machines in the grocery. I can also pay for my groceries (or anything else) with cash and use coins.
This option disappeared briefly in early days of the COVID pandemic when some regions of the U.S. experienced a shortage of coins, but now is possible again.
Quote: "MIMAEL".... We got rid of small pennies in 2008 ( 10,20,50) ...
I made a wonderfull trip in south bohemia two years ago, and I was missing the 10, 20, 50 Haleru from 1993, so my goal was to go to small shop and request the cashier to open his cash box to see if there were these missing coins, and I found some!
I found the 20 and the 50 from 1993 and some 10 haleru (very few indeed, only two of these) but none from 1993
Quote: "Some_Nerd"Another American here
I can safely say that I have never used a penny in a transaction. Most coin operated machines don't even accept them. I've rarely used Nickels and Dimes in either parking meters or vending machines. I use Quarters sometimes, but only in a pinch and never for more then one or two dollars at a time.
It's surprisingly hard to deposit change into one's bank account. Most people have to hand count them at the bank or go to the parasitic Coinstar machines. Thankfully, my bank is the only in the area to have an automatic coin counter for customers.
I'm surprised that people would just throw away their 1 Ban coins. Why would you take them to begin with!? Is it difficult to deposit change in Romania?
Yes, it is hella hard to do ANYTHING with coins, including depositing. The vast majority of banks will either turn you away or the very, VERY few that actually do that will make you feel like a criminal for even attempting to deposit coins.
Also, things like coinstar machines are non-existant. I would gladly pay a comission if such a thing existed, but such machines do not exist anywhere in this country.
We actually have some coins machines that gives you a receipt to use that money in many supermarkets in Romania. But yeah, the coins are really ugly, the value for coins is pretty low, hell even Moldova has higher valued coins. At least we have some commemorative coins which is nice.
I live in the US also. I refuse to use EFT for small transactions like $3.56 for coffee and news paper, and similar afternoon purchase at a different kind of store.
I keep an ever changing inventory of small change in my pocket for these purposes, a nickle and a penny whenever possible to make .06, which is sales tax in my state on $1 purchase, two quarters...sometimes i want the two quarters , sometimes I will give them over to get a paper dollar. my normal day involves counting all our common coins numerous times.
Jamais l'or n'a perdu la plus petite occasion de se montrer stupide. -Balzac
Quote: "kommodore"We actually have some coins machines that gives you a receipt to use that money in many supermarkets in Romania. But yeah, the coins are really ugly, the value for coins is pretty low, hell even Moldova has higher valued coins. At least we have some commemorative coins which is nice.
Interesting. That's how Coinstars work over here. They take a ~10% fee unless you put it towards a gift card.
It sounds like the current Romanian coins series is massively unpopular. Why is the government even bothering to mint them?
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I like small denomination coins, because it is possible to collect and hoard them inexpensively.
Technically 1 & 2 eurocents aren't useless here in Lithuania, for example, a box of matches can still be purchased for 3 cents. But it is true that they ares less useful when buying food, for example, a Kaiser roll with sesame seeds costs 14 cents (recently changed from 12 cents).
Quote: "MIMAEL".... We got rid of small pennies in 2008 ( 10,20,50) ...
I made a wonderfull trip in south bohemia two years ago, and I was missing the 10, 20, 50 Haleru from 1993, so my goal was to go to small shop and request the cashier to open his cash box to see if there were these missing coins, and I found some!
I found the 20 and the 50 from 1993 and some 10 haleru (very few indeed, only two of these) but none from 1993
Hello and great greetings.
Yes, ,,Frenchlover,, someone can have it postponed, Lots of aluminum among the people,national banks have an overview in tons and values.
I think so in all states , the same after withdrawal and expiration.
Humor: of course, affected by my passion, we have made up supplies for the future and we will not let the fathers' heritage go into oblivion.
I have it in a drawer in the dark and a constant temperature without access to air - because aluminum is a jerk it easily cools down and then coughs.
1993 is at its peak
Hello and enjoy "Saint Walpurgis Night " - a burnt witch behind our house - it's called us ,, filipojakubská noc,,
Ancient traditions: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walpurgis_Night
I used that in the past and forgot now how to do it again.
It works something like all that link you can hide behind a word or two.
Will see if I can do it again for you ...
I found it is near the end of that link in the Links section.
So only the Click here (or whatever you choose) is shown -
Ivan link <<< click here for the hidden long link.
So to make that I put Ivan link wording.
Quote: "ZacUK" Lastly, how all that was done can only be shown in a screenshot >
with a green border showing what I inserted before and after your long link.
Thank you very much
Although I haven't understood it yet, I'll try it somewhere to learn it - thanks. Just now I'm in a hurry - I want to cut out a few coins of exonumia for the kids outside by the campfire and their parents for fun, I was casting metal in the morning.
