Rant: No cents in it

I recently went for a romantic, waterfront meal. But that loving feeling was lost when the bill came.

At this white-linen-napkin, large-shiny-wine-glass establishment, they wouldn't accept my coins. We were paying the bill in cash - mostly notes, of course - but the metal was refused. The waiter giggled nervously as he delivered the confusing news.

Money is money, I protested. Hong Kong is a city that's all about the stuff! Apparently not. Some of my money, legal tender though it was, was worthless.

Since then I've spotted a coffee shop near my office that has a sign on the counter to say they do not accept cents. This place is a casual, hipster joint with none of the snootiness of the previous venue.

"Why?" I asked the waitress, who told me, "They're harder to exchange at the bank." (HSBC charges for handling bags of coins).

According to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, there was HK$10.4 billion of government-issued coins and HK$10 notes (the banks produce everything higher) in circulation at the end of 2013. Of that money, 63.4 per cent was coinage (and 7.3 per cent, or HK$760 million, was cents). So it's no matter of small change.