My dad always gives me the extra change that is in his pocket at the end of the day. He also lets me have any coins that hit the floor, he has done this ever since I was little. Now that I'm older, I don't like his loose change as much. He noticed that I lost interest and decided to put all of it in a jar to save. One day, when the jar was full, he came to me and showed me the jar of change that I used to gladly take.
He said, “Why did you stop wanting my change?”
I responded without hesitation, “I just don't see the value in a bunch of pennies anymore.”
He kept a straight face, “I see. So, I assume you don't want to go to the bank with me and exchange all this change in for cash?”
Then I realized why he brought it up in the first place. I decided to take the bait, “What? Yeah I do!”
“But I thought it was meaningless to you,” he said with a little smirk.
I jumped up toward the door, “I was just kidding. I'd love to go with you!”
“Good, you can have the cash from the change since it should have been yours to begin with,” he said shoving me out the door.
Sorry the penny carries so much emotional weight for the people of Illinois and elsewhere in the US. But you should know that our Canadian penny had the Queen on one side and a Maple Leaf on the other - two of our most highly regarded symbols. Still, no one misses the penny. Nobody other than very small children had any use for them.
I never realized how much money a penny cost to make and understand why people would want to stop making them. Prices at the store would have to change so people could pay a price and not have an uneven number that isn't a five at the end. I rarely hear anyone say "A penny saved is a penny earned" because a penny isn't worth that much anymore. If you would just save up pennies to buy something at a store, you would have to save up a lot of them and I don't think it is worth the effort. It wouldn't affect me that much if the penny was removed because I am a teenager and I would adapt to the change.
When I was a kid I could buy a 12 oz Coke (which was not made of cheap corn syrup and came in a glass bottle) for 7¢s the penny made sense. The 2¢ bottle deposit was worth enough to guarantee return. Lets produce dollar denominated coins - practical ones, not ones easily confused with quarters or ones the size of silver dollars.
Sales taxes. Without the penny, they would have to be in increments of 5￠.
1
Wrong. Sales tax could be included by the retailer in the total price, as is done with gasoline, to make it work out to the nearest 5¢.
2
Because we could no longer say "a penny saved is a penny earned".
Why have cents at all? The smallest coin should be 10¢ or 50¢ follow by $1 and $5 coins and bill starts at $10 and go $50 and $100. It makes absolutely no sense to have 25¢ and $20 bill because they cannot be easily changed (e.g., 25¢ cannot be changed by 10¢ and $20 cannot change a $50).
There should also be no .95, .99, .99 9/10 pricing and then tax because that's just dumb. Tax should be included into the price of item like they do in Asia.
There should also be no .95, .99, .99 9/10 pricing and then tax because that's just dumb. Tax should be included into the price of item like they do in Asia.
1
Am. Hist. has it right... round everything off to the nearest dime, (dimes cost 3.9 cents to mint). At a cost of 1.43 cents per copy, the elimination of the penny is a no brainier. The cost estimates of minting nickels varies ranging from 7.4 cents to 9.4 cents so it's even more important these be eliminated. Think about this... if you had the opportunity to invest in a company that knowingly made two products that lost 45% on every sale, would you be a player?
Stop making paper $1's, $2's and $5's. Keep the Franklin dimes with no changes. Make 50 cent coins, ("halves"), between the size of the old nickle and old quarter and use Jefferson's Head and the buffalo on the back. Make $1 coins a little bigger than the old "Kennedy" half with a Washington head side and an eagle on the back. Finally we need a Lincoln headed $5 coin with the Lincoln memorial on the back... make the diameter slightly smaller than the old Eisenhower dollar. Paper money continues with Ten, Twenties, Fifties, and Hundreds. Last, but not least, a $500 bill should be added with Eisenhower's likeness on the front and Mt. Rushmore on the back.
The really amusing part of this adventure will be watching Congress waste a couple of month's "debating" these changes.
