good thing we replaced all our home fuses w/circuit breakers (fwd)

About a year ago I was at the bank and a customer came in with a paper bag filled with pennies. The bank didn't have a counting machine so the teller told her she had to put the coins in rolls first.

I asked her how much she had, and she replied it was about six dollars.

I gave her a five and a one...

Anyway, I brought this with me to the market intending on using them. It turned out the self serve machines could quickly get filled if I put too many coins in.

So no great problem; I simply used about twenty at a time.

Probably so. I have about a gallon jug of the coins of all kinds. Just seldom buy anything for cash now as my credit cards give cash back.

Looks like the number of credit card usage would have eliminaed the need for many of the coins and even paper money.

Saw where each penny was about 3 cents to make and a nickle was 13 cents to make. Some of tha was for material and a small amout for actually making it.

I have not looked lately but did see a machine somewhere you could dump your coins in and get a store credit. Maybe Walmart needs a machine like that just inside the door where it would be easy toget rid of the coins..

Our town got rid of the parking meters years ago. I seldon go into the town to shop any way.It is a small town and most stores are in one of about 4 or 5 shopping centers.

Here you can pay with debit/credit card. I tried that on Madrid once and it failed, I had to use cash. Then I read that "batch" of meters do not work properly.

We can also pay with a phone app, confortable seated inside your car. This is done with intermediary companies that reach an agreement with the council; the result is that a certain app works on a number of cities but not others. Also, a city can have agreements with several intermediaries (aka apps). Of course, the apps charge a percent. On some cities, when you leave the parking spot the system returns you the excess money paid; thus you can pay for the maximum amount of time, knowing that if you stay half of the time you get back your excess money. Does not work on Madrid, though, no agreement to do this.

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My bank uses a coin-counting machine. One time I brought in some coins in rolls, and they told me to tear them open first.

BTW, the last time I brought in coins was during the COVID pandemic, and I needed an appointment.

There's a man around here who repairs lawn movers, and wants to be paid in cash. That's likely for the same reason.

One time during COVID (and I was using my debit card for small amounts), I had some medicine that cost 4 cents (after insurance). They wouldn't take my card, and just gave me the medicine.

I remember my grandmother using a marking meter, but since I started driving I've never seen one. I have seen a few parking lots where you have to pay, but never a meter.

:-D

If that happened to me at my usual pharmacy, I'd ask to take a note in my account and add it to pay up next time :-D

I can name dozens of cities in a half dozen states where I used them. I've used them in Italy too. Mostly in commercial areas, it is a way to limit all day parking in front of businesses that have people coming in and out all day, as well as a money maker.

There is even a TV series about it

You are a total fool - even (WAY) worse than the real Justin Trudeau

Most "parking meters" now require an app on your smart phone

I think you meant parking meter, but when you said marking it got me t thinking. In the 50's in downtown indianapolis there might have been meters, and people would feed the meter and stay longer than allowed. OR the parking was free but only for so long. They weren't called meter maids, but they had people chalk on a long stick (so they wouldn't have to bend over) who would mark the tires and if the same car was still there when they came back 2? hours later, they'd get a ticket.

Going back some years when I lived in Philadelphia . . . A friend owned a store on a street of retail businesses and metered parking. In the evening, the store owners and some employees wanted to make a quick exit at closing time so they would park in front of the stores as it was only metered until 6PM. Most convenient spots were taken up by the businesses and they they wondered why customers did not come in.

No need to go downtown. Walmart, Lowe's Depot and other bigbox stores have plenty of free parking.

Maybe I could install a parking meter in my driveway and charge Amazon to park while delivering my packages?

Fine if you are good with a bland life. Some of the best ethnic food stores are in places with meters. Oh, that bakery too, the one with the best rye bread.

So they moved their cars when they were on company time. Compounding their obnosiousness.

I'm a racist Trump conservative. I make my Rubins on homemade white 24-hour fermented sourdough. ;-)