Deryni Coins

[revanne]

I would be happy to pay the tax and shipping whether to the coin-maker or a third party. I was just a bit put out that that there would be taxes to pay hadn't been made clear from a company that was happy to quote prices in £ as well as $.

i had forgotten that US taxes are added at the point of purchase and not included in the quoted price.

[Bynw]

Here is a rough measurements for the size of the coins:

Diameter: close to 1 3/4" or 4.3cm
Thickness: slightly less than 1/4" or 5mm
Weight: around 1.3oz or 37grams

[Evie]

I would be happy to pay the tax and shipping whether to the coin-maker or a third party. I was just a bit put out that that there would be taxes to pay hadn't been made clear from a company that was happy to quote prices in £ as well as $.

i had forgotten that US taxes are added at the point of purchase and not included in the quoted price.

Yes, that's one of our cultural differences.  Over there, IIRC, VAT is included in the listed price of an item, so there is no additional tax added at checkout.  Here, we're so used to assuming there will be tax added at checkout (which will vary from place to place, to add to the confusion), that we just automatically do a mental tot-up if trying to estimate what we'll actually have to pay, but folks ordering from outside the US can be caught blindsided.  In my town, tax is 10% of the total (I think we have both a state and a city tax that add up to that amount), so if I head to the cash register with a $10 item, I know up front that I'll be shelling out $11.00 for it, so for me there are no surprises, just the occasional grumbling at the cost of living in my community, but for someone who just flew in from the UK for a visit, that extra dollar would be an unwelcome shock if all they had in their pocket was a $10 bill.

My dad is actually doing the math to figure out if he and Mom can afford to move from Texas to Birmingham to spend the rest of their old age years living closer to me.  On the one hand, there are apartments here that are comparable to where they live now, and for approximately the same price, so that's good.  But they would be moving from a state with no state tax and no grocery tax to one that has both, so that's got to figure into the equation too, never mind that Birmingham is actually on one recent list of Top 10 least expensive cities to retire in.  But apparently McAllen, TX, which is where they'd be moving from, might actually be more affordable, given the difference not having to pay a state or grocery tax makes in keeping spendable income.  And an independent living retirement home there costs something like $1000 to $2000 less per month there than one here for a facility of comparable quality (probably, again, because they aren't having to pay as much to keep their residents fed), so that's not even under consideration at this point.   

[DesertRose]

I would be happy to pay the tax and shipping whether to the coin-maker or a third party. I was just a bit put out that that there would be taxes to pay hadn't been made clear from a company that was happy to quote prices in £ as well as $.

i had forgotten that US taxes are added at the point of purchase and not included in the quoted price.

Yes, that's one of our cultural differences.  Over there, IIRC, VAT is included in the listed price of an item, so there is no additional tax added at checkout.  Here, we're so used to assuming there will be tax added at checkout (which will vary from place to place, to add to the confusion), that we just automatically do a mental tot-up if trying to estimate what we'll actually have to pay, but folks ordering from outside the US can be caught blindsided.  In my town, tax is 10% of the total (I think we have both a state and a city tax that add up to that amount), so if I head to the cash register with a $10 item, I know up front that I'll be shelling out $11.00 for it, so for me there are no surprises, just the occasional grumbling at the cost of living in my community, but for someone who just flew in from the UK for a visit, that extra dollar would be an unwelcome shock if all they had in their pocket was a $10 bill.

My dad is actually doing the math to figure out if he and Mom can afford to move from Texas to Birmingham to spend the rest of their old age years living closer to me.  On the one hand, there are apartments here that are comparable to where they live now, and for approximately the same price, so that's good.  But they would be moving from a state with no state tax and no grocery tax to one that has both, so that's got to figure into the equation too, never mind that Birmingham is actually on one recent list of Top 10 least expensive cities to retire in.  But apparently McAllen, TX, which is where they'd be moving from, might actually be more affordable, given the difference not having to pay a state or grocery tax makes in keeping spendable income.  And an independent living retirement home there costs something like $1000 to $2000 less per month there than one here for a facility of comparable quality (probably, again, because they aren't having to pay as much to keep their residents fed), so that's not even under consideration at this point.   

