(By 'free', I mean those that have no transaction fee where one would normally be required, not including transactions using old coins that don't need a fee.)
So, when is a fee 'normally required' anyway? And, how old must a coin be before it's considered old enough to not warrant one?
Also, when the number of confirmations changes from 0 to 1 does that mean that a peer picked up the transaction and relayed it? Or that it actually found its way to a miner who accepted it and verified (i.e., confirmed) it?
Thanks!