Stop making paper $1's, $2's and $5's. Keep the Franklin dimes with no changes. Make 50 cent coins, ("halves"), between the size of the old nickle and old quarter and use Jefferson's Head and the buffalo on the back. Make $1 coins a little bigger than the old "Kennedy" half with a Washington head side and an eagle on the back. Finally we need a Lincoln headed $5 coin with the Lincoln memorial on the back... make the diameter slightly smaller than the old Eisenhower dollar. Paper money continues with Ten, Twenties, Fifties, and Hundreds. Last, but not least, a $500 bill should be added with Eisenhower's likeness on the front and Mt. Rushmore on the back.
The really amusing part of this adventure will be watching Congress waste a couple of month's "debating" these changes.
3
I live and travel in both the Eurozone and Canada. Both have eliminated the penny long ago. Both have eschewed one Euro and Dollar notes, respectively. And life goes on. Pocketbooks aren't jammed with worthless legal tender such as the archaic dollars that stuff US wallets. There are coins for that. People do not scream bloody murder at being robbed by rounding. As an American I can only shake my head at how antediluvian my compatriots are. And let's not even discuss how America slumbers while most of the rest of the world uses the metric system and little Canada even adopts innovative 'paper' currency that is made of a synthetic polymer that is many times more durable than America's sad-looking and often dog-eared bills. America's proud obsession with 'tradition' in these times is no longer quaint or cool. It is sad and retrograde. It's time that the US pull its head out of the sand and join the world on these and a host of other more significant issues, like healthcare, childcare and gun control.
4
"A penny for your thoughts".
Some currency is meant to be timeless.
Some currency is meant to be timeless.
3
My pennies stay at the register, but if some accidentally end up in my pocket, I throw them away! First I tossed them where I thought kids would pick them up, but they (wisely) don't seem to want them.
I've admired the few stores that round down so they don't have to deal with pennies -- I've heard of one that even rounds to quarters.
I've admired the few stores that round down so they don't have to deal with pennies -- I've heard of one that even rounds to quarters.
1
Why toss? Pennies are metal and should be recycled
2
We should get rid of not only the penny, but nickels and quarters - ditch that second decimal place altogether. It's completely unnecessary. We could have dimes, half-dollars (redesigned, smaller ones) and dollar coins.
4
Having the penny allows taxing to increase at 1% at a time. 7% of $1.00 equals 7 cents. Without pennies, increases must be made in 5 cent increments. An increase to 8% of $1.00 equals 8 cents. Therefore the tax would rise to 10% because we have no pennies: only nickels. This is especially disheartening at a tax rate of 11%.
6
Same as in Canada, the penny is a result of taxes. Retailers can set prices all they want but applying taxes at the till is what creates the odd math and the need for the penny in the first place. They tell me rounding is cost neutral but I don't think so.
5
Some countries include the tax in the marked price. Then they can set the price so that the cost plus tax comes out to an even amount. In the US gas prices include the tax but most other things do not, but they could.
1
Follow the money: pennies are made of zinc, not copper. The zinc lobby includes some powerful members of Congress from Utah.
We're now penny wise and pound foolish about a lot of things but when my generation dies off a lot will change. The penny will go, other coins and bills will change, paper money will look different, the metric system will come to be the way we measure, religious doctrines will become less important than the sense of community religions give people, the citizenry will become darker skinned, we'll have more trolley cars and intercity transportation, we won't have to depend of airlines to travel 'cause we'll have good trains like Europe, unions will get stronger and smarter, there will be less politically charged hatred among us. In other words, America will have become great again without going backwards to 1950 when we were mostly white and in control and smug. I wish I could live another thirty years to see it happen.
1
Not gonna happen. This country will be more militaristic on the outside once China took over economically and repressive and divided on the inside when racial and class tension really boils over.
Yes, let's get rid of the Penny. It is absolutely not needed and is in fact a costly nuisance. (I hate getting pennies back in my change, viewing it almost almost as refuse.)
Perhaps I'm thick, but I don't get this logic at all. Yes, pennies are a nuisance, but this article (and some of the comments) only address prices, or "final" prices. What about the tax? A one-dollar item in my area is $1.08 after tax. How do you simply round that up or down?
1
You round it up to $1.10, meaning you pay an extra 2¢. If the next time you buy a 99-cent item, the total will be $1.07, rounded down to $1.05, so you will save 2¢. Over many purchases, the extra amounts saved/paid by the merchants and customers.will work out about evenly.
