The deutschmark scam
I'm surprised no one has posted this, but before the currency changes, the old one and two shilling piece, which became the old 5p and 10p piece (you could glue two fives together and spray paint gold for a pound coin looky-likey, TH to davywavy), were dead ringers for the 1DM and 2DM coins in Germany.

That's not so useful, until you know this and go to Germany on a school exchange, and realise that vending machines will sell you tabs* at 4DM a packet at the time (about 2 euros or £1.50, and IIRC that was about the same as in the UK at the time). So the next year, the school exchange is a tab-buying festival, for 20p a packet (which was a bit less than the price of a Mars bar) **.

It was unbelievable, the coins were precisely the same weight and size, despite being totally different values, I can't believe that it was allowed. Good for our school's smokers, though (and smoking was one of the sports we excelled in back before the coke craze). Now of course, tabs are EUR3.50 (£3) a packet in Germany so it seems that cheap anyway...

* cigarettes
** not for me - I have many vices but tabs is not one of them. ***
*** I may have done it once to confirm the 'urban myth' of it all...it was just too unbelievable.
(cheesehead, Mon 4 Aug 2008, 21:00, 2 replies)

Tis true
We never thought of buying fags though. Worked on vending machines - coke, crisps and rubber johnies.

Word went out when the krauts came over for the exchange visit and we handed over bags of coins with a large % mark up of course. That's what you call a "Win Win" sitiation.
( buffet_the_appetite_slayer ٩(●̮̃•)۶ jacked in to the ICE on, Mon 4 Aug 2008, 21:06, closed)

I went on holiday with a cousin of mine to Germany
and he bought packs of cigarettes from every vending machine he came across so he give all his mates fancy presents on his return!

The 5ps were also ideal for playing slot machines in German theme parks....I finally got a prize out of a grabber machine! I think it cost me £2.
( chickenlady b3ta's very own Elizabeth Taylor, Mon 4 Aug 2008, 22:53, closed)