Alpo Posted May 25, 2022 Share Posted May 25, 2022 I never made a long distance call from a payphone. It was always just put the dime in, and then put the quarter in. But I got to wondering about long distance. Let's say that I want to place a call to Bug-tussle Arkansas. They tell me that'll cost $0.65 for the first 3 minutes. I don't have dimes or nickels, so I put in three quarters. If I don't go past 3 minutes, would they kick me back a dime change, or would I end up paying $0.75 for the first 3 minutes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rip Snorter Posted May 25, 2022 Share Posted May 25, 2022 Back in the '60's I used to call my College girlfriend from a phonebooth because my folks got understandably annoyed by the bills. I brought a pocket full of change. My recollection is that you dropped the dime and dialed. The Operator came on and told you how much to deposit. The different coins made a different "twang" and when you deposited enough, the call went through. The operator came back and asked for more to continue the call when your first payment ran out. Thanks for the memory! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Riot Posted May 25, 2022 Share Posted May 25, 2022 18 minutes ago, Alpo said: If I don't go past 3 minutes, would they kick me back a dime change, or would I end up paying $0.75 for the first 3 minutes? Nope, they keep the extra…kept the extra. Once the money drops in the box there was no way to get it back short of vandalism. I do recall putting extra money in and getting extra time though. I haven’t seen a working pay phone in quite a while so I have no idea how it would work today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rip Snorter Posted May 25, 2022 Share Posted May 25, 2022 Actually, long ago so I may be wrong, they could return money. And then there was the paperclip trick... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Riot Posted May 25, 2022 Share Posted May 25, 2022 6 minutes ago, Rip Snorter said: Actually, long ago so I may be wrong, they could return money. And then there was the paperclip trick... Bingo chips worked if you launched them into the coin slot hard enough to trigger the little coin thingie. But, they only worked for local calls that required a single dime for some reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rip Snorter Posted May 25, 2022 Share Posted May 25, 2022 Youthful larcenies! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967 Posted May 25, 2022 Share Posted May 25, 2022 I can recall a time (over fifty years ago!) when you could ask the operator for change and the phone company would actually mail a check. I've gotten 'em for as little as ten cents. Never cashed any of 'em. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770 Posted May 26, 2022 Share Posted May 26, 2022 55 minutes ago, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said: Bingo chips worked if you launched them into the coin slot hard enough to trigger the little coin thingie. My old boss, (back in the 70s) used to tell how, as a kid, (1930s), he would go to a hardware store, and buy about 6 7/16" washers for a penny, then put those washers into the gumball machine and get 6 gumballs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Riot Posted May 26, 2022 Share Posted May 26, 2022 Bingo chips also worked in dime gum ball machines…until the A&P store manager got wise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rip Snorter Posted May 26, 2022 Share Posted May 26, 2022 Well, there aren't a lot of phone booths any more, and for sure they have advanced more than the years, but it used to be possible to straighten a thin paperclip, insert it in the mouthpiece end of the handset, and touch it to the coin slot. There would be a tiny spark, and apparently the phone would signal that a coin had dropped. Mostly I carried a dime in each penny loafer, used it a couple of times in necessity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watab kid Posted May 26, 2022 Share Posted May 26, 2022 yes , in my experience - altho limited as i seldom calld LD from a pay phone - there was no chyange given back , once deposited its gone , might as well talk till they cut you off , Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Utah Bob #35998 Posted May 26, 2022 Share Posted May 26, 2022 They just removed the last pay phone in NYC. https://www.npr.org/2022/05/24/1100931534/last-pay-phone-new-york-city-public-nyc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
South-Eye Ned Posted May 26, 2022 Share Posted May 26, 2022 last time I used a pay phone was in the Highlands of Scotland. To call the States, I had to use a pre-paid debit card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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