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Comment by tomjakubowski | Hacker News Reader

What can you buy at a shop with just a nickel? I don't think I've purchased any item at a shop for less than ten cents in my thirty years; and it's rare to see anything that costs less than a quarter.

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There's a mom and pop hardware store around here (Washington DC) that has random washers, nuts, etc. that only cost a nickel each.

Not that I've ever gone in and tried to only buy a single washer. I'm guessing the old guy might just smile and say "it's free."

If you need a single washer and have a nickel, pick up your drill.

I don't think you are accounting for the inevitable trip to the emergency room.

Or galvanic corrosion.

In Japan, the 5¥ coins come pre-drilled for maximum convenience.

I used to buy Bazooka bubble gum for 5 cents from the store as a kid in the early 90's. Since then I can't think of anything else for that amount of money

Argh. It used to be 2¢ in the late 70s. My 9 year old self went in to buy 50 pieces with my birthday dollar bill - and on that day learned about sales tax. (Tax was $0 on a single piece, 8¢ on 50...) I asked the guy to ring me up 50 times, but he declined...

Nails and such sold individually at hardware stores. Things sold by weight as well.

I remember buying some of these inidivudal sour patches candies at a local deli for 10 cents a pop about 10 years ago. I wonder what the price is now. Probably a quarter I'd guess.

The camp store at a place we go every year still has candy that is 5 or 10c. They also have mini tootsie rolls that can be purchased for 2-3 cents (used to be 1)

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