# My first pitting: Nickels **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 9, 2004, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-pitting-nickels/268364 "2004-10-09T14:49:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Medea\_s\_Child](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Medea\_s\_Child](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Medea_s_Child)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2004, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-pitting-nickels/268364/21 "2004-10-10T13:09:36Z")
My God, I can’t believe you went public with this insanity of yours. I’ll make sure to have Luna Child mail you another one. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2004, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-pitting-nickels/268364/22 "2004-10-10T14:27:18Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > Don’t worry, I’m not letting anyone else off the hook either, but Indian Hater Jackson had more than just a substantial role. At least those before him, for forty years, had honored the treaties they made, even though they were largely coerced. And there was nothing near the mass exodus of Jackson’s holocaust. It belongs to him because he is the one who fought to make it happen. Ten years before becoming president, he began to advocate Indian removal. And upon taking office, he pushed through his Indian Removal Act. When the Supreme Court struck it down, his response was basically that it was none of the court’s business. Under his leadership, Congress completely reversed the way it had dealt with Indians before, and peaceful productive Indians began to be seen as some sort of problem in need of a solution. It is difficult to find in history a greater hubris than that of the Indian Hater in his 1830 State of the Union address: > Due respect, but no revisionist is going to convince me of any latent altruism in this monster. His record is his record, and now he’s dead. Well, I’m no lover at all of Andrew Jackson, neither for his Indian actions, his tendency to limit the power of the federal government(I think the Bank was a good idea), or his personality. I’m just saying that the primary mover on the Cherokee removals was the state of Georgia, which had wanted Cherokee land for a long time, especially after gold was discovered. And just to nitpick, but the Court never ruled on the constitutionality of the Indian Removal Act. Jackson’s response to Marshall was over Worcester v. Georgia, which dealt with whether or not Georgia had the power to enforce laws on Cherokee land. (Samuel Worcester, a missionary from Vermont living in New Echota, and cofounder of the Cherokee Phoenix with Elias Boudinot, had violated a Georgia law requiring licenses for non-Cherokee living on Cherokee land.) ---
**Author:** ![Shirt\_Ninja\_13](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e19b73/32.png) [@Shirt\_Ninja\_13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirt_Ninja_13)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2004, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-pitting-nickels/268364/23 "2004-10-10T14:52:24Z")
> [@Medea's Child](#): > > My God, I can’t believe you went public with this insanity of yours. > > I’ll make sure to have Luna Child mail you another one. Gah! Curse youuuuuuu! _shakes fist in your general direction_ _bamf_ ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2004, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-pitting-nickels/268364/24 "2004-10-10T15:30:36Z")
> [@harmless](#): > > You’re right, so why are you offering your two cent? I hate those damn [two cent pieces](http://www.coin-gallery.com/cg1864smlg.htm). Always butting in with an opinion nobody asked for. ---
**Author:** ![TJdude825](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@TJdude825](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TJdude825)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2004, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-pitting-nickels/268364/25 "2004-10-10T19:16:50Z")
[Lucy Van Pelt] Thank you, **Shirt Ninja 13**. Five cents please. 😃 Ah! Nickels, nickels, nickels! 😃 [/Lucy Van Pelt] ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2004, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-pitting-nickels/268364/26 "2004-10-10T21:19:17Z")
> [@Captain Amazing](#): > > I’m just saying that the primary mover on the Cherokee removals was the state of Georgia, which had wanted Cherokee land for a long time, especially after gold was discovered. I don’t disagree with you there. But with Indian Hater Jackson’s help, it might never have happened. And he wasn’t just willing; he was eager. Had been for many years. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2004, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-pitting-nickels/268364/27 "2004-10-10T21:54:28Z")
😕 “without”? ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2004, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-pitting-nickels/268364/28 "2004-10-11T10:11:41Z")
Lordy. Yes, without. Thank you, Kim. :o ---
**Author:** ![Wartime\_Consigliori](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9d8465/32.png) [@Wartime\_Consigliori](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wartime_Consigliori)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2004, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-pitting-nickels/268364/29 "2004-10-11T17:03:13Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > _The Bank Dick_ (1940). Great movie. [Butthead] “Huh, hu-huh, huh…you said dick…Huh, hu-huh, huh” [/Butthead] ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-pitting-nickels/268364/30 "2004-10-12T00:03:17Z")
> [@Shirt Ninja 13](#): > > and quarters are still worth picking up (mm…gumball machines) Until you recall that anyone over 45 can remember when gumball machines took _pennies_, though the gumball you got was smaller. Quarters are also less attractive when you realize that you could collect all 50 of the new State Quarters–or you will be able to once they finish the run–and it would still be only barely enough money to buy a couple of combo meals at a fast food joint. That’s if you actually wanted to go to Carl’s Junior and pay for your meal by counting out nearly 50 coins. And that’s the “big”,“valuable” coin…the flagship, as it were, of U.S. circulating coinage. I am exaggerating a bit. I do pick up quarters and dimes, not that I often find them lying around, and I spend them, usually as part of a plan to avoid accumulating more change. In a more sensibly organized system of denominations, a quarter of a dollar, or maybe a dime, would be the lowest denomination that was worth being minted. I certainly don’t know why we need any smaller denominations when there are so few things you can buy that cost less than a dollar, and probably absolutely nothing that costs less than a dime. yeah, I know, maybe a couple of small nails at a hardware store ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-pitting-nickels/268364/31 "2004-10-12T00:04:53Z")
