Small Change

When I lived back in the US I had this great big beer mug (I have no idea where I actually got it... but it originated in Vegas and had this lovely slogan on it, "Poker in the front, liquor in the back"... but I digress) that I used to put my spare change in. It mostly contained pennies, but also had the occasional nickels, dimes, and quarters. When my paycheck didn't last until the next payday that mug came in mighty handy. It meant hamburgers at McDonald's for dinner and a gallon of gas to get to work.

I think nearly everyone that I have ever known in America has had one of these "change mugs" at one time or another. Once I was able to make my paycheck last until the end of the month, I kept throwing my spare change in the mug, but wasn't taking so much out anymore. Finally, when I was packing up and getting ready to move to Germany I took my mug to the bank and ended up getting about $36 in cash for my change. As you can plainly see, if you don't have to use the spare change for the necessities it can really add up. (Even though to be honest, it DID take about 2 years for it to do so.)

Since moving to Germany I have not begun the small change mug again. I no longer have my Poker/Liquor Mug (it got thrown in with a box of dishes that I got rid of) and small change here really isn't so small.

In America, the largest common coin denomination is the quarter (25 cents). Therefore you can have a lot of change in your change mug, but it takes a while to add up. Sure occasionally you might run across a Susan B. Anthony Dollar or a fifty-cent piece, but most people keep them as collectibles. But here there are coins that are worth 1 and 2 Euros (current exchange rate 1 Euro = about $1.20). Those large denomination coins don't make it so easy for me to throw them in my mug and forget about them.

Even so, I guess the small change phenomenon has struck the rest of the population here in Germany. In fact, according to this report, the Germans are apparently so good at hoarding their small change that there is a shortage of it. They literally have to bring change in from Austria by the truck load and "[t]he Bundesbank has called on Germans to spend their stores of small change and has urged retailers to accept larger sums in coins."

So next time I am holding up the line at dm because I am paying for my deodorant and toothpaste in coins instead of handing them a 10 Euro bill, I won't feel bad. After all, I am only answering the plea of the Bundesbank.