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Using Euro coins as weights (2004)

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180 points Tomte | 2 comments | | HN request time: 0.501s | source
1. consp ◴[] No.41895808[source]
Anecdote from the days switching to the Euro with respect to weights: When I was working at a restaurant with high thoughput at the end of the '90s and early '00 we first had a giant coin sorting machine. That thing was innacurate (hello Egyptian coins of same sizes as ours) due to only measuring size and being not that accurate. Bank notes were counted by hand.

After the introduction of the Euro, all coins were counted in standard sized cups which also fit in the cashiers trays so no swapping needed, the error rate reduced to near zero (at counting, difference between amount on bag and what the bank told us was in it). Also, the machine was 500 grams instead of half a small room.

The same was applied to bank notes, as they also have a standard weight due to standerdized size and production method. This reduced the error rate even further as counting is difficult as it turns out if you want to do it at scale. It also made the task way faster. Theoretically the machine could count the notes in one go, but it mostly reported "error check notes" messages if you did that. Things like thick tape (for repair when the bank note was damaged) was enough to throw it off in some cases.

Those were interesting times, with people buying a 25ct item with a 250 note to not go to the bank to exchange old for new currency. (Fyi, you do not have to legally accept that as the due dilligence needed with high notes would outweigh the cost of the item).

Other anecdote: Also a lot of 50 euro fake notes showed up within months after introduction, easilly cought as they lit up like a freshly washed white shirt under UV light.

replies(1): >>41901939 #
2. FerretFred ◴[] No.41901939[source]
> bank notes, as they also have a standard weight due to standerdized size and production method.

LOL, I worked for a bank branch located in a low socio-economic area. The pubs and bars would come in on Monday morning with huge wads of bank notes, wet with beer and whiskey, and it all had to be hand-counted as machines couldn't do it. We then had to bundle up excess notes and heat-shrink wrap them. I'm sure there were some pretty interesting bacterial colonies growing in there!