Thanks Ivan
When I used to live in Ukraine, the lowest coin (10 Kopiikas) was worth virtually nothing, to be exact, it is 0.003 USD.
They were still used for some small transactions as the cost of living in Ukraine is cheap, (10 Hryvnias or 0.50 USD for a Coke), but they almost disappeared when I left.
EDIT I mistakeny wrote 50 Usd instead of 0.50 usd.
Quote: "Cody404"When I used to live in Ukraine, the lowest coin (10 Kopiikas) was worth virtually nothing, to be exact, it is 0.003 USD.
They were still used for some small transactions as the cost of living in Ukraine is cheap, (10 Hryvnias or 50 USD for a Coke), but they almost disappeared when I left.
"50 USD for a coke" doesn't seem cheap to me.
Is this a typo?
When did you leave?
Our coins are still fairly useful, but rampant inflation is eroding that.
We have the 10c, 20c, 50c and $1 , $2.
$1 and $2 gold coloured, 20c and 50c are silver coloured and 10c is copper coloured. This is from a stamp club auction, where I make up payments -10% commission.
Our $1 is worth about 65 US and 60 Eurocents.
Basically the cents coins are worthless and have little practical use. Most parking meters only accept credit cards and even the $2 coin has limited use. Covid has made many shops paranoid about accepting cash period. Usually if you buy anything, they rock out the eftpos terminal (Debit cards) straightaway and look annoyed when you tender cash. The fact only the 20c was issued dated 2020 and coins are minted overseas and only issued every other year if you are lucky is not good.
Now if someone drops the 10c, they never even pick it up. Many wallets no longer have coin pouches and my spare coins sit in jars. The fact parking meters now no longer accept coins mostly due to teenage hooligans and vandals along with even pokie machines now only taking notes and paying in tickets rather than coins is even worse.
Coins are on the way out here at least. Love to have an Aussie chip in as they have heaps of coins and they are still large and quite worthless.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
Compared to Bani and Haleru, our coins have some value.
Our smallest coin the 10c is worth around 6.5 US cents which is around 5p and 6.2 Euro cents
Our top coin the $2 is worth $1.29 US, £1.05 UK and €1.25.
We removed the 1c and 2c coins in 1989 (None minted for circulation after 1987)
The 5c was removed in 2006 after the reform which saw the 10c, 20c and 50c shrunk and reissued in cheaper stainless steel.
The 10c coin days are probably numbered.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
For the past several years people in the U.K. have been divided on the decision if we should withdraw the 1p and 2p coins (with the 1/2p gone since 1984) because they have become annoying and with inflation recently it has costed more to make compared to its face value even though for the last 30 years it has been made out of cheap plated steel. Same with the 5p and 10p they have been made out of cheaper steel metals for the last 11 years.
I hoard the older bronze ones (not shown).
Inflation has driven prices up £2 coins are rather uncommon to find in the wild. Although it is rumoured that some new £2 coins may go into circulation in the near future (we haven’t had any new ones in circulation since 2016)
All notes apart from £50 notes are common to find. I have only seen £50 notes on 5 occasions 5 in birthday cards and the one pictured from the bank.
So apart from commemoratives our currency is rather boring since the last chance of find silver went in 1993. Unless a silver proof rolls up in change.
Hi to whoever is reading this. Did you know that TYPEWRITER (on a QWERTY keyboard) is the longest word you can type using only the letters on one row of the keyboard.
Quote: "Cody404"When I used to live in Ukraine, the lowest coin (10 Kopiikas) was worth virtually nothing, to be exact, it is 0.003 USD.
They were still used for some small transactions as the cost of living in Ukraine is cheap, (10 Hryvnias or 50 USD for a Coke), but they almost disappeared when I left.
"50 USD for a coke" doesn't seem cheap to me.
Is this a typo?
When did you leave?
Yes, i meant 50 cents. (sorry for the confusion.)
Hong Kong people use plenty of banknotes (to buy products with prices that most commonly end in .9), but a lot of the time we don't know what to do with all those 10 cent and 20 cent coins we get from spare change. Virtually no stores will accept them, the ticket machines in the metro don't accept them, vending machines are blocking their coin inserts, you get shunned if you use too many on public transport, etc. Sometimes if we misplace or drop coins <=$2 in the middle of the road we don't even bother to pick them up. The Monetary Authority has debuted coin trucks to help citizens exchange their jars and jars of 10c and 20c coins for higher denominations, but with only two such trucks in rotating locations, in a city of 7.5 million... you can imagine how effective and widespread the effort has been.
The 50 cent coin is stuck in some kind of limbo land, where I don't see it getting used often but it isn't showing definite signs of redundancy. $1, $2 and $5 get maybe a few transactions at malls and convenience stores here and there for cheap goods or in combination with paper money.
