Funny money?

[Scott5114]

If you're in a casino and it's not crazy busy, asking the cashier if they have anything interesting can be fruitful–we see so much cash that sheer probability dictates something interesting has come through, and older bills are usually set aside since the slot machines won't take them. I am happy to sell them to customers that won't gamble them away because I am not allowed to buy anything out of my own drawer.

Is there anybody you know that could come in and buy the coins that you have found and then sell them to you at face value plus a small fee for going to the trouble?  Maybe I should make friends with some of the cashiers at the local casinos.

Yes, I know some of the floor staff, so I could make an arrangement like that, but I have yet to find anything worth going through the trouble for. There was a Series 1950-something $5 (whichever one is Priest-Humphrey), but I already have that series, so my boss claimed it.

[bugo]

I have found several war nickels.  I found a 1942-S a couple of weeks ago that is at least XF if not AU condition.  I also pulled a 1943-P out of a roll about 3 weeks ago.

[Scott5114]

Yesterday I took in a $50*, a Series 2009 $2**, and a 1976 half dollar. I was able to successfully disburse them all.

*Somehow, an idiot was able to convince everyone that $50s are bad luck. Therefore, we don't carry them in our starting bank, and the only ones we see are people changing them in for other denominations, usually because they are "bad luck". I don't subscribe to this hogwash, and try to get them back out there, which can be kind of difficult, since idiots will often refuse them. My most successful tactic is to tack them onto the end of a jackpot, because a slot attendant is the one that actually pays the customer, and if customer doesn't want the $50, they will usually just give it to the attendant as a tip.

**Disbursing a $2 is probably something that shouldn't be done because many slot machines are configured to reject them for some reason. It's a shame to let perfectly good $2s just sit in the vault until they get shipped off to the bank, though.

[roadman]

Fifty dollar bills are shunned by most people because it's commonplace, expecially in many urban areas, for stores to not accept them.  Apparently the denomination is a favorite of counterfeiters.

[1995hoo]

Over the weekend a friend of mine sent me an e-mail containing the following link to a discussion of an old Canadian coin: http://www.johnwinter.net/jw/2014/07/unique-canadian-coin/#more-22765

It contains the following question:

I'm not a numismatist but I'd be interested to know whether this is the only coin ever to have used three different languages for its inscriptions: Latin, English, and Morse code. Rather unusual, don't you think?

I immediately thought of the Alabama state quarter issued as part of the "50 State Quarters" program since it uses Latin, English, and Braille. Upon reflection, though, I'm not sure Braille qualifies as a language. But as I think about it further, it prompts me to think of the Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, and American Samoa quarters, all of which use Latin, English, and a third language (Hawaiian, Spanish, Chamorro, and Samoan, respectively).

[Scott5114]

Fifty dollar bills are shunned by most people because it's commonplace, expecially in many urban areas, for stores to not accept them.  Apparently the denomination is a favorite of counterfeiters.

The most commonly faked denomination is the $20, because it is so readily accepted and usually not scrutinized as closely as the $100.

When $50s are shunned, it's most often for the same reason as the $100–because the business does not want to carry change for it, or because it represents too much of a theft risk. Neither of these make much sense anymore; these days a $50 gets you barely any change when you buy a tank of gas. ATMs usually dispense $20s, so any business is bound to take in many of them over the course of the day, and they can be used to break a $50 or $100 (and if a $50 is taken in, it can be used to break the $100, of course).

None of this makes any sense with the casino patrons, though–people will often readily accept $100s, but not $50s, simply because of the "bad luck" myth. (The transactions we're talking about are often range up to $1,000.)

[agentsteel53]

Upon reflection, though, I'm not sure Braille qualifies as a language.

I think that if Braille counts, then so does Morse Code, and vice versa.  both are representations in 1:1 correspondence with the letters A-Z.

[kkt]

Neither Braille nor Morse Code are languages.  They just represent the alphabet, digits, and a few other symbols, and could be used for any Roman-alphabet language.

[english si]

^^ are there braille / morse symbols for the accented characters that many languages (basically all European ones except English) use to extend the Latin alphabet?

[Thing 342]

^^ are there braille / morse symbols for the accented characters that many languages (basically all European ones except English) use to extend the Latin alphabet?

I believe there are, but I don't think they're Internationally recognized.

[vtk]

^^ are there braille / morse symbols for the accented characters that many languages (basically all European ones except English) use to extend the Latin alphabet?

I'm not sure about Morse, but Braille certainly has language variants, including accents or different letters as necessary.  French Braille existed before all others.  There are currently at least two different English Braille standards, though the differences are in advanced features like punctuation and word contractions, not the basic alphabet.

[Scott5114]

I finally got the protocol down for buying stuff from your own drawer (which basically involves selling it to a supervisor and then buying it from the supervisor) so I was able to snag this $10 over the weekend. I bought the $20 from another cashier.



Also, we had some counterfeits brought in recently–a $50 and a $10. The $50 was the more obvious of the two–it felt like copy paper–but both were missing the watermark and security strip. The $10 had an obvious ink blotch on the back where it looked like it had gotten wet and the ink had run. The person passing the $50 claimed to have gotten it at a casino in Holdenville–which I think has no casinos, and even if they did most casinos don't carry $50s–and the person passing the $10 claimed to have gotten it from our East cashier cage the day before. Fat chance, since I was the one in that cage then, and I check all my money for counterfeits religiously!

[DeaconG]

Um, what the hell have they done to the $100 bill?

Had to go to the bank to get some cash for a critical need and I asked for hundreds, when I got them I started looking at the newest bills and went...what?  OK, the last redesign they did I was cool with just a splash of color, but THIS...I'm sorry, but to me it was way over the top.

