Retail Use of Halves and Dollars

While I have always been excited about getting the dollar coins from the
post office vending machines, I had not really thought about purchasing them
from the bank and spending them in general circulation. A while back I
asked my bank for a roll of dollar coins, and a roll of halves. They didn't
have more than a few single coins of each in stock, so they said they'd
order them and have them by the end of the week. I didn't realize how much
fun it is to spend these less circulating coins! The dollar coins were
generally passed well, though many clerks took a second glance at the Sacs.
One Wendy's cashier looked at my 5 golden dollars and said, "I don't think
we're allowed to take these." The guy behind me, however, quickly advanced
to purchase the coins from me, and I offered him the other 7 in my pocket,
no questions asked. The SBAs, as history has shown, were sometimes confused
for quarters and they thought I had given them the wrong amount. The half
dollars probably got the best response, since they are seen even less than
the dollar coins. "Are these dollars?" "Wow, I haven't seen one of these
in years." At the time however, I was 16, could not drive or bike to the
bank (too far), and did not have the account. The few times in the future
that I made it there yielded no success, as I could not return to pick up
the coins in a timely manner.

That was about a year ago, and I had forgotten about the fun I had spending
the coins. Now I'm 17, have a bank account and my license, so I am able to
make regular trips to the bank. On one of many occasions of depositing my
check from work, it dawned on me that I can purchase dollars and halves from
the bank, and trade them with the bills in my register at the local movie
theatre concession stand where I work. I ordered 6 rolls of dollars, and 3
rolls of halves. Of course they did not have this amount on location, so I
picked them up at the end of the week. That Friday night I brought $20 in
halves, and $80 in dollar coins to trade into my register. I emptied the
slot for the dollar bills (moving them to the side of my drawer) and
replaced them with the dollar coins. I gave them out at every time that I
would have normally given dollar bills. These coins flew, and I was
completely drained of them in less than 3 hours. The halves moved slower,
and I handed them out with any amount of change over 50 cents (obviously not
giving out more than one to any single customer). I found that the dollar
coins went very passively, several people were visibly happy to receive the
coin, and only one all night thought I had given them the wrong change.
Most people opted not to say anything. The half dollars made more of a
splash, and I noticed people looking longer at the big coin in their hand.
Most of the kids responded with "awesome!" or "cool!" Not one person
rejected any of the coins I gave out.

The unusual coins made my night of work much more enjoyable, and I realized
I can circulate probably somewhere around $250 in dollar coins and halves
every Friday and Saturday night. I was unable to make it to the bank this
week, but I will increase my order of coins next week, and plan on adding $2
bills into my register. I expect these will make a huge impact, much more
than the halves and dollars have. I realize that many of you spend these
denominations frequently, but since I am using them as change in an everyday
retail establishment I am able to get these coins to the general public, not
just to a store who deposits them back in the bank. I encourage anyone who
is also in retail to do the same, and get our lesser known currency out
there!

I'd love to hear anyone else's recent stories about spending these coins and
bills, and what kind of reactions you receive.

Eric

An interesting turn. I know I usually pass out GD's when I have them. I
usually get them from the Post Office when I buy stamps in the vending
machine. And also Kennedy's when I have them but they're a little bit more
difficult to come by since I must go to the bank to get them. But, not too
long ago, I gave someone a Kennedy and they gave me change for a dollar! I
had to tell them that it was only a half-dollar I gave them. I could almost
get rich doing that!


"DyzeeGF3" wrote in message
...
While I have always been excited about getting the dollar coins from the
post office vending machines, I had not really thought about purchasing
them
from the bank and spending them in general circulation. A while back I
asked my bank for a roll of dollar coins, and a roll of halves. They
didn't
have more than a few single coins of each in stock, so they said they'd
order them and have them by the end of the week. I didn't realize how
much
fun it is to spend these less circulating coins! The dollar coins were
generally passed well, though many clerks took a second glance at the
Sacs.
One Wendy's cashier looked at my 5 golden dollars and said, "I don't think
we're allowed to take these." The guy behind me, however, quickly
advanced
to purchase the coins from me, and I offered him the other 7 in my pocket,
no questions asked. The SBAs, as history has shown, were sometimes
confused
for quarters and they thought I had given them the wrong amount. The half
dollars probably got the best response, since they are seen even less than
the dollar coins. "Are these dollars?" "Wow, I haven't seen one of these
in years." At the time however, I was 16, could not drive or bike to the
bank (too far), and did not have the account. The few times in the future
that I made it there yielded no success, as I could not return to pick up
the coins in a timely manner.

