Customs: New Tip, No Tip

For grumpy citizens, weary of waiters, cabbies and similarly unappealing personnel who do a fast, sloppy job, then present open, demanding palms, Mendelsohn’s in New Rochelle, N.Y., offers a solution. It is a coin that looks like a quarter, feels like a quarter (at eight for $ 1, even costs less than a quarter), generally passes for the genuine article until the tipper is safely out of reach. Too late, open, demanding eyes will discover the drawing of an outstretched hand where George Washington should be, and instead of an eagle, the straightforward, gloriously embossed message: THIS COIN is YOUR TIP. GIVE NOTHING. GET NOTHING. ZERO CENTS. IT MATCHES EXACTLY THE VALUE OF YOUR SERVICE.