Doing away with coins...

Since childhood, quarters have always been looked upon as my favorite coin. It was my bus fare. It was the price of a pack of gum. It was price of an arcade game. As I got older, everytime we saw a quarter, the words, "Oh! Laundry" would come out automatically and instanteously.

In lieu of buying our own set of washer/dryers, we're still bringing our laundry out to public laundromats. A new one just opened up about 100 yards from our house. And of course, we chose to drive there instead of walk. (heh...lazy we are). Once we got there, we noticed NONE, I say NONE, of the machines took quarters. Just like Dave-n-Busters don't accept quarters for arcades, this laundromat doesn't accept coins. They all used pre-paid cards. And the machines for charging the cards only accept bills!! Whoaaaa...so high.
Funny thing is, other than a sack of quarters, Joyce and I both didn't have any money on us. So we walked out of the laundromat with our tails between our legs. The owner quickly ran after us... "What's wrong?!?" she asked. I told her we're going to the bank to get some bills. Then she said, "Oh! We can give change!!" In all my years of doing laundry, I've never ever given quarters for bills. It's always been the other way around. Anyhoo... we no longer have to hang onto each and every quarter in desperation of needing to do laundry.

On a happier note (a much, much happier note), Joyce and I took our bag of coins, formerly the intestines and innards of my piggy bank, to a CoinStar machine at our local Albertsons. Walking into the supermarket, I asked Joyce how much she thought we have. She guessed, "Around $5." I was a little more liberal (no relation to my politcal views) and said "$8.23!!" We pour in our change and lo and behold...the total came out to $88!!!! It's like Christmas all over again!!!

The cool thing about the Coinstar machine, it filterd out all my foreign coins, my CalPoly Arcade tokens, and most importantly, the machine separated a few silver dimes. Prior to 1965, dimes were made of real silver. Nowadays, they're made of a copper-nickel alloy. You'll notice two colors circimscribing the edge of the coin, red and silver. The pre-1965 dimes only have one color. So if I'm ever in need of casting a silver tooth, I have the metal ready.

$88!!! WOOHOO!!!!