In my neighbourhood the $2 coin is of particular importance as that is how much the minibus companies charge us for an itinerary to the nearby shopping mall. This discount is only available to coin users and because of this our family hoards $2 coins for use on the minibus. We hoard $5 coins as well to pay tunnel tolls, which are, you guessed it, $5.
A few days ago I devised a strategy to spend 50-cent coins. The ticket machines in MTR stations accept 50-cent coins and, unlike people, they don't whine about how many you're using at a time. And therefore I used 15 of them to pay for a HKD7.50 ticket.
"Life is all about being too wrapped up in the now to care about the future. When the future becomes the past, you start to regret what you've done."
Quote: "Cody404"When I used to live in Ukraine, the lowest coin (10 Kopiikas) was worth virtually nothing, to be exact, it is 0.003 USD.
They were still used for some small transactions as the cost of living in Ukraine is cheap, (10 Hryvnias or 50 USD for a Coke), but they almost disappeared when I left.
"50 USD for a coke" doesn't seem cheap to me.
Is this a typo?
When did you leave?
Yes, i meant 50 cents. (sorry for the confusion.)
Thanks for the clarification.
About 27 years ago I was involved with a theatre troupe from St. Lucia performing in Martinique. The hotel we stayed at charged $10 USD for a small (6 oz) bottle of Coke. That's why I asked b/c I was unsure whether hyperinflation had hit Ukraine (there was a typo or something lost in translation).
Hotels and Motels are notorious for marked up prices in their mini bars. You would have to have rocks in your head to pay them. Some will even stop you from placing your stuff in the mini fridge and then try and charge you for stuff you did not use.
My advice is, 1. Never buy anything in them, unless you are really desparate and 2. Take a photo of the fridge when you arrive and leave, so you can prove that you have not taken anything if they try and snake and grass you at the end of your stay. They will often do so as they know you will be agitated about catching your flight and also you may be depressed as your holiday may be ending.
Also 3. Any responsibility for friends, family or even prostitutes you bring back to your hotel room - they may knowlingly or unknowingly help themselves to min fridge contents.
I usually hear of $7 or $8 for cans of soft drink in fridges and more for baby bottles of spirits, but $10US for a tiny bottle of coke is outrageous, you can probably buy one for a Euro in the market.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
About the US. I am reading here that some people do not use 1-cent coins. But in my experience, they are always given as change, as our prices with taxes are almost always not ending in 0 or 5. A lot of people just have them in the jars and never use them. But I always use them at self-checkouts at supermarkets. Just quickly dump 15-20 coins, and pay the rest with a credit card, so I almost never have regular coins laying around in my house. Of course, credit cards are used the most, and cash usage is in decline, but nobody stares at you when you want to pay cash, including coins. 50-cent coins are never in use. Dollar coins are rare, but if you need them, you can always get them at vending machines. Sometimes I just go to a vending machine, deposit a dollar bill, press "cancel" and it gives me change in a dollar coin. Then I look at it, and if I don't need it, I throw it again, and press "cancel" in the hope to find something more interesting. Sometimes I do find something interesting.:) The same goes for quarters, got a "W" quarter even once like that.
In Ukraine, 1, 2, 5 & 25 kopiykas were withdrawn, but you can still deposit/exchange them in some banks until September 31, 2022 (and September 31, 2023, for 25 kopiykas). Most people do not bother, but I know some fellow numismats who get them in large quantities to search for rare years and types, and then either deposit them in bulk to banks, or some people even buy/sell them by weight at the cost of metal. 10 kopiykas are mostly given as change only in supermarkets (even new shiny 2022), but they are rarely used in the markets or elsewhere. 50 kopiykas (1.7 US cents) are still used more or less common, as well as 1, 2, 5 & 10 hryvnias (3.4 - 34 US cents).
I was in Portugal in January 2022. All coin denominations (including 1&2 cents were commonly used).
Interesting thread. In Mexico the 50c coin is now the lowest value legal tender coin, but some places will simply not accept them. The 10c and 20c became outmoded last year, but even then they were rarely seen or used. Both the old 50c and small 50c coins are in use. Mexico is a much stronger cash economy than other countries, so coins are ubiquitous in most transactions, especially when tipping, and, with their frequent use, the coins typically are in F grade after a few years and G-VG from the 2000s. The $20 coin, despite being issued when the new peso was introduced, has not been a popular coin until the end of last year, when the mint pumped out millions of these coins to circulate, I'd imagine in an effort to outmode the $20 note. These newer $20 coins are smaller and have better designs, but the public has yet to accept them, or at least stop hoarding them.
Definitely in the US the 1 cent coin is still commonly used, despite having negligible value. It's the coin that no one will pick up if they saw it on the ground. It's really unfortunate, too, to see how little value our change has.
