On 10 Apr 2002 at 13:43, Sunder wrote: > I've had several dozen of these (stamp and other vending machines provided > them as change here in NYC), and kept only one.
You're not supposed to keep currency, you're supposed to spend it. I generally prefer the bills to coins, because the coins make an annoying jjingle jangle and also wear out my pockets. >They're horrible. Sure, > they look like gold when you get them but they oxidize quickly when > handled and look worse than old pennies. > > Serves the mint right for trying to pass what clearly is a slap in the > face of anyone who remembers that the US currency was at one time > tethered to actual gold. > Now that everyone knows that even coins are only of symbolic value, I don't see why they don't make them out of plastic. They'd be lighter, clink less, they could come in all sorts of pretty colors, and as long as they use a good quality plastic they shouldn't wear out too fast. OTOH, it'd be kind of embarrassing if wooden nickles were made from a highre quality material than "real ones". But they'd probably stop calling them nickles if they didn't have any nickle at all in them and didn't even look like nickle. George