None of this affects the tax - the government collects its 8 cents, no more and no less, in both cases. NICKEL ROUNDING HAS NOTHING WHATEVER TO DO WITH SALES TAXES.
None of this affects the tax - the government collects its 8 cents, no more and no less, in both cases. NICKEL ROUNDING HAS NOTHING WHATEVER TO DO WITH SALES TAXES.
1
We keep the penny because 1 penny profit in a country of 320,000,000 represents a total profit of $3 million dollars give or take.
As Lewis Carroll wrote: "Take care of the sense and the sounds will take care of themselves."
As Lewis Carroll wrote: "Take care of the sense and the sounds will take care of themselves."
2
Another potential factor: the mining lobby. I took the tour of the Denver Mint last year, and the guide had a spiel that was surprisingly candid. He didn't go as far as saying that mining interests were aggressively thwarting efforts to achieve this, but he was clear that the mint itself was keenly aware of the negative return on investment and said that their operation was, by design, self-supporting: i.e., that turn-around on coins NOT tax dollars provided their operating costs.
1
I travel often to South Africa. They round to 10 cents (admittedly less than the US penny), and any amount over that 10 cents is rounded down. So R 9.99 rounds to R 9.90.
I'm not sure anyone else has brought this up, so here's my nit-picking for the day: the US has never minted a penny. Penny, from pence, is an English coin. The US has only ever minted one-cent pieces. Yeah, I know ... but still ...
I'm not sure anyone else has brought this up, so here's my nit-picking for the day: the US has never minted a penny. Penny, from pence, is an English coin. The US has only ever minted one-cent pieces. Yeah, I know ... but still ...
Australia and New Zealand have also eliminated the penny. I think having the smallest coin be one millionth of the poverty level, about 2 cents is reasonable.
The 50 cent piece has fallen out of use. I would favor replacing the penny and the nickle with a 2.5 cent coin.
A sequence of coinage could be: 2.5, 10, 25, 100 cent coins. Although I'm not sure how well Americans are in dealing with decimals. The metric system has not done too well, except for booze.
The 50 cent piece has fallen out of use. I would favor replacing the penny and the nickle with a 2.5 cent coin.
A sequence of coinage could be: 2.5, 10, 25, 100 cent coins. Although I'm not sure how well Americans are in dealing with decimals. The metric system has not done too well, except for booze.
Sweden eliminated the lowest denominations (1 and 2 öre) in 1971!
The arguments pro and con were the same as you have now, minus the private company providing the raw material.
There was some confusion of how to properly round up or down (but that was dealt with in an information campaign in stores clearly stating which ending numbers would round to "0", and those rounding to "5")
The result? Nobody missed the small change and there were a lot less coins to handle, both for consumers and businesses.
It was so successful that we had more rounds of "coin culling" in 1985, 1991 and 2008! Over time, the most worn-out small bills were also replaced by new coins of the same value.
The arguments pro and con were the same as you have now, minus the private company providing the raw material.
There was some confusion of how to properly round up or down (but that was dealt with in an information campaign in stores clearly stating which ending numbers would round to "0", and those rounding to "5")
The result? Nobody missed the small change and there were a lot less coins to handle, both for consumers and businesses.
It was so successful that we had more rounds of "coin culling" in 1985, 1991 and 2008! Over time, the most worn-out small bills were also replaced by new coins of the same value.
2
We are de facto doing without the penny now. Rare is the cashier that doesn't have pennies stashed to cover the penny amount of a transaction. And I, for several years now, say "Keep the pennys," when I have a few pennies coming back as change. I am sure I'm not the only one.
It's all politics -- no party wants to be associated with ending the penny, or for that matter the paper dollar bill -- because that would mark the end of an era that goes back centuries and somehow represents America's greatness. But we are living in a illusion that there is any value to a penny. When I was a kid in the 1950's, you could buy a candy bar for five pennies. My father kept pennies in his car for parking meters. Now you need quarters for those things -- or really, dollar coins.