Kenny
- Verifying your Asian and British-territorial coins everyday with the best quality photos and the best information.
iiruig - you should feel okay with your low value kopiyas, as Sep 31st does not exist, so I guess they are eternally valid.
Seriously they should melt them down and drop the residue on the Kremlin!
Kenny G - Thanks, that explains a lot, got a bag of coins and inside were several old pesos from the 2000s and even Nuevo pesos from the mid 1990s and I swear these coins were almost worn flat, the eagle was a silhouette and the serpent had melted into the cactus.
I find this the same with African coins - always heavily worn to death.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
Here in Sweden we don't use cash.
About 18 % of all store's here doesn't even accept cash as a payment method. Personally I only use cash when I'm going to the barber shop, because they don't accept credit cards. So every time I'm getting a hair cut I have to find an ATM so I can withdraw money. LOL!
Quote: "Moneytane"iiruig - you should feel okay with your low value kopiyas, as Sep 31st does not exist, so I guess they are eternally valid.
Seriously they should melt them down and drop the residue on the Kremlin!
Haha! You are right! I first put October 31, but then double-checked and it was September. I changed the month, but did not change the date:)
Quote: "KS5331 Productions"Hong Kong people use plenty of banknotes (to buy products with prices that most commonly end in .9), but a lot of the time we don't know what to do with all those 10 cent and 20 cent coins we get from spare change. Virtually no stores will accept them, the ticket machines in the metro don't accept them, vending machines are blocking their coin inserts, you get shunned if you use too many on public transport, etc. Sometimes if we misplace or drop coins <=$2 in the middle of the road we don't even bother to pick them up. The Monetary Authority has debuted coin trucks to help citizens exchange their jars and jars of 10c and 20c coins for higher denominations, but with only two such trucks in rotating locations, in a city of 7.5 million... you can imagine how effective and widespread the effort has been.
The 50 cent coin is stuck in some kind of limbo land, where I don't see it getting used often but it isn't showing definite signs of redundancy. $1, $2 and $5 get maybe a few transactions at malls and convenience stores here and there for cheap goods or in combination with paper money.
In my neighbourhood the $2 coin is of particular importance as that is how much the minibus companies charge us for an itinerary to the nearby shopping mall. This discount is only available to coin users and because of this our family hoards $2 coins for use on the minibus. We hoard $5 coins as well to pay tunnel tolls, which are, you guessed it, $5.
A few days ago I devised a strategy to spend 50-cent coins. The ticket machines in MTR stations accept 50-cent coins and, unlike people, they don't whine about how many you're using at a time. And therefore I used 15 of them to pay for a HKD7.50 ticket.
Very interesting. Are coins depicting Queen Elizabeth still used / are redeemable?
Master Coin Referee
Coin referee for CRI, GTM, HND, NIC, PAN, and SLV.
Revisor principal de monedas
Revisor de Numista para monedas de CRI, GTM, HND, NIC, PAN y SLV.
Quote: "ngdawa"Here in Sweden we don't use cash.
About 18 % of all store's here doesn't even accept cash as a payment method. Personally I only use cash when I'm going to the barber shop, because they don't accept credit cards. So every time I'm getting a hair cut I have to find an ATM so I can withdraw money. LOL!
This is just an opinion, but I find it quite sad that a few countries have got to the point where they despise cash so much.
Quote: "ngdawa"Here in Sweden we don't use cash.
About 18 % of all store's here doesn't even accept cash as a payment method. Personally I only use cash when I'm going to the barber shop, because they don't accept credit cards. So every time I'm getting a hair cut I have to find an ATM so I can withdraw money. LOL!
This is just an opinion, but I find it quite sad that a few countries have got to the point where they despise cash so much.
I totally agree with you.
We've had some hacked grocery stores lately as well, which only witness about how vulnerable a cashless society is. It's gone pretty far when people can't buy groceries because the store has been hacked and can only accept cash payments – but no one has cash.
Quote: "ngdawa"Here in Sweden we don't use cash.
About 18 % of all store's here doesn't even accept cash as a payment method. Personally I only use cash when I'm going to the barber shop, because they don't accept credit cards. So every time I'm getting a hair cut I have to find an ATM so I can withdraw money. LOL!
This is just an opinion, but I find it quite sad that a few countries have got to the point where they despise cash so much.
I'm not so sure that the population of nations who drop cash in favour of digital actually "despise" cash. A lot of people are neutral but the crypto fans on Youtube like to trash cash any chance they get.
The transition has been a gradual process in North America & VISA (& BTCA) have added perks ("Cashback or REWARDS" which users pay for) to entice the reliance on credit/debit. They also have active campaigns (like ads to stop using dirty cash during Covid). Banks are always pushing credit cards with certain points (reward) systems. The BTCA has sponsored campaigns to get the poor (& disadvantaged) to open up bank accounts. (You will see all sorts of propaganda campaigns from this lobby group). The thing that gets me is that there is no lobby group for cash use (for privacy).
