Japanese TV news segment on penny investing

[Sheikh_yer_Bu'Tay]

Most people don't even realize that Japan used to have the "sen" which was 1/100 of a yen.
Now that one dollar equals about 100 yen, Japan should drop two zeroes.
Or, they could wait a few months and drop 3 zeroes.

Yep, and do you know about the mon? 1000 bonus points to anyone who can tell us what the expression "nisoku, sanmon" signifies.

Dirt cheap; very cheap.

にそくさんもん

It took a while to find it because you put a comma in there. nisoku, as a phrase relating to coinage means "pair, or two pairs". Sanmon means "cheapness, or farthing". My transliteration would make it out to be "a pair of cheap farthings". Put them together, and they take on a different meaning. Nisokusanmon can be used in a sentence like: "The antiques my father left me turned out to be worthless junk."

[scyther]

Most people don't even realize that Japan used to have the "sen" which was 1/100 of a yen.
Now that one dollar equals about 100 yen, Japan should drop two zeroes.
Or, they could wait a few months and drop 3 zeroes.

Yep, and do you know about the mon? 1000 bonus points to anyone who can tell us what the expression "nisoku, sanmon" signifies.

Dirt cheap, or, very cheap.

にそくさんもん

I used Denshi Jisho dictionary to find it.

I know ni and san mean 2 and 3 respectively, and obviously mon is mon, but what is soku?

[Sheikh_yer_Bu'Tay]

I know ni and san mean 2 and 3 respectively, and obviously mon is mon, but what is soku?

Soku, 足, in this context is a counter of a pair, or pairs. As in two pairs of socks.

I think sanmon meant "threepence" at one time in ancient Japan.

[scyther]

I know ni and san mean 2 and 3 respectively, and obviously mon is mon, but what is soku?

Soku, 足, in this context is a counter of a pair, or pairs. As in two pairs of socks.

I think sanmon meant "threepence" at one time in ancient Japan.

Oh, thanks. I thought it was something to do with shoes but I wasn't quite sure.

[misteroman]

I'm not sure if there are a lot "copper investors" on the east coast so Henrysmedford and Adam (Portland Mint?) are probably your two best bets.

I think it will be an interesting story in light of the BOJ's new monetary easing policy. One major theme of this site is that almost all of us are concerned about inflation. Most people who are looking for an inflation hedge invest in silver a gold, however many of us believe that collecting pennies and nickels is a low cost, low risk option for hedging against a weakening dollar (or yen).

Good luck with your story.

Pretty sure there are at least a few east coast people in the 1ton+ club and positive there is one above 4 tons hanging around the east coast

[fansubs_ca]

I wonder if he found someone or gave up, I hadn't posted to this thread because:

#1: Security concerns others have mentioned. (I'm not equiped to blindfold him and
his crew and drive them in circles to hide my location like they did with that reporter
who was taken to the vault holding the ETF gold. ^_-)
#2: I'm in Canada, not the U.S.
#3: My stack of copper doesn't look so impressive since I'm a hand sorter.
(If they filmed in my house they'ld see my anime on VHS took up more space
than all my pennies and nickels combined. ^_-)
I'm definately well short of their 1 ton target.

I figured someone who's already been on TV would be up for annother round since
it wouldn't be any more of a security risk than they already have.

[shinnosuke]

I know ni and san mean 2 and 3 respectively, and obviously mon is mon, but what is soku?

Soku, 足, in this context is a counter of a pair, or pairs. As in two pairs of socks.

I think sanmon meant "threepence" at one time in ancient Japan.

The soku (足 (foot)) kanji above is the oft-mistaken word for that expression. The original is soku (束 (bundle)). So the expression originally meant, roughly, 2 bundles for three mites (as in the widow's mite). Or, as Sheikh said, in modern English terms, "dirt cheap." We can imagine a poor farmer coming home from market day and showing his wife some cloth that he bought for her. Since the wives often have tight control of the purse strings in Japanese culture, she would be chagrined that he used the money made from selling their turnips to buy cloth. He would defend his purchase by declaring, demo nisoku sanmon datta yo (but it was so cheap!).

Sheikh, I added the comma in the original question because I wanted to make it clear that it was two words.

[Sheikh_yer_Bu'Tay]

Soku, 足, in this context is a counter of a pair, or pairs. As in two pairs of socks.

