Reply #14: Wrong again, on so many counts [View All]

[Art_from_Ark]

Your contention that silver coins cannot be used in vending machines is silly, because the current clad (not "bi-metallic") alloy was chosen as a replacement for the silver alloy in large part because it closely resembled the properties of the silver coins, making the clad coins useable in vending machines. The coins rejected by your vending machine were in all likelihood pure nickel coins from Canada, which are magnetic, and are thus automatically rejected by US vending machines.

"Bi-metallic" coins are coins which have have a core of one alloy, surrounded by a ring of another alloy. The 1- and 2-euro coins, Thai 10-baht, and British 2-pound coins are all examples of bi-metallic coins.



Your contention that merely a society's "sum total of its human and natural capital" is what backs its currency is simplistic, since currencies sink or swim based on a number of internal and external factors. The currencies of Mexico, Argentina, and Brazil, for example, have all at one time or another crashed without a major change in their "human and natural capital".

One cannot discuss currencies without understanding the history of precious metals and their role in supporting monetary systems. Your contention that precious metal backing is "nonsense" is misinformed, to say the least. Here are some Ithaca dollars. You can use them to buy yourself a clue. According to you, they should be as readily accepted in Seattle as they are in Ithaca.