> I miss seeing machines that would bend a 12oz can of soda for 25¢. Those were the days.
A bending machine?
Oops, what a funny autocorrect. A vending machine.
Bills are imo way easier to manage and carry, especially when you don't have a wallet, which is why I prefer the US system, but I agree that durability is the main issue.
Coins don't fold, though. Carrying a few bills around in a money clip is trivial, coins quickly devolve into carrying a giant pile of loose change with near-zero value.
The main reason I don't use more cash is that it is so inconvenient. I don't want any coins back as change, and always telling cashiers to keep the change when the smallest bill is €5 is just too much for me.
> coins quickly devolve into carrying a giant pile of loose change with near-zero value.
Which is why it'd be better if they weren't all nearly zero value in today's money. Coins of tiny value really suck, I agree. What am I going to do with nickels and dimes, really? So useless.
I also agree bills made from that plastic material seem to hold up better and scan better by machines than the "paper" used in USD, so that's less of a concern.
I miss seeing machines that would bend a 12oz can of soda for 25¢. Those were the days.
I sometimes go to coin-op car washes, it sucks having to punch a fist full of quarters into the machine for a quick wash.