Copper disks about one centimeter in diameter

[ChrisGreaves]

On a whim I purchased twenty-dollars worth of pennies from a local bank in Toronto. Cost: $20.00.
Amazing.

I spent a pleasant hour getting my hands filthy by unwrapping and fingering through 2,000 copper coins, separating the $US pennies from the $CDn pennies.

Out of 2,000 pennies, 173 were US, which I think is normal for M9C 2A6.
Toronto is a major city close enough to the US border to have people flitting back-and-forth and who cares if it is a penny worth only 97% of a Real Penny (or, for that matter 103% of a Real Penny). There were half a dozen other copper coins, a couple of UK devices and a couple of pesetas, unless I'm very much mistaken.

On a daily basis we don't use "pennies" any more; we make use of "copper disks about one centimeter in diameter", and no, I have no idea what the bank would say if i took those 117 $US pennies back and demanded authentic Canadian pennies.

Yes I do.

The same thing they'd say if I insisted on buyers-right-of-inspection-before-purchase, right there at the teller's wicket ....

I suspect that the ratio drops the further one moves from the border, but has established peaks in major cities such as Edmonton and Calgary.

[John Gray]

Seems that an appennydectomy would solve your problem...

[ChrisGreaves]

Seems that an appennydectomy would solve your problem...

yabbut.
How would I pay for it? .....

[HansV]

How would I pay for it? .....

Just tell the surgeon "Keep the change"!

[ChrisGreaves]

"Keep the change"!

[Bigaldoc]

Although not too frequently these days, the same thing happens on this side of the border. Funny thing is that some US coins like our nickel piece and the quarter have changed in appearance and these days so one has to look carefully to see if you have a US or Canadian coin. And even funnier is that, as I said VERY seldom, I usually cheat and when paying for a purchase and coins are needed, I just use whatever "appears" to be the right coin, not even bothering to check if it's US or not.

[HansV]

In the Euro zone, banknotes are the same in all countries, but each country issues its own version of the various coins. The size and color is the same in all countries, and the side showing the denomination is almost the same, but the other side has a national design. The coins are valid in all countries of the Euro zone, so we all have a mixture of coins in our purse. I currently have coins from The Netherlands (obviously) and from our neighbors Belgium and Germany, but also from France.
The way Euro coins migrate through Europe has been the subject of research by mathematicians. The map below shows the penetration of foreign Euro coins in France, one year after the introduction of the Euro.

EurosInFrance.jpg

Several countries, among which The Netherlands, have decided not to use the 1 cent and 2 cent coins any more. Amounts are rounded to the nearest multiple of 5 cents. The smaller coins remain a legal means of payment, so people can still use them, but you can't demand exact change.

[Jezza]

A couple of weeks ago my family popped over to the USA for luncheon (OK over the Canadian border) and we realised all we had was Canadian coinage and got lumbered with a parking meter, what did we do? Just put in a Canadian quarter and we got a whole 3 hours parking!!!!! How is that for an exchange rate?

[Argus]

Speaking about small copper disks, although slightly larger than one centimetre in diameter:

In just a few weeks, 30 September, our smallest coin, 50 öre, will cease to be legal tender. That is, our only coin left in use with a value below 1 krona (SEK) will be withdrawn! 50 öre is roughly equivalent to the 5 cents (in the Euro zone) that Hans mentioned. Historically we have used 1, 2, 5, 10, 25, and 50 öre (since 1855 and until around 1872 also 0.5 öre ). Anyhow, the 1 and 2 öre were removed in 1971, the 5 and 25 öre in 1984 and the 10 öre coin in 1991.

So, at the moment the smallest coin in Sweden (and Denmark and Norway) is 50 öre (although they are not of equivalent value), but as mentioned, not for long. Since 1991 amounts have been rounded to the nearest 50 öre (0.5 SEK). Of course, we are still going to use fractions of the main currency, but round to the main unit instead, or should that be the only unit? We do have other coins, of course, for 1, 5 and 10 kronor (SEK) (in a year or so, we are probably going to reintroduce the "tvåkronan", the 2 kronor coin). Still, it feels quite odd not going to have anything smaller than one unit of the main currency.

No more "just my two cents" from here, I'm afraid.

Can anyone mention a (modern) currency that is only represented in the main currency?

[Jezza]

I would say the Zimbabwean Dollar is a good contender

[Argus]

Oh dear.

[Jezza]

Yes indeed but that is an extreme case.

I still wonder why we, the British, still have a full set of currency. The copper coins (1 and 2 pence) and not really useful and it will just as easy to go over to silver coins 5p,10p,20p and 50p

I suppose £49.99 sounds so much cheaper than £50

[ChrisGreaves]

... we got a whole 3 hours parking!!!!!

You paid?
For parking??

[PaulB]

Can anyone mention a (modern) currency that is only represented in the main currency?

The Japanese yen?

[AlanMiller]

In the Euro zone, banknotes are the same in all countries, but each country issues its own version of the various coins.

A friend in Cannes, France is trying to collect one of each EU euro coin. I was able to repay his hospitality by giving him one from Monaco, which I got as change buying a souvenir pack of "Monte Carlo" cigarettes (also only available in Monaco). Apparently the Monaco euros are quite rare.

Alan

[HansV]

I suppose £49.99 sounds so much cheaper than £50

Even if you abolished the 1 and 2 pence coins, you could still have prices such as £49.99. That's what we do with Euros - only the total amount is rounded, not the individual prices.

[HansV]

Apparently the Monaco euros are quite rare.

Yep, because it's such a small "country", the number of coins issued is small. The same goes for coins from Vatican City and from San Marino.
And Finland decided not to use the 1 and 2 cent coins at the outset, so they issued only a very small number of those.

[Argus]

Can anyone mention a (modern) currency that is only represented in the main currency?

The Japanese yen?

Correct Paul, thanks! I didn't do much thinking last night. Oh well. 1 krona = approx. 11.6 Yen; so I can understand that.

[StuartR]

When I was a child we had

• 4 farthings in a penny
• 12 pennies in a shilling
• 20 shillings in a pound

That made 960 farthings in a pound

We now have 100 pence in a pound, and the 1p coin is a very similar size to the old farthing. I suspect it would buy less than a farthing of my childhood though.