That was about a year ago, and I had forgotten about the fun I had
spending
the coins. Now I'm 17, have a bank account and my license, so I am able
to
make regular trips to the bank. On one of many occasions of depositing my
check from work, it dawned on me that I can purchase dollars and halves
from
the bank, and trade them with the bills in my register at the local movie
theatre concession stand where I work. I ordered 6 rolls of dollars, and
3
rolls of halves. Of course they did not have this amount on location, so
I
picked them up at the end of the week. That Friday night I brought $20 in
halves, and $80 in dollar coins to trade into my register. I emptied the
slot for the dollar bills (moving them to the side of my drawer) and
replaced them with the dollar coins. I gave them out at every time that I
would have normally given dollar bills. These coins flew, and I was
completely drained of them in less than 3 hours. The halves moved slower,
and I handed them out with any amount of change over 50 cents (obviously
not
giving out more than one to any single customer). I found that the dollar
coins went very passively, several people were visibly happy to receive
the
coin, and only one all night thought I had given them the wrong change.
Most people opted not to say anything. The half dollars made more of a
splash, and I noticed people looking longer at the big coin in their hand.
Most of the kids responded with "awesome!" or "cool!" Not one person
rejected any of the coins I gave out.

The unusual coins made my night of work much more enjoyable, and I
realized
I can circulate probably somewhere around $250 in dollar coins and halves
every Friday and Saturday night. I was unable to make it to the bank this
week, but I will increase my order of coins next week, and plan on adding
$2
bills into my register. I expect these will make a huge impact, much more
than the halves and dollars have. I realize that many of you spend these
denominations frequently, but since I am using them as change in an
everyday
retail establishment I am able to get these coins to the general public,
not
just to a store who deposits them back in the bank. I encourage anyone
who
is also in retail to do the same, and get our lesser known currency out
there!

I'd love to hear anyone else's recent stories about spending these coins
and
bills, and what kind of reactions you receive.

Eric

Hopefully I will be able to at the least educate some people that these
coins exist, and hopefully have at least half of them spend it rather than
stuff it in a drawer somewhere for years. I have worked at this movie
theatre for over a full year now, and if I recall correctly, I have received
dollar coins from only two customers...ever. I have never received a half
or $2 bill. Now that I have reversed it and keep these denominations behind
the counter, I am able to supply at least 200+ customers in just two nights
with these coins and bills. Interesting stuff.

"Dr. Richard L. Hall" wrote in message
...
An interesting turn. I know I usually pass out GD's when I have them. I
usually get them from the Post Office when I buy stamps in the vending
machine. And also Kennedy's when I have them but they're a little bit
more
difficult to come by since I must go to the bank to get them. But, not
too
long ago, I gave someone a Kennedy and they gave me change for a dollar!
I
had to tell them that it was only a half-dollar I gave them. I could
almost
get rich doing that!

In article , DyzeeGF3
wrote:

That Friday night I brought $20 in halves, and $80 in dollar coins to
trade into my register. I emptied the slot for the dollar bills
(moving them to the side of my drawer) and replaced them with the
dollar coins. I gave them out at every time that I would have
normally given dollar bills. These coins flew, and I was completely
drained of them in less than 3 hours.

If you start using $2 bills, you will use many fewer dollar coins.
Without them, you would give up to four dollar coins in change and with
them, you would give up to one coin.

Or you could use only $2s if the change was $4.nn or $2.nn and only
dollar coins if the change was $1.nn or $3.nn.

I worked at the cash register at Caldor years ago and would load up on
halves before my shift. I really enjoyed circulating them, as you do.

Retail establishments could learn a lot from your experience--people do
like these denominations and it sets your business a bit apart from
others. Maybe, one by one, establishments will start using these coins
as they become more popular and widely-used.