I think sanmon meant "threepence" at one time in ancient Japan.

The soku (足 (foot)) kanji above is the oft-mistaken word for that expression. The original is soku (束 (bundle)). So the expression originally meant, roughly, 2 bundles for three mites (as in the widow's mite). Or, as Sheikh said, in modern English terms, "dirt cheap." We can imagine a poor farmer coming home from market day and showing his wife some cloth that he bought for her. Since the wives often have tight control of the purse strings in Japanese culture, she would be chagrined that he used the money made from selling their turnips to buy cloth. He would defend his purchase by declaring, demo nisoku sanmon datta yo (but it was so cheap!).

Sheikh, I added the comma in the original question because I wanted to make it clear that it was two words.

I read root word definitions vaguely similar to that, but it was too disjointed to get the full picture. Your explanation makes more sense.

[shinnosuke]

Sheikh, I can't imagine myself knowing as much Japanese as you do without ever having lived there. Eight years in country gave me lots of great experiences and enough knowledge to make me dangerous.

[Sheikh_yer_Bu'Tay]

Sheikh, I can't imagine myself knowing as much Japanese as you do without ever having lived there. Eight years in country gave me lots of great experiences and enough knowledge to make me dangerous.

進之介, I really don't know as much as you might think. I depend heavily on Google Translate & Bing Translate. Plus, if those two don't satisfy I make the rounds of dictionaries on the web.

Thank goodness for the digital information age!

One of these days we are going to find out just how dangerous you are in the Land of the Rising Sun!

[shinnosuke]

Sheikh, I can't imagine myself knowing as much Japanese as you do without ever having lived there. Eight years in country gave me lots of great experiences and enough knowledge to make me dangerous.

進之介, I really don't know as much as you might think. I depend heavily on Google Translate & Bing Translate. Plus, if those two don't satisfy I make the rounds of dictionaries on the web.

Thank goodness for the digital information age!

One of these days we are going to find out just how dangerous you are in the Land of the Rising Sun!

Well, I'm going to Tokyo again on Sept. 8th so one and all are welcome to join me. For a plate of sushi I will gladly show anyone the sights in that little town.

[penny pretty]

Not to hijack the thread, but...

I save cans and other Al bits in a 30 Gal. trash can.

I make Aluminum "pancakes" when I burn brush, tree tops and other woody yard waste.
When the pile gets burned down to a big bed of coals, I put a 12" cast iron pan on a big pile of coals. When it gets glowing orange I add the cans. They melt pretty quick, when the Cast Iron pan is 3/4, or a bit more, full I skim the slag with my clam digging shovel and let the fire die down.
The next day I turn the pan upside down and smack it on a big stump. The resulting cast Al "pancakes" actually have a bit of weight to them. (I think I should put a couple on the bathroom scale to get an average weight, I've never weighed one.) They stack easily and I figure I'll sell them if I ever need the $'s. Otherwise my kids get them when I'm worm food.

The same process works with old car/truck batteries to make Pb "pancakes", (I use baking soda in the cells to settle the H2So4 down) and break the batteries up with the log maul to get the lead plates. Be careful about which way the wind is blowing, you don't want to breathe anywhere close to where the fumes are rising!!!

are there still states that dont have a container deposit that makes melting aluminum worthless. as for batteries, a scrapyard will pay nicely for one, without all the risks of cracking one open..WAY back in 1990, me and a friend would get off work at 1AM, and go to the dumpsters at the bars, get all the beer cans, stomp em,and take them to junkyard.

[penny pretty]

east coast here! its ON! I can handsort FASTER than a rydale ace!

[Sheikh_yer_Bu'Tay]

Sheikh, I can't imagine myself knowing as much Japanese as you do without ever having lived there. Eight years in country gave me lots of great experiences and enough knowledge to make me dangerous.

進之介, I really don't know as much as you might think. I depend heavily on Google Translate & Bing Translate. Plus, if those two don't satisfy I make the rounds of dictionaries on the web.

Thank goodness for the digital information age!

One of these days we are going to find out just how dangerous you are in the Land of the Rising Sun!

Well, I'm going to Tokyo again on Sept. 8th so one and all are welcome to join me. For a plate of sushi I will gladly show anyone the sights in that little town.

来年、先生、来年。

Next year, Sensei, next year.