Posted on 09/20/2011 5:17:44 PM PDT by george76
In a dimly lit underground vault a block from Camden Yards, the Federal Reserve is holding millions of dollars in cash that nobody wants... But a 2005 law requires the reserve bank to keep ordering coins regardless of its stockpile, and so vaults in Baltimore and around the country are filling up.
...
a 2008 Harris poll that showed 76 percent of Americans prefer paper money.
It costs 30 cents to make a $1 coin, but the Fed purchases it for face value - and the U.S. Treasury pockets the difference. In 2010, the Mint put about 400 million $1 coins into circulation, which means the government made a profit of about $280 million.
(Excerpt) Read more at herald-review.com ...
Obviously the big boys at the newspapers in this country have no need of ever trying to buy a sandwich in a company automat.
Due to the business downturn, and vastly improved productivity, fewer folks buy lunch or dinner at the company automat so fewer coins are needed. When employment rises more people will need to buy lunch or dinner and the demand for coins will increase.
Most of these automats continuously recycle the coins so this storage problem never happens. However, it's a derivative of the Great Obama Recession, not of stupidity at the Mint ~ although there is that too.
But, like the communists Russians, they will make them anyway because they were told to. What amazing government bureaucrats we have!
Did you ever work the early morning shift in a big factory somewhere?
Our federal government is so nimble on its feet. This has been going on since 2005, and they’ve done nothing to correct their mistake?
They’re dirty disgusting heavy coins.
They’re being forced on the community as change in post offices and City parking.
It costs 30 cents to make a $1 coin, but the Fed purchases it for face value - and the U.S. Treasury pockets the difference.
At least with the coins, the parasites at the Fed aren’t pocketing the profit. I’ll take all coins.
Yes . . . years ago. Why do you ask?
It’s time once again to trot out my currency and coinage reform proposal.
Given that there has been ample inflation on the order of 10 since the last change, and we have an excessive array of confusing coins and low-value currency, it is time for a practical simplification.
First, denominations need to proceed in a proportional way without large value ratios or crowded ratios. The classic 1-5-10-50-100... progression with ratios of 2.0-5.0 is ideal as a minimum, with denominations of 2, 20, etc. being optional for important valuations.
Second, we want to avoid coins of such low value that they are more trouble than they are worth. Economic waste occurs with the extra time wasted dealing with needlessly small coins. A dime is worth less than a minute of labor at minimum wages, and no currency transaction requires anything smaller than this denomination. The penny and the half-cent served well as the smallest denominations when their values were that of today’s dime. (Note to any economic imbeciles: electronic transactions are often conducted in smaller units than our smallest coin, and that cash registers have been “rounding” - without bias up or down - to the nearest small coin for sales tax purposes for generations. Google “sales tax rounding” if you have doubts and read a few articles).
Third, we want to set the coin/currency transition at a practical level that avoids our wallets being overstuffed with small bills, or our pockets with too many coins. Coins should be suitable for purchases like a magazine, a coffee, a lunch, or a brief cab ride.
Fourth, the ratio between the largest and smallest coin should be limited to a practical factor. Consider that the economy functions effectively with coins at 0.05, 0.10, and 0.25, with pennies treated as trash, and larger coins generally not used. That is a factor of 5 between the largest and smallest coin. A factor of 10-50 may be ideal, and a factor of 100 (as in actual current coinage) is excessive.
Fifth, we need bills of adequately high value for large cash purchases (consider the largest Euro note has a value of about 6.5 times that of the largest US note.)
Sixth, coins should be sized approximately proportional to their value for ease of recognition and use.
The proposal:
Coins:
$0.10 (slightly smaller than the current dime)
$0.50 (slightly smaller than the current nickel, larger than the penny)
$1.00 (slightly smaller than the current quarter dollar, larger than the nickel)
$5.00 (slightly smaller than the current half-dollar) Or it could be set at $2 to avoid overlap with a $5 note.
Currency Notes:
$5 (optional)
$10
$20 (optional)
$50
$100
$500
Our current 6 coins are replaced with 4.
Our current 7 notes are replaced with 4-6.
If you want to talk about making coins out of silver or gold, I’m even more enthusiastic:
$1000 gold coin (1 oz)
$500 gold coin (1/2 oz)
$100 gold coin (1/10 oz)
$20 silver coin (1 oz)
$10 silver coin (1/2 oz)
$2 silver coin (1/10 oz)
$1 copper or base metal coin (1/2 oz)
$0.50 copper or base metal coin (1/4 oz)
$0.10 copper or base metal coin (1/10 oz)
Did you take your meals with you or purchase them on site?
I like the machines with the dollar bill changers, don’t you?
Both. I still use machines and occasionally take a lunch. What's that got to do with anything? I do know that there's not a food, pop, or coffee machine anywhere that I know of that can handle these coins.
And when I give them to my grandchildren, they say, "Wow, Grandpa gave me Chucky Cheese quarters!"
I work in a factory. The change machine gives back dollar coins, so I try to avoid using it and ending up with 10 pounds of change in the bottom of my purse.
However, the coins work OK in the vending machine.
Of course, the vending machines now take credit cards also.
The gal who drives the break truck (”roach coach” or “maggot wagon”) prefers traditional bills and coins.
I pack my lunch most of the time but sometimes I need more coffee or more Mountain Dew to keep rolling.
And just yesterday, I got on a bus here into NYC. There was a tourist group (from Australia, I think) waiting for the bus and asking questions. I saw one of them take a big bunch of those "dollar" coins (20 or more) out of his pocket.
ML/NJ
When the Reagan dollars come out, I will horde them.
Just because.
The vendors prefer standard coins because they have their machines everywhere. Plus, the coin activated machinery works better than that activated by bills ~ although pre-paid credit cards are catching up quickly (and are standard for small purchase situations in Europe).
Eventually we'll have replicating machines that read our minds and give us exactly what we think we want to eat ~ and all without dropping any coins in a slot or trying to push worn out bills where they can't go.
The machines in those days will simply tap our accounts on their own!
I want to own the machines fur shur.
At the moment, those coins are piling up because business, and employment, is down. Could be the pre-paid credit cards are making their way into the markets as well.
For a decade or so it has been exceedingly common for a single vending company to contract with a manufacturer to provide ALL the vending machines with all the capability needed to provide meals.
Frankly, I hate dollar bill changers.
It’s time once again to trot out my currency and coinage reform proposal.$1000 gold coin (1 oz)
$500 gold coin (1/2 oz)
$100 gold coin (1/10 oz)
$20 silver coin (1 oz)
$10 silver coin (1/2 oz)
$2 silver coin (1/10 oz)I'd take all of them I could find.
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