A lot of today's younger cashiers/servers love Credit/Debit cards so they don't have to calculate how much change they must make. Many card users tell me that they love the convenience too (not needing to carry cash). Most of my friends use credit & today I saw on one of our local news channels that 60% of all cash in Canada is the $100 bill since fewer Canadians are keeping cash (so they take out large notes for emergency funds). The transition to cashless seems to be gaining traction again.
And speaking of emergency funds, in countries like the Philippines, it is actually a challenge to use credit/debit cards. It might be due to their monsoon season (that's what most locals told me as so many keep cash & only cash commerce is so common on most of the islands I visited). They won't have to worry of a cash shortage like what happened in Pureto Rico after Hurricane Maria hit that country in 2017.
Quote: "ngdawa"=1em how vulnerable a cashless society is.
THIS exactly is the point: when people held in their pockets gold/silver coins, they were pretty safe with what they owned and the control (by ruling entity) over them was limited.
Then came coins, minted from metal whose value was much lower than the face value (to say nothing about pieces of colorful paper called banknotes) whose value was based exclusively on the decision of the rulers and can be freely manipulated by them.
To crown the process, comes "cashless" society where a citizen is completely dependant and a slave to financial institutions/governments who exert TOTAL control of our lives.
Welcome to Orwelliana!
Very interesting. Are coins depicting Queen Elizabeth still used / are redeemable?
I think when getting coins from the bank in HK they will have already gone through their stock and prevented the Elizabeth II coins from getting out of the vault.
I do come across the occasional QEII coin when shopping though. The frequency with which they're popping up is getting lower and lower in the 5.5 years since I started. I'm talking one or maybe two a week.
"Life is all about being too wrapped up in the now to care about the future. When the future becomes the past, you start to regret what you've done."
I am actively spending in three countries currently.
1 and 2 Euro cent are not used in Ireland. Change is rounded up and down.
However, in Poland 1 Grosz coin, a very attractive little coin with a value of less than 1/4 Euro cent, is actively used along with other tiny value coins.
In UK, we actively use all denominations from pennies upwards.
I am not at all a user of cashless transactions, except online.
Just back from shopping [in Poland now, Mazuria, 30 Celcius, but at least the diesel is cheap].
I went to two shops and a hardware store. In my change, I got several 2 Groszy coins (newest, 2020), two 1 Grosz coins (a nice shiny new one, 2021), and some other larger small change. Items are priced to the .99 increment here.
I believe this is the case is most, if not all, countries. We also have prices like 48.99, 97.68, 32.25, etc., and the subunit coins were withdrawn from circulation on 30 september 2010. So if you pay with credit card you, naturally, pay the exact amount, but if you pay cash it is either rounded down (.49 and below) or rounded up (.50 and above).
Indeed. Rounding up and rounding down has been the practice in Ireland for the past few years, after the 1 and 2 Euro cent coins ceased to be used.
We dropped the 1 and 2 öre in 1972, the 5 and 25 öre in 1985, and the 10 öre in 1992 (I wonder why the 10 öre survived the longest …), so we've been rounding up and down for 50 years now. This is why it's been so amusing reading about the talks of dropping the 1 cent coin in the USA, and people went crazy about how to do when paying for something that costs .99. 🤣
In Cameroon, despite 1, 2, 5 and 10 franc-coin are existing, the smallest used usually coin is 25 francs. 5 and 10 francs can be used on pharmacy or supermarket, but rounded to the highest 25 or 50 francs when small change is missing.
Rounding only happens for cash transactions here as all stores are fond of prices ending in .99 or even .95, which is really dumb given our smallest coin is 10 cents and 5 cent coins were last 16 years ago, 1c and 2c some 33 years ago.
However if paying by eftpos, it must be an exact amount, so a power bill costing $113.87 will be that by credit card or direct debit, but if you pay by cash, it will be $113.90 and if you tender $114, you will get 10 cents change.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
At first sight it's curious that in Canada there is more hard cash circulating now that before the pandemic. The reason is that many people see the future as somewhat uncertain, so they keep hard cash (I think mostly in $50 and $100 notes) in home safes.
As for coins, we did the right move, here, to eliminate the “penny”. Coins should exist based on their economic usefulness, not on the desires of us collectors, with our nostalgia for things past, nor because some lobby, as in the US the zinc lobby, makes sure the cumbersome “penny” keeps on being minted in the hundreds of millions, with all associated costs: extraction / refining / minting / transport / security / space…
Using the BoC Inflation Calculator, you will find out that $1 in 1922 (100 years ago) had the purchasing power of $16.69 now. This means that a 1922 Canadian small cent had a purchasing power of over 16 cents in current money. If you went to the general store as a child and wanted to buy a couple of candies, you wouldn't get any change. Better buy a handful for your penny.
