I’ve always thought that the U.S. should bring back larger-denomination coins. I like concluding an evening out in Canada or in the Euro zone and discovering that there’s the equivalent of $14 or so in change sitting in my pockets. A man in Pennsylvania apparently feels the same way, and succeeded in buying ice cream with a counterfeit $20 coin.

The AP reports:

Pennsylvania State Police are looking for a man they say sweet-talked a shop owner into accepting a fake $20 coin as payment for ice cream. Police said the man told the proprietor of Willow Tree Ice Cream on Friday evening that the coin was something the government has just begun issuing.

Yes, $20 coins existed historically, and you can get new ones from the mint even now. They’re priced according to their weight in gold rather than their face value, though, and change for a $1,289 coin from buying an ice cream cone is a little too much.

Police: Sweet-talker uses fake coin for ice cream (Thanks, GitEmSteveDave!) [AP]
2009 Ultra High Relief Double Eagle Gold Coin (UH1) [U.S. Mint]

(Photo: Shika Kaoin)

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