What is with all the coins? The smallest paper note in Switzerland is a ten. For anything smaller, there is a coin, including a five-franc coin that weighs about as much as a bottle of wine. Imagine carrying four or five bottles of wine around in your purse! Hmmm. Come to think of it....
Anyway, I digress.
In the U.S., I was always topping up my payments so I wouldn't end up with too much change. Here, I hoard my coins as change is a necessity, needed for parking (which is almost never free, even at the grocery store), laundry and the bus. Also, if you want to make a quick purchase and not wait to use your ATM card, bring on the change. No such thing as a one-dollar bill. I have even been known to go into a store, buy a bottle of water, pay with a 20-franc bill, and ask for all my change in coins. Then, because the change weighs about a kilo, I stockpile part of it and keep what I can carry in my purse.
Finally, there is one tiny brass-colored coin that is worth 0.05 francs and can buy you absolutely nothing. It does not even fit in machines which accept (require) coins. Given the cost of living in Switzerland, one would think there would not be much use for any denomination under a 20, which could buy you dinner at McDonalds (seriously). What are the Swiss thinking?
