Are US denominations efficient?

Paul Anderson wrote:



Do you think the public, who will whine over _any_ change, would accept
such changes slowly, or all at once as you suggest?

Personally, I think a gradual change is better, but maybe making lots
of changes all at once would get the whining over with quicker.

Given the public resistance to the Sac, the only way to accomplish
change is to eliminate the alternative.

John

In article "A.E. Gelat" writes:
Are you serious? Only 10, 25, $1 and $5? Thinks of any priced item,
rounded or not. When you add the sales taxes, and these vary from city to
city, and state to state, you end up with all sorts of odd totals. Do you
then round up or down to the nearest amount ending in zero? That is the
silliest suggestion I have ever seen.

Why? Rounding totals to something payable in coins on cash payments works
in many countries in the world.
--
dik t. winter, cwi, kruislaan 413, 1098 sj amsterdam, nederland, +31205924131
home: bovenover 215, 1025 jn amsterdam, nederland; http://www.cwi.nl/~dik/

In article writes:
....
Our local sports centre is always crying out for 5p coins, and were very
pleased when I used two pounds worth to pay my entrance charge the other
day. The problem there is size - people do not like them as they are so
small.

Depends on the people, apparently. In the Netherlands people liked the
10 cent coin (before the euro) and it circulated widely. It was quite
a bit smaller than the 5p coin. Also people here complained about the
euro and eurocent coins. They were too large.
--
dik t. winter, cwi, kruislaan 413, 1098 sj amsterdam, nederland, +31205924131
home: bovenover 215, 1025 jn amsterdam, nederland; http://www.cwi.nl/~dik/

In article . com "John Charles Wilson" writes:
My question is: which system is more efficent in changemaking?
Does a 2 cent coin really make a difference? Is there an advantage to a
20 cent coin as opposed to a 25 cent coin?

In the Netherlands we originally had 1/2, 1, 2 1/2, 5, 10, 25 and 50 cent
and 1 and 2 1/2 gulden. Multiply each denomination by 2 and see what
you get. So there is no difference in efficiency in changemaking.
Moreover, efficiency in changemaking does not appear to be dominant
in the question about the coins that are actually used.

The former Soviet denominations were weird: 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 15,
20, and 50 kopecks and 1 rouble.

Weird in your opinion. Consider Malta when I was there the first time:
2, 3, 5 Mils, 1, 5, 10, 25, 50 Cent. It is just what you are accustomed to.
(Now as a collector, receiving both a 2 and a 3 Mil coin in change showed
to be problematical, but I succeeded.)
--
dik t. winter, cwi, kruislaan 413, 1098 sj amsterdam, nederland, +31205924131
home: bovenover 215, 1025 jn amsterdam, nederland; http://www.cwi.nl/~dik/

My own slant is that the US is decades overdue on both of these. I
favor transitioning to a 4 coin system as fast as possible: 10c, 25c,
$1, and $5. Dump the 1c, 5c, 50c, and $1 and $2 notes immediately.

There'd be no way to change a quarter. Instead have coins 5c, 25c, $1,
and currency $5, $20, $100.

One thing I just learned is that besides the USA, Australia and New Zealand
use a tenth of a cent in posting gas prices. They may fool some people, but
to me, 93.9 cents is really 94 cents. Some cars are advertised at
$29,999.95, but that is really $30,000. Only fools are deceived.

Tony

"Tony Clayton" wrote in message
...
In a recent message "A.E. Gelat" wrote:

Are you serious? Only 10, 25, $1 and $5? Thinks of any priced item,
rounded or not. When you add the sales taxes, and these vary from city
to
city, and state to state, you end up with all sorts of odd totals. Do
you
then round up or down to the nearest amount ending in zero? That is the
silliest suggestion I have ever seen.

Tony

Not so silly if you live in New Zealand or Australia.

Same tax problem, but everyone rounds to 5c since they abandoned
the 1c and 2c coppers. Interestingly, the New Zealanders are
proposing to eliminate the 5c as well.

The problem of rounding is only really significant if you are
making a small purchase. The most common small purchase I make
is for a newspaper, but this is exactly 60p anyway, so that is not
a problem.

Above two pounds rounding to the nearest 10 pence would give a maximum
difference of 2.5 %.

We do this all the time with petrol (gas to our transatlantic friends).
Our local garge sells at 95.9 p per litre (US$6.39 per US gallon)
and always rounds to the nearest penny. If they rounded to the nearest
10p
a typical 45 pound bill would be 0.1% out at most.

--
Tony Clayton
Coins of the UK : http://www.coinsoftheuk.info
Sent using RISCOS on an Acorn Strong Arm RiscPC
... Hackers do it with bugs.



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On Thu, 29 Sep 2005 17:17:14 -0600, John DeBoo
wrote:

Dave Allured wrote:


There is a practical advantage to the US 25 cent coin that outweighs
everything else. Every coin-op vending machine in the country takes
them.

Plus the fact that it would take 5 coins to make a dollar as opposed to
4 for quarters. Besides, what would you call it - a fifth? 8*)

"Pistareen" was the old name for the 1/5 dollar. "Double dime" has
been used at least in numismatic circles.

Padraic.

John

la cieurgeourea provoer mal trasfu
ast meiyoer ke 'l andrext ben trasfu.

Dik, how did the Dutch convert prices in guilders to euros? I have been
told that they just substituted euro for guilder without changing the
amount. Is that true? I lived for three years in the Netherlands, and did
not think the Dutch were meek or the merchants greedy. What was the rate of
exchange at the time of the introduction of the new currency?

