It seemed like the perfect gift for a four year old.
It was a piggy bank. A piggy bank in the shape of a dinosaur.
And not just any dinosaur but the marquee player of the Cretaceous period – a Tyrannosaurus rex. I swaggered into the birthday party confident in my perfect offering.
It seemed like the perfect gift for a four year old.
It turns out that, to a preschooler, a gift of a piggy bank is the equivalent of giving a teenager a rotary phone. A novelty receptacle for the coins of currency? Matching tea towels might have gone over better.
After all, what are you going to put in this piggy bank? E transfers? Bitcoin? I’ll tell you what a modern piggy bank should have. It should have a tap feature. That would go over a treat. Mark my words, having just now suggested the idea, you’ll soon see such a thing.
So, I’d stumbled into another ‘Uh oh’ moment in life. I’d failed to recognize just how rare cash has become in our society. Times change. When I was a kid I would slyly appear at my parent’s cocktail parties with my piggy bank tucked under my arm. I’d pull out the plug from the bottom of the bank unleashing a torrent of pennies, nickels and dimes onto the floor. Act Two of this presentation was to arrange the coins into denominations. This was a well calibrated performance. I knew some acquaintance of my parents would find this childish act of accountancy charming and would ferret a coin or two out of their pocket to add to my savings. I can still recall Mr. Wright adding several quarters to my pile. I knew well enough to thank him effusively while my fiendish juvenile mind added up my bounty.
Coins were a big part of childhood and piggy banks provided a huge visual impression of savings. Two valuable lessons were imparted by piggy banks: numeracy and thrift. Pennies contributed to the concept of accretion. One penny might not be a big deal, but nine pennies was breathtakingly close to a dime and a dime had real buying power. That four quarters made up a dollar was a clear illustration of just how fractions worked. With a piggy bank you had a constant interface with graphic mathematical information. At any given moment I could tell you exactly just how much money I had in my piggy bank. And because you could actually see your net worth plummet, spending was a careful consideration.
Two valuable lessons were imparted by piggy banks:
numeracy and thrift.
A while back I needed change on a $50 bill. Nobody could do it. One or two people carried a twenty in their wallets but that was the extent of it. “Who carries cash these days?” was the constant refrain. Women still seem to have loonies and toonies in their purses but men shudder at the thought of loose change. Smaller coinage is rarer still.
Canada dispensed with the penny over a decade ago. The Royal Mint in Winnipeg churned out its last penny in 2012 and pennies were withdrawn from circulation on February 4th, 2013.
The United States, however, still uses pennies. The funny thing about a penny is that it costs two pennies to make one penny. Pennies made prior to 1982 were made of 95 percent copper and therefore have about .02 of copper value. Today’s American penny is largely made of zinc but still costs almost two cents to produce.
In the world of numismatics – the study of coins, paper money and medals – when there’s a difference between the nominal value – or face value – of a coin and its commodity value – the value of the metal of which it’s made – weird stuff starts to happen. This is known as “bad money” driving out “good money”. People tend to hoard coinage that has intrinsic value.
This concept is called Gresham’s Law and dates from Tudor England. Even if you think you’ve never heard of it, you have; it’s the basis for the term a “bad penny”.
… “bad money” driving out “good money”.
Which brings me back to my old piggy bank. It was choked with pennies. And each of those pennies would now have a commodity value of twice of what I extracted from those unsuspecting party guests.
Alas, if only that four year-old would realize that my gift was a headstart on becoming the T. Rex of crypto currency ….
This week’s question for readers:
DO YOU STILL CARRY CASH?
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Submissions to last week’s question:
WILL YOU BE GLUED TO THE GAME THIS SUNDAY? IF SO, WHY? IF NOT, WHY NOT?
Normally I wouldn’t miss the biggest game of the year and I’m pulling for the 49’ers but something much more important is happening in my life on Sunday. My 8 year-old grandson is playing in a hockey tournament at Sun God Arena.
John L. Young
Why do we watch it? Because you just DO! Everyone, whether they like football or not, will watch it this year … because of the hype and because of Taylor Swift! Love it or hate it, you’ll be left out of every conversation if you haven’t watched, even a little bit!
Caroline Duncan
I enjoy the game, but the glitz, glam, fireworks, performers, prop betting, half-time extravaganza, inspirational stories and celebrities provide extra entertainment for all. Initially, I felt Taylor Swift might be a distraction to Kelce and the KC team, but I have reconsidered. She has brought added sparkle and anyone with qualities like determination, self-belief, industriousness, and marketing ingenuity and is a great lesson for all. As long as Travis Kelce doesn’t keep looking up at the family suite and waving to Taylor, everything should work out for Kansas City.
Dan Miscisco
The Super Bowl might be a manufactured spectacle but it provides top dollar entertainment. I don’t care too much for football but this annual event generates so much energy and creativity. I’d never pay to attend – it’s way too expensive – but I sure enjoy the ads and the halftime show, even if I have to suffer through some football in order to watch those.
M.J. Jansen
Nope. Not watching. Last year. This year. Next year. The whole thing is designed to part you from your money. I’d rather spend a Sunday doing something like walking the dog, skiing, or cycling. The best thing about the Super Bowl is that it clears out the parks, ski hills, and bike paths.
S. Chang