What denominations of coins and bills have been discontinued by the U.S. over the years?

[Schnitte]

ETA deleted

[DrDeth]

@RivkahChaya

No: half dimes were minted from 1792 to 1873. I have a collection of them in an album that is nearly complete. Tons of variety on the mint mark, position of date, flourishes.

The Civil War, and a need for silver was what caused the half dime to become the “nickel.”

Ah, I read it was because it was too small, but the need for silver makes more sense- thanks.

@Broomstick

Hilarity does not ensue. Folks, if the cashier says PLEASE DON’T PUT THAT ITEM ON THE BELT, LEAVE IT IN THE CART it’s not just about weight or convenience or “helping” anyone. J

This is a pet peeve of my wife also, along with people (mostly men) who cant or wont read the screen on self-checkout.

[Broomstick]

Yeah.

I mean, I actually do know how to do my job. Listen to me and I’ll get you rung up and out the door in the quickest, most efficient manner possible especially if it’s a busy time or the weekend. We know how our machines work and what the Corporate Overlords have imposed on all of us, staff and customers alike.

[RivkahChaya]

@LSLGuy

If they have some notion they have to be diligent about rejecting fakes,

Around here, if an underage person gets served, the server gets hit with a pretty hefty fine-- something like $200 for a first offense. Not the doorman, not the bartender, not the manager, and not the owner (albeit, the owner can get hit pretty hard by temporary close-downs for several offenses in a certain amount of time). This is why, here, the server always double-checks ID, even if you showed it to the doorman to get in.

[smithsb]

From the Jokes thread.
Hands drivers license to clerk.
He hands it right back.
Me: “That was quick.”
Clerk: “I saw the 19.”

[Broomstick]

@RivkahChaya

Around here, if an underage person gets served, the server gets hit with a pretty hefty fine-- something like $200 for a first offense.

Last time one of my co-workers got caught by a police sting selling alcohol to someone underage she was taken out of the store in handcuffs. First offense in Indiana can be $1,000 in fines and up to 180 days in jail. First offense. I hear her lawyer argued it into a higher fine without jail time, but she was still arrested, charged, lost her job…

[RivkahChaya]

Wow. I don’t know if it’s cheaper for wait staff, or if I’m just out of the loop!

Or maybe your coworker knowingly sold it, or did not check the ID at all. I remember wait staff facing a potential fine for checking an ID, and failing to identify it as fake.

That’s a pretty big burden for not a great trade-off.

[Hari_Seldon]

@RivkahChaya

The reason for a 3-cent coin was that a postage stamp cost 3 cents.

Postage was 3 c. when I was growing up but we certainly did not have 3 c. coins.

I once had a collection of silver nickels. They were minted during WW II when nickel was needed for the war. They were all heavily tarnished and easy to pick out.

[Kent_Clark]

@Hari_Seldon

Postage was 3 c. when I was growing up but we certainly did not have 3 c. coins.

Postage was 3 cents from 1851 to 1883, then reduced to two cents. There was a brief period during and after World War I where it went back up to three cents, but wasn’t permanently raised to that rate until 1932.

The silver three cent piece was minted from 1851-1873, and the nickel three cent piece was minted from 1865-1889.