Props to the OP for correctly spelling _nickels_. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-pitting-nickels/268364/32 "2004-10-12T00:08:46Z")
Apropros of my earlier comment, in the time when _The Bank Dick_ was made, the volume of W.C. Field’s nose filled with nickels would have amply provided the kid with pocket money for quite some time. If you threw in the volume of Shemp Howard’s nose in dimes, the boy could probably have done some modest Christmas shopping for his whole family. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-pitting-nickels/268364/33 "2004-10-12T02:07:06Z")
> [@Shirt Ninja 13](#): > > Does anyone else hate anything that sounds this silly? [Marry me.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=195546&highlight=pennies) (You’re a girl, I hope?) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Long\_Road](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5a626/32.png) [@The\_Long\_Road](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Long_Road)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-pitting-nickels/268364/34 "2004-10-12T03:36:10Z")
Shirt ninja 13, I am writing you because of your problems with nickels. Being a citizen of the United States who is very concerned about our image, I want to help you to get rid of those nickels causing you problems. Unfortunately I am a bit short on resources but would be willing to work out a deal with you. Send all of the nickels you can find to me and I will cash them in and send you back crisp paper money. I only require a small fee in order to feed my children. So that we can make the transactions as smooth as possible, the shipments of nickels should be as large as will possibly fit into the cargo hold of an international flight. Please do not let anyone know about this arrangement as it carries great risk for me. ---
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-pitting-nickels/268364/35 "2004-10-12T06:27:43Z")
I don’t know how anyone can like dimes more than nickels. Whose idea was it to make a coin that’s smaller than a penny worth ten of them? Pretty dumb if you ask me. For being the world’s superpower, our money is pretty lame. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-pitting-nickels/268364/36 "2004-10-12T09:13:27Z")
> [@sturmhauke](#): > > I don’t know how anyone can like dimes more than nickels. Whose idea was it to make a coin that’s smaller than a penny worth ten of them? Pretty dumb if you ask me. For being the world’s superpower, our money is pretty lame. Our money evolved by chance, and things that evolve by chance are rarely pretty. It’s a damned lucky thing that we got a decimalized currency system early on, because if we hadn’t gotten one when we did we would probably still be dealing with a monster only the Brits could love. 😉 I think we should get rid of the penny, nickel, and quarter, reintroduce the fifty-cent piece into widespread circulation, and simply price everything to some multiple of the dime. Hopefully, this will get rid of the sales tax on lower-priced items (food, clothing, other essentials), making it that much less regressive, and shift it onto items where the tax is a lower percentage of the total price. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-pitting-nickels/268364/37 "2004-10-12T12:54:01Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > I think we should get rid of the penny, nickel, and quarter, reintroduce the fifty-cent piece into widespread circulation, and simply price everything to some multiple of the dime. Hopefully, this will get rid of the sales tax on lower-priced items (food, clothing, other essentials), making it that much less regressive, and shift it onto items where the tax is a lower percentage of the total price. What he said, though I’d also eliminate the dollar bill and replace it with a coin. The problem with making a change – ahem – of this kind is that, while nothing costs 5c or 8c anymore, lots of things cost $1.98, or $5.23, and by taking away pennies and nickels there is a perceived hit to the customer, because it’s erroneously assumed that prices would be rounded up. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-pitting-nickels/268364/38 "2004-10-12T14:16:15Z")
> [@Spectre of Pithecanthropus](#): > > What he said, though I’d also eliminate the dollar bill and replace it with a coin. Bah. Don’t go there. I oppose this idea, because I don’t like having to stow a bunch of coins. ---
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-pitting-nickels/268364/39 "2004-10-12T16:37:14Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > Our money evolved by chance, and things that evolve by chance are rarely pretty. Our new paper money didn’t evolve by chance, it was made by commitee. And it is fugly. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-pitting-nickels/268364/40 "2004-10-12T17:27:21Z")
> [@sturmhauke](#): > > Our new paper money didn’t evolve by chance, it was made by commitee. And it is fugly. I agree. I honestly don’t see any improvements in the security aspects that mandated such radical design changes. Watermarks may have been difficult to shove into the old designs, but the ugliness that is the current Andy Jackson portrait cannot be justified. (I don’t like the guy either. But it would have been better to replace him with Madison than inflict that upon the free world. And Franklin wasn’t President, either.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-pitting-nickels/268364.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-pitting-nickels/268364.md?page=3)