- Registriert
- 07.01.2004
- Beiträge
- 3.031
- Punkte Reaktionen
- 2
Hier der traurige Bericht um das 5 Centimes Stück:
The Swiss coin that no one wants
swissinfo
<br>
Even the pig seems unconvinced about the value of the five-centime piece
(swissinfo)
Switzerland’s smallest coin, the gold-coloured five-centime piece, looks set to become history if the official mint in Bern has its way.
The coin costs more to make than it is worth (4.1 United States cents) and no one seems to find much of a use for it anymore.
“There are people who shake their heads when I try to give them a five-centime coin as change,” commented a woman cashier at a Coop supermarket.
To put it bluntly, people don’t want to accept them because they don’t know how to get rid of them afterwards.
Vending machines, public telephones, parking meters and washing machines do not accept them. And anyone foolhardy enough to leave one for a waiter as a tip is considered unfriendly in the extreme.
When they first appeared in the summer of 1981, it was a totally different story, with many people amazed at how the old silvery coin now glittered with gold thanks to a higher copper content. But times have changed.
“They are practically only used as change but no longer as payment,” comments Kurt Rohrer, head of the Official Mint of the Swiss Confederation, now called swissmint.
And he adds that many “simply disappear”, ending up in children’s piggy banks, a drawer or an old tin box until years later they are rediscovered when people move apartments or houses.
According to statistics, one in five of the four billion coins in circulation in Switzerland is a five-centime piece.
The problem is that because people “hoard” them at home and so withdraw them from circulation, swissmint has to keep minting more new ones.
""
Does it make any sense to produce something that costs more than it is actually worth?
""
swissmint's Kurt Rohrer
Head scratching
Almost a third of the 32 million coins minted last year were five-centime pieces, a fact which has left some officials scratching their heads.
“Does it make any sense to produce something that costs more than it is actually worth?” Rohrer asks rhetorically.
The question is undoubtedly warranted because a new five-centime coin costs six centimes to mint, a loss of 20 per cent for the official coffers, which as everyone knows are stretched.
It looks, therefore, as though swissmint will ask the Swiss government in the near future to give the coin the kiss of death, although it is not clear exactly what the savings would be if it were withdrawn from circulation.
Only one other coin has been officially taken out of circulation since the founding of the modern Swiss state in the middle of the 19th century – the two-centime piece in 1974.
Lucky charm
The one-centime piece, though not in official circulation, has just about managed to keep its head above water as a “lucky charm” given out by some stores.
Not surprisingly, there are those who do not want to see the five-centime piece disappear, arguing that this could push up prices artificially.
But Urs Plavec, an official in the finance ministry, believes this is “very unlikely”.
The ministry adds that retailers need not change their pricing policy, saying they could include the five centime in prices and round up the final bill at the till.
Finland and the Netherlands are two countries that carry out this practice, while Germany has rejected it.
Rohrer at swissmint is a little surprised that there has been hardly any public reaction to the prospect of losing the coin, apart from one man who asked what he could do with the estimated 1,200 pieces he’d collected over the years.
He says it could be up to three years before any government decision to withdraw it could be implemented.
<br>
Time will soon be up for Swiss architect Le Corbusier (SNB)
New banknotes
In a related development, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) has announced it is preparing a new banknote series that has as its theme “Switzerland open to the world”.
A major change is that the focus of the notes should not be on any individuals, inventions or achievements. Twelve graphic designers have been asked to submit their proposals by the end of October.
The central bank says the notes should portray Switzerland as a platform for dialogue, progress, humanitarian commitment, exciting experiences, creativity and the search for practical approaches to solutions within organisations.
The current denominations of SFr10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 1,000 and the colours of the individual denominations will be unchanged. However, the size of the notes will be slightly reduced.
