It seems that in recession times such as these, when politicians worry about falling off the Fiscal Cliff, belt tightening is something that every government agency must engage in.
I've seen news reports that even the Mint is now looking for ways to make the coins cheaper. You know that you have a problem when pennies cost two cents to make and nickels cost eleven cents.
This reminded me of several interesting tidbits. First of all, I once heard the reason why dimes, quarters and half-dollars are serrated, whereas pennies and nickels are not. Seems like in olden times, when coins were actually made of silver, people used to shave off little pieces of many coins and melt down the shavings. Serration put an end to that. Yet nickels and pennies were not made from silver.
What to do if someone tries to pay you with a shaved coin? That reminds me of a story in the Gemara Baba Kama 37A
讞谞谉 讘讬砖讗 转拽注 诇讬讛 诇讛讛讜讗 讙讘专讗 讗转讗 诇拽诪讬讛 讚专讘 讛讜谞讗 讗"诇 讝讬诇 讛讘 诇讬讛 驻诇讙讗 讚讝讜讝讗 讛讜讛 诇讬讛 讝讜讝讗 诪讻讗 讘注讬 诇诪讬转讘讛 诇讬讛 诪讬谞讬讛 驻诇讙讗 讚讝讜讝讗 诇讗 讛讜讛 诪砖转拽讬诇 诇讬讛 转拽注 诇讬讛 讗讞专讬谞讗 讜讬讛讘讬讛 谞讛诇讬讛
where Chanan Bisha hit someone and was fined by the court 1/2 Zuz. He paid with a Zuz that was not up to par and demanded change. The victim obviously was not interested in giving change. No problem, said Chanan. And he hit him again!
When touring the Mint many years ago, the guide noted at one point that the entire operation is not much different than a factory that makes washers (as in nuts, bolts and washers). The only difference is, he said, that here at the Mint " we always make money."
讗讬住转专讗 讘诇讙讬谞讗 拽讬砖 拽讬砖 拽专讬讗
ReplyDeleteI would prefer if you made some noise on your blog.
ReplyDeleteMy blog is already so dense with quality content that when the shamas carries the HaMavdil pushka around it emits the pleasant, understated whispering hiss of brimming-to-the-very-top seminal thoughts and ideas polishing one another.
ReplyDelete