Do non-numismatists appreciate "odd" currency?

i have never come across that problem. they may complain a little when using dollar coins, but i've never heard a complaint about a half. the most common complaint (which is pretty rare) about the dollar coin is that it has to be counted with the paper dollars at the end of the night, and occasionally they have to do the count over because they do all the paper first, then the coins, but forget about the dollar coins until they see them in the drawer. i've never had someone have to call a supervisor to authenticate the coins!

 

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Ikes forever

I like giving out IKE dollars. It's amazing how many people have never seen a large dollar coin. Many times, I've seen the cashier take out a dollar and swap it for the dollar I just gave him/her.
I've never had a problem, but many years ago my son gave one to a MacDonalds clerk and he refused it saying "we only accept American money".

 

Couple of months ago I paid my gas bill (over $700) in $2 bills. They didn't seem to mind at all. I could hear the employees talking about buying them as I left.

 

That's hilarious! haha

 

The local motorcycle swap meet used to pay out change with $2 bills($8 entry), but of course the price went to $9...I never heard anyone in line complaining

 

I've spend quite a few halves and the problem I've run into most often is young cashiers adding them up as dollar coins!!! I always correct them though so they don't end up getting in trouble. Of course, I remember one girl aruging with me and insisting that I paid too much as all of my Kennedy Halves were worth a dollar each. It took the store manager a minute or two to explain the difference between a half and a dollar to her.

 

I spend US dollar coins (of all small types) on a regular basis and most people just take them as any other money. Just tonight, I spent one (Presidential) and the person didn't know it was a real dollar. She didn't know what to do with it.

 

Sometimes they really, really don't appreciate it:

http://www.ripoffreport.com/Audio-E...-Buy/best-buy-ripoff-has-customer-a-ea6y6.htm

http://www.snopes.com/business/money/tacobell.asp

 

false arrest

While I am not a fan of lawsuits, the Best Buy situation just cried out for a false arrest lawsuit. I would suspect that Best Buy's lawyers would have been falling over themselves to settle that kind of suit. While not completely similar, a false arrest lawsuit in San Diego many years ago was settled within 1 week for 25k$.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, my son tried to pay for a MacDonalds with an IKE $ and was told "we only take American money".
In Best Buy, I would have told the clerks to log onto the Bureau of Printing and Engraving's website to show that $2 bills exist. If during banking hours, I'd have them call any local bank.

 

A lot depends on whom you meet and where, the numbers of foreigners and their origins. Clerks are often kids for whom John Kennedy and Dwight Eisenhower were in their grandparents' days. On the other hand, State Quarters and Presidential Dollars have widened the margins of "acceptable" coins and in another thread, I mentioned taking a Swedish 1-krona in change. We all make mistakes. Whether you have a problem or not with $2 bills and Eisenhower dollars is pretty much luck of the draw.

Earlier in this thread, I said that our local coin guys pass old stuff to their waitresses in tips. But that is a passive transaction: you leave the money and walk out.
In that mode, in addition to the actual US of A quarters, if the coffee barista is worth the extra nod, I will toss something else in the tip jar. About ten years ago, I bought a bag of old UK pennies. They always bring a comment. Sometimes, I hand them out at Christmas. "How about a Christmas penny?" A couple of years ago, I gave all the clerks at my UPS store Mercury Dimes.

That said, in this day and age, unless you want to be chained to a pole in a police station for three hours, it is probably best never to attract attention to yourself in any negative way. If you have to argue with a manager, you are already traveling down the path best not taken.

 

I like to get halves and dollars and use them for small transactions too. Not had many problems - I'd say the halves cause more consternation; many have heard of the "golden" dollar (that name cracks me up!), so take them, but many younger kids have never even seen or heard of halves.

The main problem I find (in Western MA) is that hardly any banks even have any halves, to say nothing of presidential dollars! So the opportunity to search halves for silver is limited.

That being said, I'll still use them in transactions!

 

It's US currency, isn't it?

Chris

 

I wouldn't see a problem passing odd currency as long as it's practical. A friend of ours recently gave me a few notes, one from Nepal and another from India that were left as a tip for her when she was waitressing. She was obviously not pleased as it wasn't money she could use and our local bank doesn't exchange foreign currency. So, she was out a tip. That was beyond rude by the person who left that.
Guy

 

So, I guess the upshot is, "No. Non-numismatists do not appreaciate getting odd currency. Again there are exceptions. Handing a large UK penny after having tipped properly can be a nice way to say thank you. However, paying with anything unusual is a hassle for the clerk, the more unusual, the more the hassle.

Once upon a time, at Coin World, we planned a project we never carried out, to use really odd stuff like 3-cent silvers, 20-cent coins, half cents at a fastfood restaurant and write it up with photographs, etc. It would be too pricy for the average collector, but a small cost for a business in the business.

 

Seriously, unless a person already has an interest in the items, I think you are wasting your time. There is a large segment of the population who could care less. My wife included. To her, a Walker is the same as a Kennedy, 50 cents. I feel there are a lot more of "them" than there are of "us". lol

gary