My home country may not be the biggest country; it is not the richest or the smartest.  We are not considered to be a world leader, or even particularly influential on the world stage.  But we do have 1 claim to fame that I don’t think any other country has been clever enough to do, and certainly not the UK.  Before I disclose what makes Australia GENIUS let’s talk a little bit about some more of my experiences in London (for shits and giggles).

I bought a bottle of water the other day and it cost £1.16, I handed a £2 coin over and received a full 84p change.  That was 4 x 20p coins and 2x2p coins… just a day-to-day mundane activity, right? 

But I think you need to stop and ask yourself at this point, as I asked myself at that moment – what the frig am I going to do with 2x2p coins?  They are big, bronze, dirty and absolutely USELESS.  And the same goes for 1p coins – they are just a little smaller.  You have to accumulate heaps  of them to be able to do anything with them.   They take up space in your wallet that could be occupied by more valuable coins.  They weigh down your pockets and make it difficult to balance in heels.

Probably a lot of you are thinking, who cares Lou?  Well, me, actually because I happen to come from a country that got rid of both the 1 and 2 cent pieces in 1992 and I know with what ease these simple day-to-day transactions can take place.  It’s GENIUS, I tell you.   I’d totally taken this benefit for granted until moving to London where I am constantly plagued with having to get rid of my useless dirty brown coins.

The most obvious place to put them is in the Charity tin collections that thankfully sit on most store counter tops – especially in stores dispensing lots of dirty brown coins like Tesco and M&S.  But then, what kind of cheap ass only donates 1p and 2p pieces?  I think the shop assistants judge me; apparently 1 and 2p pieces are not even good enough for charity.

So often I try to leave quickly without taking the change if its only 1 or 2p, but sometimes I’m not fast enough and have to tell the assistants to “keep the change”… this obviously just leads to more judging.  Latest trick is just “accidentally” dropping them.  In Boots last night I tried this tactic and thankfully the dirty brown coin in question rolled under the counter.  Free!  I surely will not be this lucky all the time…

P.S.  For anyone who’s going to suggest that I should save up all my 1 and 2p coins in a piggy bank for years and years and reap the rewards at the end; I have only this to say.  If you’re going to bother with a piggy bank, try putting £1 and £2 coins in instead and see what happens then.  BOOYAH!