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A few years ago I would have agreed with you, but spending time in Germany has changed my view on coins. See, in the US, coins are kind of useless on their own

A few years ago I would have agreed with you, but spending time in Germany has changed my view on coins. See, in the US, coins are kind of useless on their own. You can't pay for anything with only coins, so giving exact change is always an extra step on top of paying with cash. Ugh. But in the EU, they have €1 and €2 coins, and it's difficult to overstate how much this changes the dynamic. It means that for purchases under ~€10, it's suddenly possible to pay with coins only. It also means that for cash purchases, you can often receive your change as, well, change. So for large purchases, I'll pay with cash only and receive change, which goes in my coin pouch, and for small purchases I'll give exact change in coins only, using them up. This actually becomes less onerous than paying exclusively with bills, like I do in the US, because you use up your coins naturally instead of collecting them in a jar or something to be counted later. It also helps that taxes are included in the price label, so a €5.99 purchase will yield €0.01 instead of something in the vicinity of $0.75.

hexl 7y ago
He didn't literally mean coins, it's cash what He was talking about.
- Hasnep 7y ago
  They made the distinction between coins and paper cash: > We could get rid of coins, and replace it with an electronic variant and leave paper cash alone.
robert_foss 7y ago
Being a Swede, who now lives in Germany I would say that there must be a middle ground between the extreme cash dependency of Germany and the opposite in Sweden. I have no idea how you do your shopping and end up not getting a pool of useless 1/5 cent coins. People literally laugh you in the face if you try to purchase things with them. Your only option is to give them away or collect them in a jar. And needing to constantly go to ATMs just to keep notes on you is kind of ridiculous. However I've also been to card only restaurants in Sweden when the card network was down. There was no plan B, the payment interaction just fell apart.
- anthony_barker 7y ago
  Japan /Tokyo is super efficient in this. Every metro station allows you to add your pennies to your metro card in an efficient coin counter. Bakeries in France now have this as well
- tda 7y ago
  The 1 and 2 cents problem can easily be solved by agreeing to stop using them and round all transactions to the nearest. Think we stopped using 1 and 2 cent coins in the Netherlands more than 15 years ago
  - dijit 7y ago
    The ironic thing here is that Sweden already does that. there is no 1c equivalent coin, the smallest denomination of currency is roughly 10c (1SEK) so things already get rounded.
    - lostlogin 7y ago
      We have signs at counters here in New Zealand that informs customers that the store uses ‘Swedish rounding’ for the same reason.
- pb82 7y ago
  I collect the coins in the ashtray of my car and then once in a while empty it in a machine at my local bank that counts it and transfers the amount to my bank account. Also, i don't need ATMs that often. 100€ last me for a while and you can of course also use a card if you don't have enough cash on you.
- svara 7y ago
  You're right it can be impractical. For me I mostly solved it by 1) giving back the 1, 2 and 5 cent coins I receive as change and 2) withdrawing cash with my grocery purchases, which is possible in many stores.
- bad_user 7y ago
  > And needing to constantly go to ATMs just to keep notes on you is kind of ridiculous. Not sure how it is in Germany, but we have ATMs on every street corner, so it's not a big deal. I do prefer paying via Apple Pay though.
systemtest 7y ago
In The Netherlands I also have a coin jar. I pay for everything with my contactless card or smartphone. I have a 20 euro bill in my jacket pocket for when I encounter a shop where I can not pay digitally. So I use that bill, but then end up with a bunch of coins. Coins are heavy and jiggle around in my jacket pocket, so at home I dump them in a jar. And then I get a fresh 20 euro bill from inventory and put it in my jacket pocket. Every now and then I go to the local marketplace at the city square and exchange my coin jar for a stack of bills. They usually have to pay for the coins so it's a beneficial exchange for us both.
wil421 7y ago
The Euro coins can be lost easier than a paper dollar. I’d hate having to carry a change pouch in the first place. I have about $600+ in a big coin jar with a bunch of paper dollars thrown in. I’ll buy an iPad or a vacation once it reaches the top.
- pmontra 7y ago
  I'm sure about that but I wonder how many coins I lost since the Euro. Not many. Probably all of them went into malfunctioning vending machines.
flamtap 7y ago
As a Canadian, let me tell you that it gets even better when you eliminate the penny as well!
karatestomp 7y ago
I think calls to get rid of the penny in the US don't go far enough. At least get rid of the nickel, too, and go to $.10 and $.50 coins only. Better yet, and avoiding the need to bring the $.50 piece back into common use, get rid of all coins smaller than the quarter. If there's practically nothing you can buy with two of a coin, it's probably time for it to go.

hexl 7y ago

He didn't literally mean coins, it's cash what He was talking about.

