Is it at all surprising? Coins don't fit in wallets, represent small denominations, and are therefore not worth the trouble.
That's because the highest US coin in practice is $0.25—even though $1 coins exist, they are not widespread and overlap with the $1 bill.
Contrast with the Euro where the highest coin is €2 and bills start at €5.
Also prices tend to be inclusive of sales tax / VAT in Europe, so a €9.99 widget can be purchased with a €10 bill and you get 1 single €0.01 coin in change. Whereas your $9.99 widget will be $10.79 (at 7% tax), so you'll get 3 dimes and a nickel (4x the amount of change) assuming you handed over $11. Most likely, you had a $20 so you also get lots of $1 bills with your coins. :)
I tried using $1 coins for a while. I found then too bulky and heavy with zero advantage over paper.
I would only use them routinely if forced.
In some US stores they set prices so that the total is an even total after tax.
Re:Preferred number
by dragontamer on Friday July 31, 2015 @01:47AM
(#9980127)
I actually found the contrary. 25 coins hold surprisingly well in a pocket, much easier than a thick set of 25-bills IMO.
25-Bills get wet with sweat and insulate your legs. I kinda prefer 25-coins over that.
The USD is close, too. Bills are in 1, 2, 5, although the $2 bill is rare. For some reason our coins are irregular, although people in my experience find all coins a bother.
The "ideal" set of 3 denominations would be 1, 2.15, and 4.64.