Dag

Tony

"Dik T. Winter" wrote in message
...
In article "A.E. Gelat"
writes:
Are you serious? Only 10, 25, $1 and $5? Thinks of any priced item,
rounded or not. When you add the sales taxes, and these vary from city
to
city, and state to state, you end up with all sorts of odd totals. Do
you
then round up or down to the nearest amount ending in zero? That is the
silliest suggestion I have ever seen.

Why? Rounding totals to something payable in coins on cash payments works
in many countries in the world.
--
dik t. winter, cwi, kruislaan 413, 1098 sj amsterdam, nederland,
+31205924131
home: bovenover 215, 1025 jn amsterdam, nederland;
http://www.cwi.nl/~dik/



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On Thu, 29 Sep 2005 17:51:56 GMT, Paul Anderson
wrote:

In article , Dave Allured
wrote:

My own slant is that the US is decades overdue on both of these. I
favor transitioning to a 4 coin system as fast as possible: 10c, 25c,
$1, and $5. Dump the 1c, 5c, 50c, and $1 and $2 notes immediately.

Do you think the public, who will whine over _any_ change, would accept
such changes slowly, or all at once as you suggest?

Yes of course! The reason being: if you dón't give them the choice (as
we have now), they will try to maintain the status quo. If you force
such a change on the country, the people would have no real choice but
to conform.

There could be hold-outs. Stores that put up signs "We use pennies!"
or even communities that refuse to give up nickels.

Personally, I think a gradual change is better, but maybe making lots
of changes all at once would get the whining over with quicker.

In other words, you think NO change is better. I think that Americans
really don't care all that much about what coins and notes they use --
what Americans care about is the inconvenience of CHANGE.

Padraic.

Paul

la cieurgeourea provoer mal trasfu
ast meiyoer ke 'l andrext ben trasfu.

On Thu, 29 Sep 2005 18:03:25 +0200, "Fernando de la Cuadra"
wrote:


Before Euro, In spain we had the following pesetas coin:

1, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 200 and 500 ptas (Try to think on it as 1 cent, 2
cent, 10 cent, 25 cent, 50 cent, 1 dollar, 2 dollars, 5 dollars).
people only used 5, 25, 100 and 500

I remember that, from when I was in Madrid. I nèver saw a single 10pta
coin in circulation there. There was an aluminium 2pta coin, wasn't
there? I recall getting one of those in change one day. Change of 2 or
3 ptas often came in the form of hard candies or sticks of gum. Yum!

I did spend a few 2.5pta coins, though! They were taken without
quibble or question, I might add.

In the 80's and half 90's:
1, 2, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100
people only used 5, 25, 50

In the 60's
0.5, 1, 2.5, 5, 25, 50, 100 (rare, just in silver)
people only used 0,5, 1, 5, 25 and less, 50.

In the 40's
0.05, 0.1, 0.25, 0.50, 1, 2.5, 5, 25
people only used 0.25, 0.50, 1 and 5

So, in the same country you can find many denominations and extrange coins
not very used (2.5 or 2). Many people in spain miss a lot a 25 cent coin,
may be for the 25 pesetas coin we lost.

Could be.

Padraic.

fernando

"RsH" escribió en el mensaje
.. .
Once upon a time the U.S. had a two cent coin, a three cent coin and
a twenty cent coin... and none were really acceptable to most of the
population. Similarly, the US$2 bill only was popular with seamen
and in several cities along the coast of the U.S. So the question of
what is acceptable or efficient really depends on acceptance by the
populace. The real issue for most businesses is refitting their cash
registers for more coins... that is where most of the resistance
comes in. If your register only has slots for 5 coins, you tend NOT
to want to see any other coin. So 1¢,5¢,10¢,25¢ and $1 will be it
for your place of business, and you will look askance at anyone
giving you a 50¢ coin...

I asked my local bank here in Toronto for a roll of 50¢ coins and I
get a dirty look and a comment that they do not HAVE any such rolls.
It IS legal tender, but they simply do not carry any... as the local
businesses have no space in their registers for them... That space
was taken by the $1 or $2 coin when those came out. Do I like the
50¢ coin? YES... Do local businesses like it? NO... Therefore no
local distribution of 50¢ coins.

As to a question of efficiency, it matters little as long as you
have the ability to make the correct change. 2*25¢= 1*50¢ and so
on... Today, with machines issuing dashboard receipts replacing
parking meters, and credit and debit cards replacing cheques and
cash, it no longer matters to many retailers or wholesalers as to
small change... it is becoming an oxymoron to some... they see so
little of it. We use tokens and tickets for the subway and busses,
have monthly passes that people pay for with debit cards, and refuse
to take $50 and $100 bills in lots of places to boot, so while your
mileage might vary, coins not really all that relevant to the issue
of efficiency.

Go figure....

RsH
--------------------------
On 29 Sep 2005 07:57:40 -0700, "John Charles Wilson"
wrote:

While the US and Canadian coin denominations are 1, 5, 10, 25, 50
cents and 1 dollar (and 2 dollars in Canada), I notice most other
industrialized countries use 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 cents, pence, etc. and
1 and 2 dollars, pounds, euros, etc.

My question is: which system is more efficent in changemaking?
Does a 2 cent coin really make a difference? Is there an advantage to a
20 cent coin as opposed to a 25 cent coin?
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