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McDonalds will give you a 'MacCoin' if you buy a Big Mac on Thursday
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To celebrate the burgers 50th anniversary, McDonalds has unveiled a new 'MacCoin' currency, which will give people even more Big Macs. - photo by Herb Scribner
Nothing says success like currency.

And that seems to be the case with the McDonalds Big Mac.

To celebrate the burgers 50th anniversary, McDonalds has unveiled a new MacCoin currency, which will give people even more Big Macs.

The company announced on Sunday that McDonalds will hand out MacCoins to customers who purchase Big Macs on Thursday, Aug. 2, at the 14,000 participating restaurants nationwide.

The coin will earn customers a second Big Mac beginning on Friday and throughout the rest of the year.

Dont think of this as a form of cryptocurrency. Its loosely based off the Big Mac Index, an idea first published by the Economist that used burgers to measure a nation's purchasing power parity. The idea suggested that burgers could help us determine purchasing power parity across the world.

Since it was introduced at a family-owned McDonalds restaurant 50 years ago, the Big Mac has traversed the globe and is enjoyed in cities from Shanghai to Chicago, providing delicious, feel good moments to people all over the world, McDonalds President and CEO Steve Easterbrook said in a statement. So we wanted a global celebration as unique as the burger itself. The MacCoin transcends currencies to commemorate our global iconic burger while giving customers all over the world a chance to enjoy a Big Mac on us.

Easterbrook told USA Today that Thursday marks the would-be-100th birthday of Big Mac creator Jim Delligatti, who died in 2016. McDonalds added the Big Mac to its national menu in 1968 after Delligatti tested the burger in his Pittsburgh restaurants. He said it was similar to a Big Boy chains sandwich, according to the Associated Press.

Though McDonalds has suffered losses in recent years last week the company said customers are visiting its stores less often the Big Mac hasn't really changed.

Clearly, weve gotten a little more sophisticated in our menu development, Easterbrook told the AP in an interview.

In recent years, other fast food burgers spots like Shake Shack, Five Guys and In-N-Out have risen in popularity. But McDonalds still hasnt changed its burger.

What iconic sandwich do you know that can beat the Big Mac as far as longevity? Delligatti said.