If the metallic currency reflects the real needs of the economy, then it is more likely to last longer in the future. Eliminate useless lower denominations, and adapt vending machines for (new) higher denominations.
I live in Mexico now, and I can confirm what was said about this country: no signs of an upcoming “cashless society”, lots of coins everywhere, and they are quite useful. 10 and 20 centavos have recently disappeared, 20 pesos have not appeared in significant quantities, but all other denominations do circulate.
The same is true for almost all Latin American countries. Lots of coins, and they are very useful. It is really a numismatic paradise. The exceptions are:
- Argentina: the National Bank did´t put enough coins into circulation during more than a decade, so the coins of all denominations are very scarce, and now the inflation has also made them worthless
- Venezuela: hyperinflation
- Honduras and Guyana: there are lots of coins, but they are almost worthless
They don't exist in circulation at all and foreign currency coins can't be exchanged so those don't exist either, on top of that coin collecting doesn't really exist so coins are a rare sight.
Cowri shells are used in jewelry, decorations and in voodoo rituals for symbolic purposes if that counts.
I think it's more common to see cowri shells than actual coins.
The reason why cashless has the upper hand in Sweden is quite simple.
For years the Swedish banks were responsible for the distribution of cash. Since many Swedes do not have liquid assets and are depending on credits given by the banks, the banks could easily tighten the grip on cash. There was/is no incentive (profit) for the banks to offer an inexpensive flow of cash.
Last year, the Swedish parliament decided that the Swedish National Bank was to take over the responsibility of an inexpensive and, in these times, secure distribution of cash.
Quote: "Cody404"When I used to live in Ukraine, the lowest coin (10 Kopiikas) was worth virtually nothing, to be exact, it is 0.003 USD. They were still used for some small transactions as the cost of living in Ukraine is cheap, (10 Hryvnias or 50 USD for a Coke), but they almost disappeared when I left.
"50 USD for a coke" doesn't seem cheap to me. Is this a typo? When did you leave?
That is one expensive coke. and I thought inflation was bad in the US. 0_0
Quote: "Cody404"When I used to live in Ukraine, the lowest coin (10 Kopiikas) was worth virtually nothing, to be exact, it is 0.003 USD. They were still used for some small transactions as the cost of living in Ukraine is cheap, (10 Hryvnias or 50 USD for a Coke), but they almost disappeared when I left.
"50 USD for a coke" doesn't seem cheap to me. Is this a typo? When did you leave?
That is one expensive coke. and I thought inflation was bad in the US. 0_0
That math doesn't add up. If 0.10 UAH is 0.003 USD, then how can 10 UAH be 50 USD?
Other members already chimed in here about US coins, and they're right of course.
Personally, I always carry coins with me and use them several days a week. I always pay cash at small stores, or if I'm buying anything less than $10 it's always in cash even at a large merchant, and I often use exact change. But I feel like I'm in the minority. The stores need my change to pass on to the net customer but I rarely see anyone else pay with coins. So the coins must end up in drawers and jars before those other customers dump them at Coinstar?
Oh, and I agree that younger store clerks dont want to deal with cash or coins, I sometimes see the frowns when I pull out my change to pay… But a local post office clerk loves when I pay with change because they're always running low she says. Like I said, coin use here really seems to be a one-way street, always going out but less amd less often comimg back in.
PS: my state requires that all merchants accept cash and coins! I once saw an ice cream shop with a sign that said Credit Cards Only but the sign was gone a few days later. Guess someone called the AG!
Recently traveled to Iceland and in the 7 days I was there never used cash or coins at all. And I only saw two cash transactions by other customers. Banknotes but no coins used. The Icelandic kronur is about 140 to the USD, and there are only 370,000 people in Iceland so the coins dont get much use.
Talked with a taxi driver and he said the drivers actually prefer cash but the govt is pushing the no-cash narrative so that tourists think they shouldnt use cash when really the drivers and many stores want cash. Whether that's true I can't say, just reporting what the driver told me.
Other members already chimed in here about US coins, and they're right of course.
Personally, I always carry coins with me and use them several days a week. I always pay cash at small stores, or if I'm buying anything less than $10 it's always in cash even at a large merchant, and I often use exact change. But I feel like I'm in the minority. The stores need my change to pass on to the net customer but I rarely see anyone else pay with coins. So the coins must end up in drawers and jars before those other customers dump them at Coinstar?
Oh, and I agree that younger store clerks dont want to deal with cash or coins, I sometimes see the frowns when I pull out my change to pay… But a local post office clerk loves when I pay with change because they're always running low she says. Like I said, coin use here really seems to be a one-way street, always going out but less amd less often comimg back in.
