The current day Philippine peso definitely cannot get one a bagful of pan de sal, the islands’ bread staple. Imagine what a half centavo could purchase!Next to nothing. Plus, there is no issue of half centavo on the current set of coins.
However, once upon a time, half centavos were in circulation and did have real purchasing value.
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I hate when i get anything less than a peso as change. Speaking of change, no one has any here. I make it a point to use a 500p note everytime i fill up my scooter to keep myself in bariya. Go to a small store for a drink with a 100p note and they might NOT be able to give you change for it. So, I take my business elsewhere. Oh well, just one more THING to moan about i guess......
ReplyDeletePhil:
ReplyDeleteBefore local storeowners simply gave out candies as part of the change you get for purchases. Till customers started complaining.
Since I used to work in the banking industry, I well remember the costs associated with providing coins to customers, or even bills for that matter. Thus, the reason why the coins are perpetually in scarcity. Plus, most of them are valueless anyway.
But here, the Feds constantly remind users that even for the lowly red cent, the cost of minting it is more than the value assigned to it. Thus, one does the government some favor if they continue to be circulated, rather than thrown away or hoarded. The latter action forces the Feds to mint more to keep the economy amply supplied.
Whenever one of my friends or relatives visited we made it a point to see the Statue of Liberty and Philly. The mint was one of my favorite Philadelphia tourist spots. Isn't there a mint there in SF as well? I don't know why I never went to that one when I was stationed there. Too busy checking out other things I suppose...
ReplyDeletePhil:
ReplyDeleteThere are actually two mint sites in SF. The old one is in the downtown area and funny, but just the other day, I got emailed a report that the mint has been authorized to issue commemorative coins to raise funds to refurnish the old mint building and convert it into a museum.
I, too, like visiting mints, this old one included when it was still opened to the public.
I distinctly remember that one of the popular displays was that of the biggest nugget extracted in California - bigger than a big man's fist.