dickey@wxlvax.UUCP (Tom Dickey) (01/13/84)
~e ? ~e Due to the large number of replies related to the legality of using coins to pay large bills, I am attempting to clarify it. Coins are NOT legal tender. This term indicates that the seller is legally obligated to accept the money in that form. Dollar bills are marked legal tender so that there is no question. Coinage is only legal tender when it is given in a relatively minimal amount. The minimum number of coins, for example, is always legal tender (e.g., 75 cents as 3 quarters, 20 cents as 2 dimes). This is extended to permit one degree of freedom when the buyer does not have exact change (e.g., using 5 pennies for a nickel, a quarter to approximate 20 cents, etc.) When one examines this, the rule is commonsense: It is designed to ensure that no one has to accept payment in a large number of coins. The dollar bill, however, is the basis of our currency; hence it is always legal tender to ensure that it is always acceptable as payment. This does not, however, require the seller to count it by himself. You may be stuck helping him count it, not because it is not acceptable, but because he must ensure for himself that you have paid him the correct amount. T.Dickey (ITT/Advanced Technology Center)
erica@orca.UUCP (Eric Anderson) (01/13/84)
I seem to recall that when the Susan B. dollar coin came out, there was some problem with acceptance. I remember a case in which a business, restaurant I think, refused to accept a SBA as payment. The result, as I recall, was that the court ruled that SBA's must be accepted as dollars, and that refusal to accept them resulted in cancelation of the debt. This was several years ago, so I may not have everything right. If anyone else can confirm/expand on my memory, I would appreciate it. -Eric Anderson