PS: my state requires that all merchants accept cash and coins! I once saw an ice cream shop with a sign that said Credit Cards Only but the sign was gone a few days later. Guess someone called the AG!
When there was a coin shortage in the US, I would roll up my coins and sell them to gas stations. but now I just pay for fast food with 8 rolls of pennies.
Since my first post last April, my cash habits have quite changed. I have almost eliminated using my debit card and I am using Quarters much more.
For small businesses, I almost exclusively use cash to spare them from the 1.5-3.5% transaction fee. In fact, some restaurants in my town are adding on free food if you use over $10 in cash. For larger stores, I usually use my card so I can save my cash. And obviously, for online purchases I use my card.
If I have a one to four dollar purchase, try to use only Quarters (or mix them with bills if I don't have enough on me). I mostly do this for the novelty of using coins, but I occasionally have a grateful cashier who was needing change.
While there have been some stores that have been going cashless (especially around the Portland area), there is a bill going through our state legislature that would mandate business to accept cash.
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Revisor de Numista para monedas de CRI, GTM, HND, NIC, PAN y SLV.
Since my first post last April, my cash habits have quite changed. I have almost eliminated using my debit card and I am using Quarters much more.
For small businesses, I almost exclusively use cash to spare them from the 1.5-3.5% transaction fee. In fact, some restaurants in my town are adding on free food if you use over $10 in cash. For larger stores, I usually use my card so I can save my cash. And obviously, for online purchases I use my card.
If I have a one to four dollar purchase, try to use only Quarters (or mix them with bills if I don't have enough on me). I mostly do this for the novelty of using coins, but I occasionally have a grateful cashier who was needing change.
While there have been some stores that have been going cashless (especially around the Portland area), there is a bill going through our state legislature that would mandate business to accept cash.
The problem with using coins is that you don't get much if any different coins back.
Quote: "ngdawa"Here in Sweden we don't use cash. About 18 % of all store's here doesn't even accept cash as a payment method. Personally I only use cash when I'm going to the barber shop, because they don't accept credit cards. So every time I'm getting a hair cut I have to find an ATM so I can withdraw money. LOL!
This is just an opinion, but I find it quite sad that a few countries have got to the point where they despise cash so much.
I totally agree with you. We've had some hacked grocery stores lately as well, which only witness about how vulnerable a cashless society is. It's gone pretty far when people can't buy groceries because the store has been hacked and can only accept cash payments – but no one has cash.
In my opinion the problem is much more serious than just about accepting cash, since the latest trend is to have digital price signs at the shelves. Lidl has lately introduced such digital price signs, and should they be hacked or experience a blackout - noone would know what the (right) prices are.
On a related note - have you noticed that very few hairdressers accept credit cards - and, even though they have cash registers, that is not where they place the cash, and only give you a receipt when asked for it?
Yes, all the small barber and hairdressing shops around here are cash only too. The chain shops take cards, but not the small shops. My barber explained this to me before ---
He owns the shop and sub-leases the chairs to other barbers. So all the barbers are independent contractors. The barbers pay a weekly or monthly rent for the chair and utilities etc. Then the barbers keep whatever money they earn from cutting and styling hair. So all the customers pay cash directly to the barbers, not the owner. And the barbers can use Zelle or Venmo etc if they want to, but that's between them and the customers. So the owner doesn't accept credit cards for the whole shop because then he would have to divvy the credit card receipts with the barbers, and it's an accounting and tax nightmare. Cash is the easiest solution!
Same with tipping wait staff or hailing a taxi. A lot of workers still prefer cash. Me too!
Same with tipping wait staff or hailing a taxi. A lot of workers still prefer cash. Me too!
-This is music to my ears! I am pretty much deaf (lost most of my hearing) but whenever I read sentiments of this sort (a pro-cash outlook), I am truly cheered by it. I also fear Canada's rapid transition to a cashless society even though most of the people I know welcome it with open arms. Friends & family seem to be oblivious to the loss of privacy leaning on debit/credit engenders even when I explain to them how this happens (step by step). My wife used to be exclusively a debit/credit shopper until recently 😀 (yeah!). She used to look at me like I was Fred Flintstone (not anymore!) Both of us use debit/credit online (as we must) but in person we insist on cash!
I know, without a doubt, that I would have never paid off my mortgage if I had ever been mainly a credit card guy (or a “debit dude”). Forcing myself to pay with the cash 20 years ago has allowed me to be free of the shackles of a bank mortgage & I have been able to assemble a half-decent collection of paper money. I paid a tiny premium on borrowing compared to my brother who had a 18% mortgage but I'm still happy I'm not paying the banks to borrow (& use my savings to lend to others). Insurance companies are bad enough but I don't enjoy being kicked in the head by VISA or the banks.
