Cop complained about receving dimes as change

[protege]

And yes, many vending-machine services have a peculiar definition of 'working'.

And yes, many end users have a peculiar method of "fixing" it. That is, taking a rubber mallet to the mechanism, and beating the living crap out of it. Not that I've ever done such a thing...

[mhkohne]

Pure cost minimization. A nickels-only coin mechanism is far less complex and considerably less expensive than one that deals with multiple coin types, and nickels are the least common denominator when it comes to vending machines. You also don't need a coin sorting mechanism to deal with incoming change - just a really big hopper full of nickels.

There was a subtle psychology to it, too. Allegedly having a giant pile of nickels in your hand was an incentive to purchase something else, rather than carry around all that weight in your pocket.

One thought: I don't think most vending machines gives out any of the change they take in. Instead, they just have a set of tubes or hoppers of change to give out from, which the servicing person has to fill when they fill the machine. The nickle-only thing makes this much easier, as you noted.

Sorting inbound coins and getting them to where they could be dispensed as change can be complicated, and if some looser manages to pass in a bunch of slugs, you don't want them going back out.

Also, for counting the profit purposes, you want the inbound cash separate so everyone can (if they wish) examine it. Otherwise you all have to rely on the machine's count of the take, and not everyone who is doing a split with the vendor is willing to trust them.

[ADeMartino]

One thought: I don't think most vending machines gives out any of the change they take in. Instead, they just have a set of tubes or hoppers of change to give out from, which the servicing person has to fill when they fill the machine. The nickle-only thing makes this much easier, as you noted.

Well, it used to be easier that way, but nickels-only change mechanisms have been going the way of the Edsel for many years now. There's a whole long dissertation on why that I won't go into here - frankly, it's boring as hell. But you'd be surprised at how much research goes into this.

Modern mechanisms DO give out change from incoming coins. They have sorting and dispensing mechanisms built into the acceptors themselves. The hoppers typically hold between $10-15 in quarters, with the dimes and nickels dispensers having having hoppers of similar height. If there are more coins coming in than the hoppers can hold, they dump the excess (and any slugs or foreign coin) into a bin. And there is a considerable amount of technology in those mechanisms - coins are sorted optically AND magnetically, and if properly programmed, they are remarkably accurate when it comes to separating slugs and foreign coins from 'acceptable' coins.

Also, for counting the profit purposes, you want the inbound cash separate so everyone can (if they wish) examine it. Otherwise you all have to rely on the machine's count of the take, and not everyone who is doing a split with the vendor is willing to trust them.

The newest acceptor mechanisms are programmed by handheld devices similar to a PDA, eliminating that problem. Inventory and cash totals are also read and controlled by these devices. Yes, indeed - vending machines today are truly high-tech.