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News & ArtsWednesday, February 6, 2013
Money Canada Still Hasn't Fallen Into Riots and Bloodshed
Posted by Paul Constant on Wed, Feb 6, 2013 at 11:31 AM
The Canadian penny has been dead for two days, and Canada is still there. Should the United States follow suit?
1
Canada, unlike the States must have a bunch of Mo's making their pretty money. American money is dull, very str8 looking in its blandness and not fun at all. I say hire the Homo-set to design American money and let the world go green with envy. But it's just a wish, like a pony on my birthday.
3
I think the penny costs more than tuppence to make, but that depends on the price of copper.
We could be like the French and replace the Dime with a thin sliver half the size of a penny, and just go decimal. And maybe make wooden nickels?
We could be like the French and replace the Dime with a thin sliver half the size of a penny, and just go decimal. And maybe make wooden nickels?
5
Kill the penny, nickel, AND quarter, keep the dime, and revive the half-dollar. Then we can just drop the entire decimal place.
8
If nothing else, this will greatly reduce my chances of getting Canadian pennies in my change. This makes me happy.
10
Sure, no riots or bloodshed...but what about the personal toll?! What about MY feelings?! Every night since I've spent my nights rolling around naked in the corpses of pennies...rubbing them against my body and weeping in an existential-erotic-David Lynch sort of way...
11
YES kill the penny
YES kill the paper dollar
American money is, by bulk, mostly worthless stuff. They hand you back your change, and it's garbage, not enough to buy so much as a soda or a single cigarette. Throw it in a jar. Pesos, Euros, Pounds, Canadian dollars, Australian dollars: all of the foreign currencies you're likely to see overseas don't switch to paper (or plastic) until you get to much more than USD 1 in value; the smallest British note is worth almost eight dollars, while a small handful of coins in any of these countries is guaranteed to be worth your trouble, ten or twenty bucks' worth. Unthinkable here.
YES kill the paper dollar
American money is, by bulk, mostly worthless stuff. They hand you back your change, and it's garbage, not enough to buy so much as a soda or a single cigarette. Throw it in a jar. Pesos, Euros, Pounds, Canadian dollars, Australian dollars: all of the foreign currencies you're likely to see overseas don't switch to paper (or plastic) until you get to much more than USD 1 in value; the smallest British note is worth almost eight dollars, while a small handful of coins in any of these countries is guaranteed to be worth your trouble, ten or twenty bucks' worth. Unthinkable here.
12
I was just in Mexico recently and was surprised how easy it was to use plastic. And if I needed pesos I could use my Chase bankcard at an ATM and it would do the exchange from dollars for me (I did get burned using the one in the hotel lobby which charged a percent of the amount, but a standard bank associated ATM nearby charged a small fee).
Even for remote tourist areas many had handheld card readers. Some holdouts like restaurants insisted on cash only but that was probably to avoid fees (and perhaps taxes!)
Even for remote tourist areas many had handheld card readers. Some holdouts like restaurants insisted on cash only but that was probably to avoid fees (and perhaps taxes!)
13
@12, you should spend more time in less touristed areas, where not only is cash required but the Mystery of the Missing Mexican Change rears its head. For some reason, small vendors in Mexico can't make change, even for piddling amounts. No one knows why a newsstand that's been open since six AM can't make five pesos' change out of 20 at four PM, or how a drugstore can operate with literally zero coins or small notes in the till. It is common to either have to leave your change behind, or to rummage around the shop trying to find the right combo of small items to make up the total you're trying to unload.
15
@13,
It's not just Mexico. When I traveled in West Africa, it was impossible to get change, and what few small notes you could get your hands on were practically unrecognizable thanks to overuse. The same thing was true in Haiti. Even the hotels rarely had any change smaller than a 1,000 goude note.
It's not just Mexico. When I traveled in West Africa, it was impossible to get change, and what few small notes you could get your hands on were practically unrecognizable thanks to overuse. The same thing was true in Haiti. Even the hotels rarely had any change smaller than a 1,000 goude note.
19
Several EU nations do not use the. 01 or. 02 coins. The Netherlands rounds retail sales to the nearest. 05. However, all debit, credit, banking and business transactions are exact
21
Definitely kill the penny. If we had 20 cent pieces instead of 25 cent pieces, it would be a no-brainer to kill the nickel, too.
Also kill the $1 bill.
Also kill the $1 bill.
22
We could stop making new pennies but keep using the 237461532874528219364 zillion of them still in existence.
23
@18, that would be a convenient motivation if they weren't just as happy to not make the sale at all. You can see the look of panic that comes onto their face when you bring out your wopping MXN $20 note (about $1.50).
24
When I empty my pockets at night, I throw pennies in the trash, except for the few I keep as a defense from acquiring yet more pennies.
26
@25 - - Yep, that's me, and everyone who has penny jars collecting dust.
I don't see the point in collecting more, and I'm price-insensitive enough not to haul 55 lbs of pennies to Coinstar to get $100.
(Please, someone tell me my math is wrong, because that's obscene.)
If it makes you feel better, I have no quarter jars in my basement.
I don't see the point in collecting more, and I'm price-insensitive enough not to haul 55 lbs of pennies to Coinstar to get $100.
(Please, someone tell me my math is wrong, because that's obscene.)
If it makes you feel better, I have no quarter jars in my basement.
27
god.
And I thought Serbia (where I currently live) was the only god-forsaken shithole that had this issue with change. And we're talking in the country's capital.
Sometimes I remember and I get stacks of 10c bills when I change money. Other times I forget and get scolded for having a whopping $2.50 equivalent that I'm paying with. The whole country's gone to the Fawly Towers school of customer service and everyone is confused as to who is supposed to be serving whom in any transaction
And I thought Serbia (where I currently live) was the only god-forsaken shithole that had this issue with change. And we're talking in the country's capital.
Sometimes I remember and I get stacks of 10c bills when I change money. Other times I forget and get scolded for having a whopping $2.50 equivalent that I'm paying with. The whole country's gone to the Fawly Towers school of customer service and everyone is confused as to who is supposed to be serving whom in any transaction
28
What are you talking about? Canada went into crisis mode long ago...
First it was the hockey riots in Vancouver ...then the mall shootings in Toronto ..then the pig farm serial killers.
What's next, crossing the street against the red light?
First it was the hockey riots in Vancouver ...then the mall shootings in Toronto ..then the pig farm serial killers.
What's next, crossing the street against the red light?
29
@16 - you may find it interesting to know that in Canada, it is apparently illegal to make squished pennies with Canadian currency. Something about how they have the Queen's picture on them and we're not allowed to squish the Queen? But anyway, those penny-squishing machines found at tourist attractions where you can squish your penny into a souvenir? In Canada, they come with a stock of American pennies so we can squish away without disrespecting the Queen.
30
I should point out that Tek Cominco, just north of Spokane WA, produces zinc, which is a primary component of the penny.
@28 they got the pig farm serial killers. PoCo is safe now.
@28 they got the pig farm serial killers. PoCo is safe now.
33
No keep the dollar! Dollar coins get so heavy in my pocket. I like to have ones on me because I use them often. 8$ of golden dollar coins is unwieldy. Even five is a large lump in my pocket. I can't imagine trying to stuff them in a wallet. I like one dollar bills, I don't get what the problem is.
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