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What's the value of coins? Paper and plastic notes seems more convenient in most cases. Metal coins seem like a case of holding onto tradition despite losing t
by anonporridge 5y ago
What's the value of coins? Paper and plastic notes seems more convenient in most cases.
Metal coins seem like a case of holding onto tradition despite losing the original reason for the tradition.
- toast0 5y agoDetecting quarters is a lot easier, faster, and more reliable than detecting dollar bills. Card payments really want to be made online and transaction fees are brutal for small amounts anyway, so you end up with special purpose stored value cards and all of the lost change that implies. Plus, quarters are better to flip to make decisions than bills.
- zerocount 5y agoYep, tails never fails!
- umangrathi 5y agoOn the other end here in India there are few vending machines, but mostly are now based on digital payments.
- franga2000 5y agoAs you said, in most cases. Mechanical (no electronics) vending machines are only possible with coins and even with electronics, sorting/recognising coins is far easier than notes. A basic coin also takes more effort to forge (well enough to pass at a gas station) than a basic note, although notes seeming everywhere else but the US have obvious safety features that completely beat coins. They're also much easier to handle when you need many different ones, like when you're trying to assemble an exact amount. I can just look into my wallet and pick out the coins I need, whereas with notes, I'd have to spread them out like an awkward floppy hand of cards and especially if they weren't distinct enough scanning through and finding the right ones sounds plain annoying.
- b112 5y agoCoins also last a lot longer, and are harder to accidentally damage / destroy. Canada moved to 1 and 2 dollar coins, for just this reason. (Plus, 2 dollars is like a quarter 50 years ago....)