Chewing gum - a substitute for coins!
Arizona Coin Collector
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=119329&d=18&m=2&y=2009
Chewing gum - a substitute for coins!
Omar Muhammad
Arab News
Wednesday 18 February 2009 (23 Safar 1430)
JEDDAH: There is a widespread practice in the Kingdom
not to accept coins as currency. Most people in
general, according to many shoppers, prefer to
exchange the half-riyal change for chewing gum or any
other item of the same price.
(STORY IMAGE)
http://www.arabnews.com/2009/02/gums18_.jpg
BECOMING A NORM: Giving a packet of chewing
gum instead of a half-riyal coin is
commonplace in the Kingdom and the practice
seems to be gaining ground as both the
customers and shopkeepers have become used
to it. (AN photo by Omar Muhammad)
Some people hate to carry coins considering them to
be unnecessary. In fact, some shops do not keep
coins and force buyers who want change to either take
packs of gum, packets of tissues or other small
items or return what they have bought.
The practice of not giving change has made packs
of gum the most common substitute for a half-riyal
coin. Coins have gradually lost value here unlike
in other countries where people value them.
Arab News visited more than 15 shopping centers and
found that all cashiers keep chewing gum to return
change. Muhammad Salem, a Yemeni cashier in a
grocery shop in Al-Salamah district, said he rarely
sees people wanting their half riyal back and
instead ask for gum. "When I tell them that the
price is something like SR14.50, they immediately
grab a pack of gum," said Salem.
Muhammad Gul, a cashier at a shopping center, said
he has lost customers because of the 50-halala
change. "Saudis in general and many other people
do not like to carry coins. I have suffered a lot
because of this. When I return 40 halalas back as
part of their change they throw it at me and ask
me what they are going to do with it. I even had a
customer who returned a product that cost
SR2000.50 simply because I insisted he take his 50
halalas back. To save time and since people do not
like coins we round up the price. Instead of
charging SR4.50 we charge SR5," he said.
"In Saudi Arabia people don't value coins very
much. Frankly speaking nobody takes coins
seriously. Not even supermarkets. But if you go
to Europe or America you see the difference. Coins
are very valuable there. Every penny counts," he
said.
"Pennies make pounds, well that's what we say in
the UK," said Ismail Muhammad, a British expatriate
in Jeddah. "It's funny how people don't value even
little bits of money. In England people wait for
their one pence change. There was a time expatriates
used to collect the 50 halalas. People used them at
phone kiosks in downtown Jeddah to ring home," he
added.
The role of money in a modern economy has obviously
changed over the years. With improvements in
technology and for security purposes the use of
coins and notes has grown less. Other forms of money
are used today such as checks, credit or debit.
This brings into question the use of coins and notes.
John Sfakianakis, chief economist at SABB (Saudi
British Bank), said: "There is an argument that
supports the usage of coins as it could act as a
preventive measure of rounding up prices. However,
the proper usage of coins in support of consumers
has to be kept in mind. Certainly, the usage of coins
with very small denominations have decommissioned
like in the case of Australia and New Zealand which
removed their one and two cent coins in the early
1990s."
He added, "In the case of Finland and the
Netherlands, which use the euro, they don't use the
two lowest value coins. The fear that businesses
would round up their prices which would lead to
general inflation is an issue that should involve
policymakers and consumers alike. The use or the
disuse of coins should consider the benefits the
consumer should ultimately reap."
According to the latest Saudi Arabian Monetary
Agency (SAMA) statistics, coins issued by SAMA
have increased slowly from 2002 to 2007. In 2002,
coins worth SR201 million were in circulation and
SR13 million were in banking department. In 2003,
SR206 million, in 2004, SR211 million and in 2007,
SR224 million coins were in circulation. In 2008,
the number of coins issued has increased steadily
from SR225 million in January to SR231 million by
the end of October. However, coins in the banking
department decreased to SR8 million in 2007 from
SR13 million in 2002. In 2008 also, coins in the
banks declined to SR7 million in October from SR8
million from January.
..
Mr. Jaggers
> FROM:
> http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=119329&d=18&m=2&y=2009
>
> Chewing gum - a substitute for coins!
>
> Omar Muhammad
> Arab News
> Wednesday 18 February 2009 (23 Safar 1430)
>
> JEDDAH: There is a widespread practice in the Kingdom
> not to accept coins as currency. Most people in
> general, according to many shoppers, prefer to
> exchange the half-riyal change for chewing gum or any
> other item of the same price.
I find it odd that the article didn't give the exchange rate of 50 h.
James
part...@yahoo.com
>
> I find it odd that the article didn't give the exchange rate of 50 h.
>
> James
Odd omission, I agree. Checking out xe.com gives 0.50 Saudi riyal =
0.133477 USD. So a pack of gum is only a bit over 13 cents there.
Gives me an idea for a great money-making scheme...
-Robert A. DeRose, Jr.
(It involves travel, a big empty suitcase and thousands of packs of
gum, is all I'm saying...)
howard
Our son has been in INDIA for about 8 years. We have been there 4x in about
6 years.
I collect coins and some paper money. I asked him and his friends to get me
as many "small denomination" coins as possible. The general admonition and
excuse for not have any, too many have been used for illegal
purposes.......can you guess what purpose?
scroll down a bit
===================================================================
drilling them out ( a hole) and using them for washers!
even more purposeful than chewing gum!!!!!!
I do have some small denomination bills (unc) on ebay.
deciding what to do with a few paise as well
Mr. Jaggers
> PAISE in India
>
> Our son has been in INDIA for about 8 years. We have been there 4x in
> about 6 years.
> I collect coins and some paper money. I asked him and his friends to
> get me as many "small denomination" coins as possible. The general
> admonition and excuse for not have any, too many have been used for
> illegal purposes.......can you guess what purpose?
>
> scroll down a bit
> ===================================================================
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> drilling them out ( a hole) and using them for washers!
>
> even more purposeful than chewing gum!!!!!!
That was done to our copper large cents, that had a heck of a lot more
buying power than a paisa. Except a square nail would be used to punch the
hole.
James
Roger Hunt
s.com>, part...@yahoo.com writes
>On Feb 17, 8:19 pm, "Mr. Jaggers" <lugburzman[at]yahoo[dot]com> wrote:
>>
>> I find it odd that the article didn't give the exchange rate of 50 h.
>
>0.133477 USD. So a pack of gum is only a bit over 13 cents there.
>Gives me an idea for a great money-making scheme...
>
>-Robert A. DeRose, Jr.
>(It involves travel, a big empty suitcase and thousands of packs of
>gum, is all I'm saying...)
The Saudi Customs might think that the foil wrapping is there to conceal
drugs/explosives from any X-Rays, and they might well insist on
unwrapping every one of the thousands of sticks of gum to make sure it
isn't coke or Semtex.
I'm not sure they are under any obligation to re-wrap them either.
--
Roger Hunt