kavey

David<BR>snort! <BR>Well he certainly isn't the sharpest knife in the block OR the drawer! How he stays in favour is beyond me, do you think he's blackmailing Blair with some juicy titbit?!!!<BR>Kavey

kate

oooh fab conspiracy stories for a Friday afternoon. Perhaps it's something to do with Blair's "special" relationship with Clinton. Perhaps Blairs a robot and it's really Cherie running the show. Come on guys, more more

jenviolin

The following countries have the Euro:<BR>Belgium,Germany, Finland,France,Greece,Ireland,Italy,Luxemburg, the Netherlands,Austria,Portugal,and Spain. The Vatican also has the Euro and their coins are worth saving if you get some because traders are willing to pay through the nose for them!<BR><BR>The most attractive coins are from Greece, Italy, and Portugal. If anybody wants to trade a set of Portugal coins for a set of Dutch coins, please let me know!<BR><BR>If the UK votes for the Euro and gets a top-class designer for their coins, their GNP will increase. Trust me on this.<BR>

Shannon

Norway also has not gone with the Euro. Are they not in the EU?

David

Correct, Norway is not in the EU. They aren't up for the next round either like many of the former Eastern European countries.

xxx

Norway has oil. They don´t have to care about money or unions, because they have so much of it.

Capo

While I miss the French francs -- especially the people they honored on their bills -- and think the euro bills could've had nicer designs, I liked the euro bills and coins overall, especially the metaphor of the bridges on the back of the bills. I also like the fact that each euro country can put their own design on the back of the coins -- my favorite is the famous Da Vinci drawing on the back of the Italian 1 euro coin -- and I love both the "gold" coins and the two-toned silver & gold 1- and 2-euro coins, and wish the U.S. had at least one two-toned coin.<BR><BR>Seeing those "gold" euro coins reminded of the new U.S. gold dollar coin, with Sacajawea on the front. I thought a lot of these had been put into circulation but I've never had a single one cross my hands in a transaction yet. It makes me wonder if these have been a success or whether they'll go the way of the former Susan B. Anthony dollar coin. <BR>

xxx

The gold U.S. dollar coins will no longer be minted. One of the prime reasons for its failure is that vending machine manufacturers refused to retrofit their machines to accomodate yet another dollar coin design.

trying

I heard recently that the US Gov't was making a last push to get people to use the Sacajawea coins. Good luck. Coins are relatively heavy and cumbersome (compared to paper bills). IMHO the US should discontinue pennies.

xxx

There is one ismple way to get the dollar coin into circulation:<BR><BR>Get rid of the one dollar bank note. There is no 1 Euro banknoyte, there is no 1 pound banknote, there is no 1 Canadian dollar bank note. Given the relative value of things, it makes no sense at all to continue to print 1 dollar bank notes. The Treasury would save quite a bit of money by dumping it like the rest of the world and pushing the one dollar coin.<BR><BR>It is interesting to read that Britain is considering dumping the 5 pound bank note in favour of a 5 pound coin. That would be something.<BR><BR>Incidentally a question for our British friends. Do the Scottish banks still issue 1 pound banknotes?

kav

kate - the idea of cherie running the show is even scarier... anyone ever SEEN Mars Attacks, she reminds me, for some inexplicable reason, of the gum chewing babe alien in that film - not that she's as pretty as the alien but her grin is way more scary.<BR><BR>Don't run! We're your friends! Ak ak ak ak ak!!!<BR><BR>Blair a robot? Mmmmm... could be. Or it could be that his mum had a secret affair with Clinton many a year back and actually Blair is Clinton's long lost secret love child?<BR><BR>LOL<BR><BR>Kavey<BR><BR>PS Wonder if we are really going to have the referendum any time soon?<BR><BR>

Capo

Thanks xxx & trying. So, now we know who really holds power in the U.S. eh? It's the VENDING MACHINE MANUFACTURERS! (They probably were behind the JFK assassination, too <BR><BR>Good point about getting rid of the dollar bank note; I'd go for that. A dollar coin doesn't have to be heavy and cumbersome and it puzzles me why the U.S. has, with the Sacajawea dollar coin, relied on size (as well as color) to distinguish it. Why couldn't it be the same size as a 1 euro coin (which is slightly smaller than a quarter) so it would be less heavy & cumbersome? If it's because seeing-impaired people might confuse the two, then "notches" could be added, as with the 20 cent euro coin. The largest euro coin, 2 euros, is still slightly smaller than the Sacajawea dollar coin. <BR><BR>

getback

Yoohoooo, Capoooooo, your boss is calling yooooouuuu! Time to start earning your paycheck for a change!

David

The reason given that the Susan B. Anthony dollar coin failed was that it was too similar in size to the quarter. The retailers complained about that. So maybe the RETAILERS are really in control!

Dana

Capo, <BR>If you'd like a $1 coin, go to the post office. Purchase 10 stamps with a $5 bill from the vending maching. You'll be given the $1.60 change, and the $1 will be a coin.

Capo

Thanks, Dana. It's not that I don't know how to get them -- and I already have some -- but I was just curious why they didn't seem to be in general circulation. <BR><BR>Interesting, David. Wasn't the Susan B. Anthony silver? Perhaps if it had been gold, or two-toned, retailers might not have had as much of a problem with it. <BR><BR>Anyway, I find it interesting that countries in Europe can change their entire currency while we have a major problem introducing a single new coin.<BR><BR><BR>getback, I *am* earning my paycheck. It's called severance pay. For the time being, no work and no boss. Eat your heart out.

David

Capo this may clear it up for you.<BR><BR>In the US it takes an act of Congress to make a currency change. The last congressional change authorized was the new dollar coin and the "big head" bills with a watermark. <BR><BR>The Treasury Department cannot just do as it pleases or it would probably have yanked the dollar bill years ago. A dollar bill is very costly, it lasts on average 18 months. A coin has an average life span of 30 years.<BR><BR>Oh, and yes, the Susan B was silver.

what

Gee, why are we not surprised that Capo is an unemployed couch potato? Frequency and duration of worthless, argumentative posts on a travel site MAY just be one of the reasons! Go ahead, get the last word in again slacker! That's right. You literally have nothing else to do. Go find your dogeared copy of Playboy and "read the articles" again. And be sure to tell us all about today's Oprah episode!

Capo

Thanks, David. It's not that I assume the Treasury Department can do what it pleases, just that I find it interesting we have such trouble introducing a new coin (not legally, but culturally) whereas European countries have changed their entire currencies. <BR><BR><BR>what, my my, such jealousy and anger. If you took all the energy behind those emotions, I'd bet you'd have enough power for Enron to manipulate.

xxx

I really don't think it would take an act of congress to stop printing $1 bank notes. That is not a change in the currency. Perhaps they can suggest the shape or portraits on coins and banknotes but stopping the priting of $1 banknotes is not a change in the currency.<BR><BR>It makes sense to ditch the $1 banknote. Start making greater use of $2 banknotes and $1 coins. They did it in Canada but the value of the Canadian dollar has fallen so far that they even ditched the $2 Canadian banknote. Now they have looneys and twoneys.....can't think of a good name for US dollar coins. Maybe we can come up with one.<BR><BR>Incidentally, the $1 coin should be gold in colour and thick somewhat like the UK pound which is a very thick coin and very easy to distinguish even for a colour impaired person like me who can't see that the 20p coin is silver.