From the Bank of Canada: “The method of payment can be whatever is mutually acceptable to both parties — cash, credit card, cheque, etc. Thus, a merchant may refuse to accept bank notes in payment for goods or services, without contravening the law.”
money
According to the U.S. Treasury: “There is [...] no Federal statute mandating that a private business, a person or an organization must accept currency or coins as for payment for goods and/or services.”
Frank Rich: “Money remains the last guilty pleasure in America. The obscenely rich engaging in conspicuous consumption or conspicuously idiotic behavior is the only excess that hasn't lost its power to amuse, titillate and shock.”
Sharon Zukin: “Low prices reflect democracy. Brand names represent our search for a better life. And designer boutiques embody the promise of an ever-improving self. Yet Americans have made a Faustian deal with the culture of shopping, and especially with bargain culture. The retail prices may be low, but the social costs are high.”
Adam page-slapped me the Stop Canadian Change site, and I can't help but notice that there is no mention of the Canadian 50-cent piece. I have in front of me this coin, featuring the arms of Canada on one side with Queen Elizabeth (which some of us call Queen E. or, when we're in a jollier mood, queenie) on the reverse noting the 50th anniversary of her reign.
