The US Cent

[Rollo]

The last time I was in the United States was back in 2009 and so the Lincoln Bicentennial cents were around but from 2010 the normal circulating cent was changed. The Union Shield Cent replaced the Lincoln Memorial Cent; I think it looks a bit Captain America-ish.

Do people like the new cent? Does anyone still see the old Wheat Cent anymore?

[Alexamateo]

Isn't Captain America's shield mostly round? That said, I don't really have an opinion on the design except to say the penny should be retired along with the paper one dollar bill.

As far as Wheat pennies, I have come across several lately. I think the advent of Coinstar machines (machines that let you dump coins into a hopper and count it for a fee instead of you having to roll the coins yourself) has put lots of coins that have probably been sitting in jars for ages back into circulation. I even found a buffalo nickel recently in my change.

[Eki]

the penny should be retired along with the paper one dollar bill.

True. Everything costs $.99, so once I left the US I had my pocket so full of 1 cent coins that I was caught by a metal detector at the Heathrow airport. Well, I could have wrapped them in a handkerchief and clubbed the pilot.

[Gregor-y]

On the plus side we don't have two cent coins. I don't mind the design much. It's closer to the earlier 'wheat' design used until 1958. As recently as ten years ago I was given a steel penny (1943) as change; they can be mistaken for 10 cent coins. It's always interesting to find a surviving coin in circulation.

[schmenke]

This thread is noncents.

[Rollo]

On the plus side we don't have two cent coins.

Not any more anyway. I have a US Two Cent and a few Three Cents. The Two Cent was made after the Civil War and stopped in the 1870s. The Three Cent coin coincided with a decrase in the postage rate.

[race aficionado]

Just imagine how much money is stashed in glass jars (or any other method of stashing loose coins) - and in this case the US penny.

Probably enough to pay the national debt. :D

But seriously, there is a lot of cash to be rounded up that is being lost under the human penchant of saving stuff under other saved stuff.
:s mokin:

[Rollo]

Just imagine how much money is stashed in glass jars (or any other method of stashing loose coins) - and in this case the US penny.

Probably enough to pay the national debt. :D

But seriously, there is a lot of cash to be rounded up that is being lost under the human penchant of saving stuff under other saved stuff.
:s mokin:

Inside the Fed (http://moneyland.time.com/2011/06/29/inside-the-fed%E2%80%99s-vault-1-billion-worth-of-unused-coins/)
In the basement of a Baltimore vault the size of a soccer field, 1 billion dollar coins are just sitting there. Thanks, Congress.
NPR’s Planet Money reporters recently investigated the $1 presidential coin program, which was a Congressional effort to get more $1 coins into circulation while also trying to be educational.

Thanks Congress? No. Thanks to the craziness of the American Public who'd rather play with beat up dollar bills, than accept change.

[airshifter]

Just imagine how much money is stashed in glass jars (or any other method of stashing loose coins) - and in this case the US penny.

Probably enough to pay the national debt. :D

But seriously, there is a lot of cash to be rounded up that is being lost under the human penchant of saving stuff under other saved stuff.
:s mokin:

Guilty as charged. I'm really bad at hoarding change, and in the past few months we started taking some in to the bank. They now have a change sorter/counter that has no fee if you are depositing the money. We've already deposited about 6-700 dollars in change, using a container we found that isn't too bulky and doesn't waste too much time waiting for the coins to sort. (Keep in mind this is NOT a quiet machine)

I've got an organizer box and a fairly large container downstairs that we are going to start chipping away at. I'd guesstimate there is another $1000-$1200 in there at a minimum. :)

[anthonyvop]

True. Everything costs $.99, so once I left the US I had my pocket so full of 1 cent coins that I was caught by a metal detector at the Heathrow airport. Well, I could have wrapped them in a handkerchief and clubbed the pilot.

You realize we just caught you in lie!!!

Even if a product is listed at $.99 you still have to pay sales tax.

So unless everything you purchased was $.99 and you only bought from illegal street vendors then your story is just so much hot-air.

[Shifter]

Yeah I was wondering about that? Duty-free shops perhaps?

[Alexamateo]

Oh come on! Who doesn't end up with a lot of pennies? Yes it is true that 45 of 50 states have sales tax added on, but we all know US retail pricing is almost always $X.99 or $X.95 etc. You always end up with lots of change and specifically pennies because the other coins you can use in vending machines. I know when I travel in a foreign country I always try to spend my coins before I leave because you can't change them back to your own currency. Eki was probably able to spend his other change but ended up with a pocketful of pennies just like most of us do when using cash.

[Bob Riebe]

This is probably not the place to get info, but, I have some Chinese coins, the size of the old large U.S. Silver dollars.
They are at least silver plated as they are tarnishing.
Does anyone here have any coin collecting knowledge if these are worth anything other than being kind of neat to have around?

[Gregor-y]

Thanks Congress? No. Thanks to the craziness of the American Public who'd rather play with beat up dollar bills, than accept change.
I'll thank (sarcastically, of course) whoever allows single dollar bills to be printed in addition to coins. I don't think the public has as much say as the makers of vending machines and other cash managing devices. The short term cost of conversion is high and no one thinks about the long term any more.

[Bob Riebe]

I'll thank (sarcastically, of course) whoever allows single dollar bills to be printed in addition to coins. I don't think the public has as much say as the makers of vending machines and other cash managing devices. The short term cost of conversion is high and no one thinks about the long term any more.There are and have been for decades, coin boxes that can accept what ever one wants to set them up to take.
When I worked at a pop warehouse, I asked the vendor guys are there boxes that take both Canadian and U.S. coins. They said yes but old Fat Freddy was too cheap to use them, so they had to deal with machines jammed by Canadian coins. This was over thirty years ago.

[Rollo]

This is probably not the place to get info, but, I have some Chinese coins, the size of the old large U.S. Silver dollars.
They are at least silver plated as they are tarnishing.
Does anyone here have any coin collecting knowledge if these are worth anything other than being kind of neat to have around?

Large Chinese Silver isn't particularly common; so I'm going to hazard a guess as to two types?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/ef/%E8%B0%83%E6%95%B4%E5%A4%A7%E5%B0%8F_DSC00777.jpg/220px-%E8%B0%83%E6%95%B4%E5%A4%A7%E5%B0%8F_DSC00777.jpg

I'm wondering if your Chinese silver coin is either a Yuan from after the formation of the Republic or something like the one below:

http://ykleungn.tripod.com/SILVERCO/KIANGNAN/chihai2b.jpg

A Mace was a unit of weight; and 10 candareens made up one mace. The value 7 Mace and 2 Candareens was an equivalent weight of silver to the Yuan and quite a few of the provinces circulated them. The Yuan was originally tarriffed at One Mexican Peso in 1899 which explains the reason for having such a chunky coin.

[Zeakiwi]

I would have thought the one cent change would have been put in a 'tip' jar on the counter.

How much is cash (notes and coins)still used in the US ? Is there a iphone/ ipad app that allows wireless iphone to iphone etc cash transfer ?

Here in NZ it is 'card' nearly everywhere. 10 cent piece is the smallest coinage now. I don't accumulate 'shrapnel' to the same extent as in the past.