h a l f b a k e r yA riddle wrapped in a mystery inside a rich, flaky crust
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Good idea...if they don't screw up the ability of existing vending machines to identify coins and the edges are not so sharp as to cut your fingers. The minting cost of the coins may be increased if they are stamped out of a sheet (likely), but the mould release characteristics should be improved if they are die cast (unlikely). |
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Why not just phase out coins over a number of years for rechargeable vending machine style cards with credit (chip & pin) all over the world systems have been trialed. I think it is about time to give up the coin. However this doesn't get around the problem of picking up a Cash Card (or existing credit cards). We should definately bevel very slightly. ( 1 Bevelled Pastry!) |
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[PainOCommonSense] I have lots of half-baked ideas about "Cash Cards": When they are swiped or read by a terminal when debited or credited, power from the terminal drives the chip changing an "electric paper" type display on the card, updating the current balance. The display retains the balance after swiping so you can tell how much you have left; ie the display is like a "static RAM " (of course the real "value" of the card is kept by the internal chip). |
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You could also have a fingerprint reader built into the card, also energised by the terminal at time of use & which compares the fingerprint of the holder with the encoded "print" in the chip. Your card (or cards) are unique to you; if they are stolen they are useless to anyone else. The system need not convey your identity, so eliminating privacy worries, but just verifies that the user of the card is the real owner |
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(disadvantages people without fingers though...) |
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[originalsen] The rim actually has to be made as part of the manufacturing process (see link); so it would not be any more expensive to make instead a *slight* bevel, and still allow vending machines to work |
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I applaud efforts to make coins easier to pick up. |
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I also denigrate efforts to replace coins with cards. All such cards I have experienced suffer from serious problems: Namely corruption of data leading to lost value, and an inability to use them as legal tender in other areas. Such cards make a good substitute for gift cards, but that is because few people really spends gift cards, and their whole purpose is to make more money for the company. |
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If the coin is bevelled, and lands on a flat surface with the
wider side down, it would be difficult to pick up. |
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Make them spherical instead, and they'll be just as easy to pick up from any direction. |
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If you're worried about them rolling around if you drop them, make them magnetic, so they stick together in a clump. |
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