I know paying by credit is super convenient (I get that, really I do) but I also despise the way the “BETTER THAN CASH ALLIANCE” has been so super successful & have convinced too many people to blindly rely on cards/credit & digital payments. They've effectively convinced millions (if not billions) of people to shun cash use. I am thankful that hairdressers, taxi drivers & the odd bar demands cash. (Kudos to you!) I love these digital REBELS b/c the use of cash will ultimately free you from debt, free you from being tracked & not allow multinational businesses to snoop into your spending habits & sell your preferences (your purchasing info) to marketing co.s for a premium. Everyone pays for the so-called “loyalty programs” the credit card companies push on us.
Wait until, in the not so far future, your social credit runs out because of a post you made twenty years ago (or something similar) and all your bank accounts get frozen or redistributed to more worthy worker drones and there is nothing left but electronic credits.
You don't think this is possible wherever you live, you don't live in “communist” China? Then I can only hope you are already very old and don't have to see that become reality.
Wait until, in the not so far future, your social credit runs out because of a post you made twenty years ago (or something similar) and all your bank accounts get frozen or redistributed to more worthy worker drones and there is nothing left but electronic credits.
You don't think this is possible wherever you live, you don't live in “communist” China? Then I can only hope you are already very old and don't have to see that become reality.
I wouldn't worry about that just yet. The digital age is not rock solid without ways of altering status quo.
In the Netherlands I/we (also applies to other dutchies) don't use paper money of coins that often anymore. We pay everywhere with our bankcards (no credit card) and/or our mobile device. Comparing with the rest of the world we live in the future (don't like at all). The common well known economical patterns (pay with papermoney or coins), are old-fashioned.
In other words, if you want to see some change, than you must to go to the local café's, markets or grocery stores and hope that they do have money change, otherwise you need to pay with your electronic devices afterall. 😀
I use cash only for tips or to give it to my children to pay for something. Everything is paid by card or online transactions. It is also often possible to pay tips online by qr-code
My personal list of scammers from Numista: erniemix, yvain, CassTaylor
Coins used to be a big part of iran, the first coins on earth where minted in the Persian empire, more specifically, Lydia, coins aren’t used in iran anymore because of inflation, even if we do add up the coins for example 2 5000 rial coins, it will be 10000 rials and you can buy like a gum with it. But nobody accepts them anymore, they will instead laugh at you, but if you go to any elder’s house and ask for coins they will hand you a bag of coins from the shah’s time, since the revolution wasn’t that long ago many people still have them. Almost half of my village in iran are coin collectors
In Brazil, all legal tender coins are in wide circulation, except the 1 cent coins, that are not produced since 2004. In daily transactions, the prices are rounded to the nearest 5 cent multiple.
However, many Brazilians dislike using coins in the daily life and have a coins jar (or outright donate them to charity); some of them only use higher coins, while other use no coins at all. Thus, shops frequently run low on change and incentivize customers to pay in smaller coins (in extreme cases, even offering discounts). In my city, subway and bus fares often need to be ad hoc down-rounded due to the lack of coin change.
While cash is still widely used, digital means are becoming more and more common, specially the Pix, a Central Bank-run, tax-free instant payment service that works similarly to Zelle, but doesn't require a bank account (it's also compatible with many types of digital wallets).
Due to all these characteristics, Pix is fastly replacing both cash and credit/debit cards (here's some interesting data). It's actually so popular that became one of the main talking points (both in debates and fake news) of our last general elections. I've read a piece this weekend about some Paris shops that started accepting Pix to attract more Brazilian tourists.
In my personal experience, Pix has replaced credit cards, PayPal and boleto as my favorite online payment method, although I use it on less than 10% of my in-person transactions (on average, I think I use credit/debit cards more than cash).
P.S. Ironically, contradicting some of the last posts in this thread, the most avid defender of Pix I know is my barber (I guess he pays most of his largest bills online, and don't like going to the bank). He even insists me to pay afterwards if I forget my phone.
I spend lots of time in three countries currently, Poland, Ireland, UK.
I use cash as much as possible. Hate the plastic.
Poland: All denominations of coins are in wide use - I have a box of 1, 2 and 5 Groszy coins [1 Grosz = 1/10 Euro cent very approx]. 2022 is the latest date on the 1 Grosz coins I got in my change last week, nice shiny new ones!
Ireland: You can spend 1 and 2 Euro cent coins, but don't expect them in change - rounding has been in use for the past few years. Also, some payment machines will not accept copper coins, including the 5 cent.
UK: We use 1 penny coins all the time - no rounding in Brexitania!
Green are foreign and blue are Czech, red total -counterfeit coins.
Green are foreign and blue are Czech, red total -counterfeit coins.
1993 is at its peak