Just to muddy the waters a little more, Florida doesn't have a state income tax, so the taxes on things like vehicle fuel are higher (drive north into Georgia, which does have a state income tax, and the exact same fuel costs ~10 cents less per gallon).  But Florida doesn't impose grocery tax on all food items, only some; things like carbonated soft drinks, hot prepared food from the deli section, or (I think) snack foods like potato chips (crisps across the Water) are subject to sales tax, but something like rice or bread or fresh produce or canned goods would not be taxable.

And everyone else across the globe wonders why people in the USA are weird. 

[revanne]

And clearly people in the US are very good at mental arithmetic. I could see much tutting going on over here (where as Evie says what the price tag/ shelf indication says is what you pay) as people held up the queue rooting around in their purses (wallets) for the extra money.

[Bynw]

If I find out we still have some left over coins from the first batch. I will post the number of coins available and the cost for them. If we have to order more coins and that is possible (the molds are still available after 17 years) then of course we would have to get a lot of orders to make minimum runs and then have them shipped from Turkey.

I don't know if shipping will be available straight from Turkey to their final destinations or if we will have to have them shipped to the US where of course customs will be have to be paid to get them here and then if they go back overseas there would be customs for the incoming coins.

I think we will do our best too keep those costs down for everyone.

[DesertRose]

And clearly people in the US are very good at mental arithmetic. I could see much tutting going on over here (where as Evie says what the price tag/ shelf indication says is what you pay) as people held up the queue rooting around in their purses (wallets) for the extra money.

The 7% sales tax is pretty difficult to calculate in one's own head (unless you're my stepfather, who can just about do geometry proofs in his head!); I learned the multiply by 1.07 trick when I worked in food service, except I think then the multiplier was 1.06 for a 6% tax.

[DesertRose]

If I find out we still have some left over coins from the first batch. I will post the number of coins available and the cost for them. If we have to order more coins and that is possible (the molds are still available after 17 years) then of course we would have to get a lot of orders to make minimum runs and then have them shipped from Turkey.

I don't know if shipping will be available straight from Turkey to their final destinations or if we will have to have them shipped to the US where of course customs will be have to be paid to get them here and then if they go back overseas there would be customs for the incoming coins.

I think we will do our best too keep those costs down for everyone.

If the person/people who made/have the molds don't want to/can't mint more coins, would there be a possibility of them shipping just the molds to the US?  That would make it easier for the SCA coin-maker I know, in the event that the original craftsperson doesn't want to/can't make more.

[Bynw]

If the person/people who made/have the molds don't want to/can't mint more coins, would there be a possibility of them shipping just the molds to the US?  That would make it easier for the SCA coin-maker I know, in the event that the original craftsperson doesn't want to/can't make more.

That I don't know. That would have to cross that bridge if we come to it. I am hoping they still have the molds just sitting on a shelf somewhere waiting to be used again. If not they whole new designs would have to be done.

[Evie]

And clearly people in the US are very good at mental arithmetic. I could see much tutting going on over here (where as Evie says what the price tag/ shelf indication says is what you pay) as people held up the queue rooting around in their purses (wallets) for the extra money.

The 7% sales tax is pretty difficult to calculate in one's own head (unless you're my stepfather, who can just about do geometry proofs in his head!); I learned the multiply by 1.07 trick when I worked in food service, except I think then the multiplier was 1.06 for a 6% tax.

For me, it's easier to just remember to add x amount of cents for every dollar spent, so here, since we have a 10% tax, I just figure out how many dollars my purchase is (let's say $10), then add in 10 cents for every dollar. 10 x 10 = 100 cents, or $1.00. So my total is $11.00. For irregular amounts like $10.37, I just figure the tax will add on slightly more than a dollar, but it's usually not worth calculating to the exact penny.

[Evie]

If the person/people who made/have the molds don't want to/can't mint more coins, would there be a possibility of them shipping just the molds to the US?  That would make it easier for the SCA coin-maker I know, in the event that the original craftsperson doesn't want to/can't make more.

That I don't know. That would have to cross that bridge if we come to it. I am hoping they still have the molds just sitting on a shelf somewhere waiting to be used again. If not they whole new designs would have to be done.

My husband make medieval style coins, but right now he's working on several commissions in his almost nonexistent spare time, so I'm not sure what he'd be willing to commit to making, or for how much.

[DesertRose]

And clearly people in the US are very good at mental arithmetic. I could see much tutting going on over here (where as Evie says what the price tag/ shelf indication says is what you pay) as people held up the queue rooting around in their purses (wallets) for the extra money.

The 7% sales tax is pretty difficult to calculate in one's own head (unless you're my stepfather, who can just about do geometry proofs in his head!); I learned the multiply by 1.07 trick when I worked in food service, except I think then the multiplier was 1.06 for a 6% tax.

For me, it's easier to just remember to add x amount of cents for every dollar spent, so here, since we have a 10% tax, I just figure out how many dollars my purchase is (let's say $10), then add in 10 cents for every dollar. 10 x 10 = 100 cents, or $1.00. So my total is $11.00. For irregular amounts like $10.37, I just figure the tax will add on slightly more than a dollar, but it's usually not worth calculating to the exact penny.

That was why we had calculators by our workstations back in my food-service days! 

[DesertRose]

If the person/people who made/have the molds don't want to/can't mint more coins, would there be a possibility of them shipping just the molds to the US?  That would make it easier for the SCA coin-maker I know, in the event that the original craftsperson doesn't want to/can't make more.

That I don't know. That would have to cross that bridge if we come to it. I am hoping they still have the molds just sitting on a shelf somewhere waiting to be used again. If not they whole new designs would have to be done.

My husband make medieval style coins, but right now he's working on several commissions in his almost nonexistent spare time, so I'm not sure what he'd be willing to commit to making, or for how much.

I didn't know your DH makes coins!

But that was why I suggested the coin-maker I know, because if anyone in the modern world is equipped to do something as unique as making custom coins, it would be someone in the SCA! 

[DesertRose]

If the person/people who made/have the molds don't want to/can't mint more coins, would there be a possibility of them shipping just the molds to the US?  That would make it easier for the SCA coin-maker I know, in the event that the original craftsperson doesn't want to/can't make more.

That I don't know. That would have to cross that bridge if we come to it. I am hoping they still have the molds just sitting on a shelf somewhere waiting to be used again. If not they whole new designs would have to be done.

Yeah, I didn't figure you knew off the top of your head.  I wanted to put the suggestion out there just in case we need to plan for that possibility.

[Evie]

If the person/people who made/have the molds don't want to/can't mint more coins, would there be a possibility of them shipping just the molds to the US?  That would make it easier for the SCA coin-maker I know, in the event that the original craftsperson doesn't want to/can't make more.

That I don't know. That would have to cross that bridge if we come to it. I am hoping they still have the molds just sitting on a shelf somewhere waiting to be used again. If not they whole new designs would have to be done.

My husband make medieval style coins, but right now he's working on several commissions in his almost nonexistent spare time, so I'm not sure what he'd be willing to commit to making, or for how much.

I didn't know your DH makes coins!

But that was why I suggested the coin-maker I know, because if anyone in the modern world is equipped to do something as unique as making custom coins, it would be someone in the SCA! 

Yeah, that has become DH's latest way to learn a medieval skill and make us some extra money on top of that.  He's been spending most of his free moments later at my MIL's house, using it as a workshop on a coin commission that has to be ready to bring to Gulf Wars next week.