1 and 2 € paper notes.

querty · Post by **querty** » Fri Oct 10, 2003 3:10 pm

Annie_in_exile wrote:
Elmo wrote: People tend to spend coins more easily than notes, because of money illusion: people tend to think coins are nearly worthless, while people tend to think notes are extremely valuable. So if the €1- and €2-coins are replaced by notes, people will spend less, which forces the shop owners to lower the prices, and eventually will cause the inflation to drop.
Yes, but... money is money. If I want to buy something, it doesn't matter whether I use notes or copper coins or even gold coins to pay for it - it'll deminish the balance of my bank account anyway. (I know this and you know this and I even claim that I understand what you're saying - let's say that my inner blondness is trying to surface once again).

What about you other people, your spending habits I mean. How often do you stop to think to consider a product's price? If you're thirsty and need to buy a drink, do you make the decision based on your taste or do you first count the cents in your wallet?

If I am thirsty I don't count my money. But I find that life has become more expensive than before the € came into our life.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Oct 14, 2003 6:47 pm

Elmo wrote:
Gauss wrote:Another thing that bewilders me is this: The percentage of bills in miserable condition is significantly higher in southern european countries (Italy, Spain; not so sure about Greece), and right southern european countries request this bill/coin-change. Bills with low denomination tend to become even more worn than those with high denomination. Coins can be used for decades. So why would these countries wish to get more and more bills they need to replace every other year instead of coins?
When you are on an Italian or a Greek terrace there is an unwritten rule:
You leave the coins you got as change behind for the waiter/waitress as a
tip. Because the highest denomination of Italian coins (I am not sure about
Greek ones) is €0,50 (ITL 1000), so the tip would be app. €1. But now,
when you buy a drink that costs €5,25 and you pay with €10, you should
leave the change (€4,75) behind for the waiter/waitress, so you are €10
poorer now, while before the euro you would be ±€6 poorer. So visiting
a terrace, which they really like, is extremely expensive now! That's why
they want to have the €1 and €2 coins replaced by notes.

Why not instead of changing the coins to paper, the Italians and Greeks just leave a little less behind. In the US, we tip based on percentage, not as a means to rid ourself of change. Maybe because coins always had a value in the US.

The standard tip rate is 15 %. Therefore a drink costing 5 € would result in a 75 c€ tip. If you want to be real generous, you can leave a 1 € tip.

The reality of this mess, is that no one is training or explaining to people how to work most efficiently wiyh the new money. New money means new habits. It is time to break the old habits and start being smart by adopting new habits.

Next thing, someone is going to tell us that the reason for the need for a 1 € note is that the strippers don't have a place in their costume for euro coins.

MDeen · Post by **MDeen** » Wed Oct 15, 2003 1:35 pm

Hey, on the other hand, dutch minister of finance, mr. Zalm wants to change the €5 to a coin! He must be mad! In old currency that's over fl 10,00!
Fortunately the dutch association of shopkeepers has spoken against the idea.
Personally I think it's a very bad idea too. And not because you can't track coins.