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Friday, 4 March 2011 11:52 pm
(no subject)
For some reason, when I tried adding a twenty to my Metro SmarTrip card, the machine thought I wanted $15 on the card and $5 change. I didn't notice until after pressing OK. My change came in four Sacagawea dollars and a Susan B. Anthony dollar from the '70s.
If I were smarter and less hurried, I'd've fed the coins right back in. After all, the machine isn't going to give me a funny look if I pay with them. Instead, I've been spending them little by little with no trouble.
It's common practice for me to bring $0.75 in loose change for a midday candy bar, using a few smaller coins when possible. On Thursday I brought three quarters but spent a dollar coin and got a fourth in change. As I walked home, someone asked if I could provide four quarters for a parking meter. This must have been the first time in ages I could do so.
In return, I got a new Sacagawea dollar. Very funny, Powers That Be.
But when I say "new," I mean nearly mint condition. I was surprised to take a closer look and not find a date printed anywhere on it. Surely no one would counterfeit a Sacagawea dollar. I compared it to a much grubbier one: The obverse (front) looked basically the same except with a printed date of 2000, and the reverse had a completely different design. Wikipedia now tells me that the U.S. Mint started annual redesigns in 2009, which, judging from photos, is the date of my newest coin.
Here I thought the coins totally went out of circulation in 2001. Turns out they just saw a sharp drop in production. But they've seen a significant rise in the last two years. Maybe I shouldn't worry.
If I were smarter and less hurried, I'd've fed the coins right back in. After all, the machine isn't going to give me a funny look if I pay with them. Instead, I've been spending them little by little with no trouble.
It's common practice for me to bring $0.75 in loose change for a midday candy bar, using a few smaller coins when possible. On Thursday I brought three quarters but spent a dollar coin and got a fourth in change. As I walked home, someone asked if I could provide four quarters for a parking meter. This must have been the first time in ages I could do so.
In return, I got a new Sacagawea dollar. Very funny, Powers That Be.
But when I say "new," I mean nearly mint condition. I was surprised to take a closer look and not find a date printed anywhere on it. Surely no one would counterfeit a Sacagawea dollar. I compared it to a much grubbier one: The obverse (front) looked basically the same except with a printed date of 2000, and the reverse had a completely different design. Wikipedia now tells me that the U.S. Mint started annual redesigns in 2009, which, judging from photos, is the date of my newest coin.
Here I thought the coins totally went out of circulation in 2001. Turns out they just saw a sharp drop in production. But they've seen a significant rise in the last two years. Maybe I shouldn't worry.