The SNB could not resist the temptation in its communiqué to mention that “costs can be cut at the production, packaging, storage and transportation stages.”
swissinfo, based on an article previously published by NZZ
Quelle: http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/Swissinfo.html?siteSect=108&sid=5539356
The Swiss coin that no one wants
swissinfo
<br>
Even the pig seems unconvinced about the value of the five-centime piece
(swissinfo)
Switzerland’s smallest coin, the gold-coloured five-centime piece, looks set to become history if the official mint in Bern has its way.
The coin costs more to make than it is worth (4.1 United States cents) and no one seems to find much of a use for it anymore.
“There are people who shake their heads when I try to give them a five-centime coin as change,” commented a woman cashier at a Coop supermarket.
To put it bluntly, people don’t want to accept them because they don’t know how to get rid of them afterwards.
Vending machines, public telephones, parking meters and washing machines do not accept them. And anyone foolhardy enough to leave one for a waiter as a tip is considered unfriendly in the extreme.
When they first appeared in the summer of 1981, it was a totally different story, with many people amazed at how the old silvery coin now glittered with gold thanks to a higher copper content. But times have changed.
“They are practically only used as change but no longer as payment,” comments Kurt Rohrer, head of the Official Mint of the Swiss Confederation, now called swissmint.
And he adds that many “simply disappear”, ending up in children’s piggy banks, a drawer or an old tin box until years later they are rediscovered when people move apartments or houses.
According to statistics, one in five of the four billion coins in circulation in Switzerland is a five-centime piece.
The problem is that because people “hoard” them at home and so withdraw them from circulation, swissmint has to keep minting more new ones.
""
Does it make any sense to produce something that costs more than it is actually worth?
""
swissmint's Kurt Rohrer
Head scratching
Almost a third of the 32 million coins minted last year were five-centime pieces, a fact which has left some officials scratching their heads.
“Does it make any sense to produce something that costs more than it is actually worth?” Rohrer asks rhetorically.
The question is undoubtedly warranted because a new five-centime coin costs six centimes to mint, a loss of 20 per cent for the official coffers, which as everyone knows are stretched.
It looks, therefore, as though swissmint will ask the Swiss government in the near future to give the coin the kiss of death, although it is not clear exactly what the savings would be if it were withdrawn from circulation.
Only one other coin has been officially taken out of circulation since the founding of the modern Swiss state in the middle of the 19th century – the two-centime piece in 1974.
Lucky charm
The one-centime piece, though not in official circulation, has just about managed to keep its head above water as a “lucky charm” given out by some stores.
Not surprisingly, there are those who do not want to see the five-centime piece disappear, arguing that this could push up prices artificially.
But Urs Plavec, an official in the finance ministry, believes this is “very unlikely”.
The ministry adds that retailers need not change their pricing policy, saying they could include the five centime in prices and round up the final bill at the till.
Finland and the Netherlands are two countries that carry out this practice, while Germany has rejected it.
Rohrer at swissmint is a little surprised that there has been hardly any public reaction to the prospect of losing the coin, apart from one man who asked what he could do with the estimated 1,200 pieces he’d collected over the years.
He says it could be up to three years before any government decision to withdraw it could be implemented.
<br>
Time will soon be up for Swiss architect Le Corbusier (SNB)
New banknotes
In a related development, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) has announced it is preparing a new banknote series that has as its theme “Switzerland open to the world”.
A major change is that the focus of the notes should not be on any individuals, inventions or achievements. Twelve graphic designers have been asked to submit their proposals by the end of October.
The central bank says the notes should portray Switzerland as a platform for dialogue, progress, humanitarian commitment, exciting experiences, creativity and the search for practical approaches to solutions within organisations.
The current denominations of SFr10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 1,000 and the colours of the individual denominations will be unchanged. However, the size of the notes will be slightly reduced.
The SNB could not resist the temptation in its communiqué to mention that “costs can be cut at the production, packaging, storage and transportation stages.”
swissinfo, based on an article previously published by NZZ
Quelle: http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/Swissinfo.html?siteSect=108&sid=5539356
Zuletzt bearbeitet:
