It seemed utterly ridiculous to me, that I should be paying for a coke in bills...
Many people here in the US have tried to support the new "Golden Dollar" that the US Mint came up with a few years ago. Newer soda machines and "token" machines (used primarily for purchasing train rides) accept and/or dispense change using the Golden Dollar. Some even still use the older, extremely unpopular "SBA" (Susan B. Anthony) dollar. However, most people hate getting these coins. They use them up quickly and merchants end up depositing these into their bank instead of returning them as change to other customers. It is impossible to purchase rolls of the dollar coins in most US banks. The banks explain that they don't stock the coin since they see just about zero demand. It's unfortunate. Personally, I love the idea. With a few $1 coins (and I carry a few 50 cent pieces occasionally as well) I'm less likely to break a larger bill for small purchases. -- John LeMay KC2KTH Senior Enterprise Consultant NJMC | http://www.njmc.com | Phone 732-557-4848 Specializing in Microsoft and Unix based solutions