Maybe. But at least you're having fun and so are your customers!

Paul

--
Paul Anderson
OpenVMS Engineering
Hewlett-Packard Company

"DyzeeGF3" wrote in message

While I have always been excited about getting the dollar coins from
the post office vending machines, I had not really thought about
purchasing them from the bank and spending them in general
circulation. A while back I asked my bank for a roll of dollar
coins, and a roll of halves. They didn't have more than a few single
coins of each in stock, so they said they'd order them and have them
by the end of the week. I didn't realize how much fun it is to spend
these less circulating coins! The dollar coins were generally passed
well, though many clerks took a second glance at the Sacs. One
Wendy's cashier looked at my 5 golden dollars and said, "I don't
think we're allowed to take these." The guy behind me, however,
quickly advanced to purchase the coins from me, and I offered him the
other 7 in my pocket, no questions asked. The SBAs, as history has
shown, were sometimes confused for quarters and they thought I had
given them the wrong amount. The half dollars probably got the best
response, since they are seen even less than the dollar coins. "Are
these dollars?" "Wow, I haven't seen one of these in years." At the
time however, I was 16, could not drive or bike to the bank (too
far), and did not have the account. The few times in the future that
I made it there yielded no success, as I could not return to pick up
the coins in a timely manner.

That was about a year ago, and I had forgotten about the fun I had
spending the coins. Now I'm 17, have a bank account and my license,
so I am able to make regular trips to the bank. On one of many
occasions of depositing my check from work, it dawned on me that I
can purchase dollars and halves from the bank, and trade them with
the bills in my register at the local movie theatre concession stand
where I work. I ordered 6 rolls of dollars, and 3 rolls of halves.
Of course they did not have this amount on location, so I picked them
up at the end of the week. That Friday night I brought $20 in
halves, and $80 in dollar coins to trade into my register. I emptied
the slot for the dollar bills (moving them to the side of my drawer)
and replaced them with the dollar coins. I gave them out at every
time that I would have normally given dollar bills. These coins
flew, and I was completely drained of them in less than 3 hours. The
halves moved slower, and I handed them out with any amount of change
over 50 cents (obviously not giving out more than one to any single
customer). I found that the dollar coins went very passively,
several people were visibly happy to receive the coin, and only one
all night thought I had given them the wrong change. Most people
opted not to say anything. The half dollars made more of a splash,
and I noticed people looking longer at the big coin in their hand.
Most of the kids responded with "awesome!" or "cool!" Not one person
rejected any of the coins I gave out.

The unusual coins made my night of work much more enjoyable, and I
realized I can circulate probably somewhere around $250 in dollar
coins and halves every Friday and Saturday night. I was unable to
make it to the bank this week, but I will increase my order of coins
next week, and plan on adding $2 bills into my register. I expect
these will make a huge impact, much more than the halves and dollars
have. I realize that many of you spend these denominations
frequently, but since I am using them as change in an everyday retail
establishment I am able to get these coins to the general public, not
just to a store who deposits them back in the bank. I encourage
anyone who is also in retail to do the same, and get our lesser known
currency out there!

I'd love to hear anyone else's recent stories about spending these
coins and bills, and what kind of reactions you receive.

Eric

Bully for you! A great story and a commendable experiment in commerce. I
hope you continue to have fun with it and continue to educate folks about
our lesser known monetary items. As I have posted here many times, I
routinely spend dollar coins (GDs, SBAs and Ikes), Kennedy halves and two
dollar bills as tips and in normal business transactions. I, too, have fun
with it and have had zero complaints from those to whom I present them.

BTW, may I commend you on your use of the written word? You appear to have
a command of the language well beyond your years. Most of the teenagers
with whom I come in contact (including my own grandchildren) tend to mangle
the English language with little regard to proper usage.

--
Ed Hendricks
ANA# R178621
eBay: edh.

BTW, may I commend you on your use of the written word? You appear to
have
a command of the language well beyond your years. Most of the teenagers
with whom I come in contact (including my own grandchildren) tend to
mangle
the English language with little regard to proper usage.

