Easily digestible tech news... http://www.techdirt.com/ en-us http://www.techdirt.com/images/td-88x31.gifhttp://www.techdirt.com/ Tue, 26 Feb 2013 17:00:00 PST Joyce Hung http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20101029/10162811651/dailydirt-how-much-are-coins-worth.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20101029/10162811651/dailydirt-how-much-are-coins-worth.shtml stopped distributing pennies because not only do they cost almost 1.6 cents per penny to produce, but most people think pennies are worthless. But are they? Here are a few more interesting coin-related stories.

• Pennies aren't worthless. They're legal tender and carry a value of 1 cent. That's why a Utah man tried to pay a disputed $25 doctor's bill in pennies. After he presented the clinic with almost 14 lbs of pennies and demanded that they count them, he was found guilty of disorderly conduct and fined $140. Hopefully he didn't try to pay the fine in pennies as well. [url]
• Have you ever wondered why there are 100 cents in a dollar? In 1784, Thomas Jefferson suggested that the U.S. dollar should be decimalized, and being the influential guy that he was, he managed to convince the government to follow the suggestions he proposed in his essay, "Notes on the Establishment of a Money Unit, and of a Coinage for the United States." [url]
• Coin collectors can now get their very own platinum-plated "trillion dollar coin" for just $9.95. The coins commemorate the idea that the U.S. Treasury could simply mint a $1 trillion platinum coin to get around the debt ceiling. Apparently, U.S. law allows the Treasury to produce platinum coins in any denomination. [url]
• The Royal Canadian Mint wants to create a secure digital alternative to cash in the form of MintChip. The MintChip smart card chip could be installed in a number of devices, and value would be transferred onto the chip by a MintChip broker, allowing users to securely exchange Canadian dollars both online and offline. [url]

If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post.

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]]> urls-we-dig-up http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20101029/10162811651 Tue, 8 Jan 2013 17:00:00 PST Michael Ho http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20101114/23415511867/dailydirt-big-money-small-change.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20101114/23415511867/dailydirt-big-money-small-change.shtml before, as well as Canada's plans to actually put an end to its penny. Some folks really hate these small denomination coins, but really large denominations aren't too popular, either. Here are just a few links on some money that won't see circulation.

• The US Treasury is technically allowed to mint platinum coins of any denomination -- but at least one lawmaker wants to prevent the possibility of a trillion dollar coin. TL;DR -- does this bill prevent the minting of a half-trillion coin? [url]
• There's less than a month left for folks to hoard Canadian pennies because starting February 4th, the Royal Canadian mint will no longer distribute 1-cent coins. Only cash transactions will be affected, requiring people to round to the nearest nickel. [url]
• Hungary once produced currency with a denomination of 100 million billion Pengos. That's 100,000,000,000,000,000,000 Pengos -- worth about 20 cents in the US. [url]

If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post.

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]]> urls-we-dig-up http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20101114/23415511867 Mon, 30 Apr 2012 17:00:00 PDT Michael Ho http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100507/1058279336/dailydirt-unobtainium-will-save-us.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100507/1058279336/dailydirt-unobtainium-will-save-us.shtml

Planetary Resources has been getting some buzz for its plans to mine nearby asteroids for precious metals and water. If gold was as abundant as aluminum, what would we do with it? [url]

Is it time to start studying up on space law now? Ownership of asteroids and the legalities of mining them could be a lucrative field someday! [url]

NASA and Astrobotic Technology are going to look for ice deposits and possible sources of useful materials on the moon. Silly, NASA, everyone knows the moon is made of cheese... [url]

To discover more links on space exploration, check out what's floating around in StumbleUpon universe. [url]  

By the way, StumbleUpon can also recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.

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]]> urls-we-dig-up http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20100507/1058279336