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Message:: [QUOTE="ewomack, post: 7834066, member: 15588"]I agree. I've read in a few places that half cents, which circulated between 1793 and 1857, were created mostly to "make change" because the monetary system would often create a half cent gap in exchanges. Now it feels as if all modern coinage exists merely to "make change" because it really lacks any substantial purchasing power all by itself. For the first time in a long time I bought something with a $20 bill yesterday. I only bought a bottled water and a "protein bar" and it came to maybe $2 and something, I don't remember the exact amount. In change I received a $10 bill, a $5 bill, a few $1 bills, a dime and 2 cents. When I looked at the bundle of change, the first I had seen in a long, long time, I realized that I could really do anything meaningful with only the bills. The change was just that, all change. Nothing more than left over fractions. Alone, it would buy me nothing. Even the $1 bills arguably have little value anymore all by themselves. Add a quarter or two to the pile and the situation wouldn't alter at all. The coins went into a long neglected change jar where they will likely sit forever because my bank removed their change counters. And why would I ever put 12 cents into my pocket or take it with me? If I did, it would only be to "make change." I agree that the effort put into modern coinage has become a little difficult to appreciate.[/QUOTE]