5美分的硬币让澳大利亚损失了一大笔钱。这就是为什么

Armaguard 首席执行官马特·考尔菲尔德 (Matt Caulfield) 负责该国约 90% 现金的安全储存和运输，如果他再也见不到硬币，他也不会介意。

Armaguard boss Matt Caulfield, whose company is trusted with the safe storage and movement of about 90 per cent of the nation’s money, couldn’t be happier if he never clapped eyes on a coin again.

Armaguard 老板马特·考尔菲尔德 (Matt Caulfield) 的公司负责安全存储和转移全国约 90% 的资金，如果他再也没有看过硬币，他会感到非常高兴。

“Coins are very heavy relative to their value,” he says. “Our operations, including storing and processing coins, are complex, cumbersome and expensive to operate.”

“相对于其价值而言，硬币非常重，”他说。 “我们的业务，包括存储和处理硬币，都是复杂、繁琐且运营成本高昂的。”

The 5¢ piece costs the nation the most to produce. In September 2022, Royal Australian Mint boss Leigh Gordon said it cost more than 12¢ to make each coin.

5 美分的硬币是国家生产成本最高的。 2022 年 9 月，澳大利亚皇家造币厂老板 Leigh Gordon 表示，每枚硬币的制造成本超过 12 美分。

The Mint produced more than 110 million Australian coins in 2022-23, dropping to about 47 million in 2023-24. Credit: Matt Davidson

造币厂在 2022-23 年度生产了超过 1.1 亿枚澳大利亚硬币，在 2023-24 年度下降至约 4700 万枚。图片来源：马特·戴维森

But while only 18,700 5¢ pieces were ordered from the Mint in 2023-24, it produced 10 million more of the coins this year – now adorned with the image of King Charles.

尽管 2023-24 年铸币厂仅订购了 18,700 枚 5 美分硬币，但今年铸币厂又生产了 1000 万枚硬币，现在装饰着查尔斯国王的形象。

Apart from coins stashed in shops and ATMs, or lost down the side of couches and under beds, most of Australia’s cash sits in Armaguard’s secure facilities and armoured vehicles.

除了藏在商店和自动提款机中的硬币，或者丢失在沙发一侧和床底下的硬币外，澳大利亚的大部分现金都存放在 Armaguard 的安全设施和装甲车中。

“We’re like Uber for cash,” Caulfield says. But he’d much rather be ferrying banknotes than coins.

“我们就像现金领域的 Uber，”考尔菲尔德说。但他更愿意运送纸币而不是硬币。