--
Ed Hendricks


You certainly may, Ed, and I thank you for it ;-). I figured that some of
the readers here would notice this, and I hoped I would break the stereotype
of the squeaky-voiced fast food cashier that refuses to accept dollar coins
or doesn't even know a $2 bill exists. I don't deny, however, that the
generalization has a valid basis as I had to explain what the coins in my
register were to many of my co-workers.

I have been reading this group off and on for about five years, but I only
post once in awhile. Ironically, I started collecting a few years before
that from a small box of Kennedy halves and SBAs that I assembled, and from
the 1986 Liberty dollar and half dollar set that my grandmother bought to
commemorate my birth. Hopefully, some of the interesting change I will be
handing out will inspire some other ten-year-olds to start a collection of
their own and become interested in numismatics.

Eric

Sadly, your efforts probably didn't put many of the halves or dollar
coins in actual circulation, based on the reactions of your customers.
A lot of them probably just saved the coin(s) as novelties, rather than
turning around and respending them. At least you had a good time
watching peoples' reactions.

Bruce

What a great way to encourage the circulation of these coins!Bravo!
If you can,find out if any of your co-workers are being asked for these
coins.I'll bet that word will get out and people will eventually start
looking for them there,since they now know where they can get them.
great job.

(By the way,I am putting some of my old 'wheaties' in 2x2's tonight to add
to the goodie bags for halloween.Maybe encourage some new collectors.I know
some of you have been doing this for years,so I thought I'd give it a try.)

Happy Halloween,Everybody!!!
phil (small p)

On Thu, 30 Oct 2003 22:03:21 -0500, "phil"
wrote:

What a great way to encourage the circulation of these coins!Bravo!
If you can,find out if any of your co-workers are being asked for these
coins.I'll bet that word will get out and people will eventually start
looking for them there,since they now know where they can get them.
great job.

(By the way,I am putting some of my old 'wheaties' in 2x2's tonight to add
to the goodie bags for halloween.Maybe encourage some new collectors.I know
some of you have been doing this for years,so I thought I'd give it a try.)

That's an excellent idea. Unfortunately, the Vienna show is _after_
Halloween, otherwise I'd be mixing in some coins with the treats. A
few years back I bought a nice roll of steelies and some (generally
dateless) buffaloes and V nickels to toss in the trickle treat bags.

Coins are always appreciated, and perhaps, as you say, odd coins might
spark some interest in collecting. Even if those V nickels and
buffaloes got spent, they weren't so valuable that I'd feel bad about
it. And anyway, when was the last time a V nickel was spent in
commerce? [Well, apart from the ones I used the coke machine this
summer!]

Padraic.

la cieurgeourea provoer mal trasfu
ast meiyoer ke 'l andrext ben trasfu.

DyzeeGF3 wrote:

Hopefully I will be able to at the least educate some people that these
coins exist, and hopefully have at least half of them spend it rather than
stuff it in a drawer somewhere for years. I have worked at this movie
theatre for over a full year now, and if I recall correctly, I have received
dollar coins from only two customers...ever. I have never received a half
or $2 bill. Now that I have reversed it and keep these denominations behind
the counter, I am able to supply at least 200+ customers in just two nights
with these coins and bills. Interesting stuff.

Welcome to the 'fraternity' of commercial users of $1 coins and Halves! :-)

I use both for making change on delivery runs for the pizza company that
I work for up here in Appleton, WI and both coins are nearly always well
received by my customers.

Although I don't go through them fast enough to buy them from the bank
in such quantities, once you have enough 'liquidity', you should order
$1 coins from your bank in $1000 boxes (40 x $25 rolls). I am not sure
how much is in a box of Halves, but I believe that it is $500 (50 x $10 rolls).

In what city is the theater that you work at located?

BTW, I don't mind if my customers tuck the coins away in various places
at home, they are their coins and they can do whatever they want with
them, the USMint will just make more. Once $1 coins become common
enough, they will come back out of those little hidden away places and
into the life of more normal circulation.

--
___________________________________________ ____ _______________
Regards, | |\ ____
| | | | |\
Michael G. Koerner May they | | | | | | rise again!
Appleton, Wisconsin USA | | | | | |
___________________________________________ | | | | | | _______________