WTF, over?

[formulanone]

Don't worry, it will be even uglier ten years from now, when they need to add even more security measures.

[bugo]

I finally got the protocol down for buying stuff from your own drawer (which basically involves selling it to a supervisor and then buying it from the supervisor) so I was able to snag this $10 over the weekend. I bought the $20 from another cashier.

It's good that you figured out how to buy money from your drawer.  I have a Series 1969A $10 bill in my collection.  I find it surreal that John Connally's name is on the bill considering that he was in the car JFK was killed in and was shot on that same day.

[freebrickproductions]

I have a 50 cent coin in my possession along with a few $2 bills.

[Scott5114]

I finally got the protocol down for buying stuff from your own drawer (which basically involves selling it to a supervisor and then buying it from the supervisor) so I was able to snag this $10 over the weekend. I bought the $20 from another cashier.

It's good that you figured out how to buy money from your drawer.  I have a Series 1969A $10 bill in my collection.  I find it surreal that John Connally's name is on the bill considering that he was in the car JFK was killed in and was shot on that same day.

Connally actually became Treasury Secretary after all that happened. One of the fun things about U.S. currency is the signatures, which carry all sorts of history and interesting personal tidbits. Mary Ellen Withrow liked to attend numismatic events during her term of office and sign people's money a second time. Series 1993's Lloyd Bentsen was formerly a long-serving senator from Texas. Series 1989A's Catalina Villalpando is the first person whose signature has appeared on money to be sent to prison. Series 1981's Angela M. Buchanan is Pat Buchanan's sister. Ivy Baker Priest's daughter played Marilyn Munster on The Munsters. W.A. Julian, the last male Treasurer, died in a car crash while he was still in office, necessitating his replacement by Georgia Neese Clark, the first female Treasurer.

[Scott5114]

This is a first for me: a 1897 Indian Head penny, from a roll of pennies from the bank.

[bugo]

Kazakh 2 tenge bill.  I like how it appears to be designed by Alex Grey, especially the reverse (or is that the obverse?) around the "2".  I got it off of ebay.

[bugo]

This is a first for me: a 1897 Indian Head penny, from a roll of pennies from the bank.

Congrats on a nice find.  I pulled a 1909-VDB penny out of a roll I got at the bank a few weeks ago.

[oscar]

I just got back from a week and a half in Canada.  As I expected, pennies have almost completely disappeared from circulation up there.  But in Yellowknife, a gas station had a "take a penny, leave a penny" dish, and the cashier let me buy up most of the pennies in her dish.  The next morning, I found a penny in the McDonald's parking lot, which of course I picked up (I need the exercise, anyway).  Sixteen pennies, saved from the Royal Canadian Mint's smelters.   The majority were pre-1997 mostly-copper pennies, which like pre-1982 U.S. pennies are worth more than face value. 

Passing through the Montreal airport at the start of my trip, much of the change I got at restaurants was U.S. quarters, dimes, and nickels, presumably left by other U.S. travelers even though the airport's shops give an unfavorable exchange rate on U.S. money.  (No such luck on my return trip through the Toronto airport.)  Since the U.S. dollar is currently worth a little more than the Canadian dollar, and I had plenty of Canadian money to use for my own purchases, I kept the U.S. coins to bring back across the border at the end of my trip. 

[vtk]

I was at McDonald's yesterday, and I paid for an ice cream cone with a dollar bill. My change was two quarters and a penny, and I put the latter in the little donation box.  Then I noticed the quarters both featured Arches Nat'l Park.

Arches.  Golden arches. McDonald's.  Mildly amusing coincidence.

[agentsteel53]

I just got back from a week and a half in Canada.  As I expected, pennies have almost completely disappeared from circulation up there.  But in Yellowknife, a gas station had a "take a penny, leave a penny" dish, and the cashier let me buy up most of the pennies in her dish.  The next morning, I found a penny in the McDonald's parking lot, which of course I picked up (I need the exercise, anyway).  Sixteen pennies, saved from the Royal Canadian Mint's smelters.   The majority were pre-1997 mostly-copper pennies, which like pre-1982 U.S. pennies are worth more than face value. 

my story with remote Canada involves receiving a dime in change in Whitehorse.  a 1944 silver dime with King George.  I still have it in my wallet; I tell people that they haven't received a new shipment of coins since 1944.

[oscar]

I was at McDonald's yesterday, and I paid for an ice cream cone with a dollar bill. My change was two quarters and a penny, and I put the latter in the little donation box.  Then I noticed the quarters both featured Arches Nat'l Park.

Arches.  Golden arches. McDonald's.  Mildly amusing coincidence.

Would not shock me if that McDonald's was able to order a supply of the Arches quarters from its bank.  But if the whole chain did it, that might outstrip the U.S. Mint's production of those quarters.

[ghYHZ]

I just got back from a week and a half in Canada.  As I expected, pennies have almost completely disappeared from circulation up there. 

Yes the pennys been gone from here for over a year now but there are still people complaining they are being ripped-off by rounding. I'm just glad to see it gone and it all averages out. The max you would ever lose is 2 cents no matter how large a transaction.

For example if something is 4.08 or 4.09 it would be rounded up to 4.10 but if it was 4.06 or 4.07 it would be rounded down to 4.05. And that is only if paying cash. Credit or Debit are still for the actual amount.

There was a woman tourist ahead of me at a convenience store this morning saying she has been ripped-off since she arrived in Canada but did admit to the cashier it has also worked in her favour. He finally gave here 5 cents for the two cents actually owed.