Hasnep 7y ago
They made the distinction between coins and paper cash: > We could get rid of coins, and replace it with an electronic variant and leave paper cash alone.

robert_foss 7y ago

Being a Swede, who now lives in Germany I would say that there must be a middle ground between the extreme cash dependency of Germany and the opposite in Sweden. I have no idea how you do your shopping and end up not getting a pool of useless 1/5 cent coins. People literally laugh you in the face if you try to purchase things with them. Your only option is to give them away or collect them in a jar. And needing to constantly go to ATMs just to keep notes on you is kind of ridiculous. However I've also been to card only restaurants in Sweden when the card network was down. There was no plan B, the payment interaction just fell apart.

anthony_barker 7y ago
Japan /Tokyo is super efficient in this. Every metro station allows you to add your pennies to your metro card in an efficient coin counter. Bakeries in France now have this as well
tda 7y ago
The 1 and 2 cents problem can easily be solved by agreeing to stop using them and round all transactions to the nearest. Think we stopped using 1 and 2 cent coins in the Netherlands more than 15 years ago
- dijit 7y ago
  The ironic thing here is that Sweden already does that. there is no 1c equivalent coin, the smallest denomination of currency is roughly 10c (1SEK) so things already get rounded.
  - lostlogin 7y ago
    We have signs at counters here in New Zealand that informs customers that the store uses ‘Swedish rounding’ for the same reason.
pb82 7y ago
I collect the coins in the ashtray of my car and then once in a while empty it in a machine at my local bank that counts it and transfers the amount to my bank account. Also, i don't need ATMs that often. 100€ last me for a while and you can of course also use a card if you don't have enough cash on you.
svara 7y ago
You're right it can be impractical. For me I mostly solved it by 1) giving back the 1, 2 and 5 cent coins I receive as change and 2) withdrawing cash with my grocery purchases, which is possible in many stores.
bad_user 7y ago
> And needing to constantly go to ATMs just to keep notes on you is kind of ridiculous. Not sure how it is in Germany, but we have ATMs on every street corner, so it's not a big deal. I do prefer paying via Apple Pay though.

systemtest 7y ago

In The Netherlands I also have a coin jar. I pay for everything with my contactless card or smartphone. I have a 20 euro bill in my jacket pocket for when I encounter a shop where I can not pay digitally. So I use that bill, but then end up with a bunch of coins. Coins are heavy and jiggle around in my jacket pocket, so at home I dump them in a jar. And then I get a fresh 20 euro bill from inventory and put it in my jacket pocket. Every now and then I go to the local marketplace at the city square and exchange my coin jar for a stack of bills. They usually have to pay for the coins so it's a beneficial exchange for us both.

wil421 7y ago

The Euro coins can be lost easier than a paper dollar. I’d hate having to carry a change pouch in the first place. I have about $600+ in a big coin jar with a bunch of paper dollars thrown in. I’ll buy an iPad or a vacation once it reaches the top.

pmontra 7y ago
I'm sure about that but I wonder how many coins I lost since the Euro. Not many. Probably all of them went into malfunctioning vending machines.

flamtap 7y ago

As a Canadian, let me tell you that it gets even better when you eliminate the penny as well!

karatestomp 7y ago

I think calls to get rid of the penny in the US don't go far enough. At least get rid of the nickel, too, and go to $.10 and $.50 coins only. Better yet, and avoiding the need to bring the $.50 piece back into common use, get rid of all coins smaller than the quarter. If there's practically nothing you can buy with two of a coin, it's probably time for it to go.