It seems like sales tax, not the 99 cent price, is the main culprit. But it can be solved, Once in Italy back in the Lira days, a cashier gave me a small piece of chocolate in change because she didn't have the equivalent to a few pennies. Now that was a good solution.
It seems like sales tax, not the 99 cent price, is the main culprit. But it can be solved, Once in Italy back in the Lira days, a cashier gave me a small piece of chocolate in change because she didn't have the equivalent to a few pennies. Now that was a good solution.
1
Far from stopping to pick them up, in recent years I've taken to throwing my pennies in the trash. I hate the damn things.
For on thing, the other day I bought some snacks at a 7-11 and in the interest of hitting the road quickly I dropped the change into the cupholder in my car. A week later I noticed that the three pennies were all corroding and had made a mess out of the inside of the cupholder. If the mint can't even make a penny that doesn't react with other coins, they should definitely stop making it.
Having pieces of uncoated zinc lying around is hazardous to kids, too.
One last thing: one of the last op-ed pieces William Safire did for the Times was on getting rid of the penny. It might have been the only time I ever agreed with him.
For on thing, the other day I bought some snacks at a 7-11 and in the interest of hitting the road quickly I dropped the change into the cupholder in my car. A week later I noticed that the three pennies were all corroding and had made a mess out of the inside of the cupholder. If the mint can't even make a penny that doesn't react with other coins, they should definitely stop making it.
Having pieces of uncoated zinc lying around is hazardous to kids, too.
One last thing: one of the last op-ed pieces William Safire did for the Times was on getting rid of the penny. It might have been the only time I ever agreed with him.
1
The copper and zinc interests lobby or pay off, the politicians who keep the penny in production.
1
Sorry the penny carries so much emotional weight for the people of Illinois and elsewhere in the US. But you should know that our Canadian penny had the Queen on one side and a Maple Leaf on the other - two of our most highly regarded symbols. Still, no one misses the penny. Nobody other than very small children had any use for them.
$4.99 prices would *NOT* go up to $5. Psychological pricing, though it seems silly, is pretty powerful and demonstrably effective. Retailers would move prices down to the next increment -- $4.95 or $4.9
Which brings me to my next point -- why get rid of pennies and keep nickels? What have you bought with a nickel lately? We need to lose that digit entirely. This will mean wholesale change. Penny, nickel and quarter all must go. Your new coins are:
0.10 (we can keep the dime), 0.20 (in need of a catchy name) and 0.50 (half-dollar!).
The most coins you would ever receive in change using this system is THREE -- compare that to the NINE coins it currently takes to get $0.99 change.
You're welcome, America!
Which brings me to my next point -- why get rid of pennies and keep nickels? What have you bought with a nickel lately? We need to lose that digit entirely. This will mean wholesale change. Penny, nickel and quarter all must go. Your new coins are:
0.10 (we can keep the dime), 0.20 (in need of a catchy name) and 0.50 (half-dollar!).
The most coins you would ever receive in change using this system is THREE -- compare that to the NINE coins it currently takes to get $0.99 change.
You're welcome, America!
3
Never mind the penny. You could save billions probably if you got rid of your outdated and costly post offices all over the place.
In Canada it took a few months to get used to no pennies - now it's a non-issue.
P.S. to Donald Trump - keep your nose out of our Medicare; it works just fine.
P.S. to Donald Trump - keep your nose out of our Medicare; it works just fine.
1
Where I live, I often see pennies on the ground, sometimes lots of them, and typically these pennies have been tossed on the ground by homeless beggars. Not even the beggars bother with pennies.
I, however, always pick them up. "Find a penny, pick it up, all day long you'll have good lucky."
today I picked up a dime, which are also often rejected by the homeless. They ask "can you spare some change?" but I see the homeless fling actual change to the ground to show their contempt.
It is goofy that this country, US, keeps making pennies. Heck in Canada, even the teeny tiny dime gets no respect.
I, however, always pick them up. "Find a penny, pick it up, all day long you'll have good lucky."
today I picked up a dime, which are also often rejected by the homeless. They ask "can you spare some change?" but I see the homeless fling actual change to the ground to show their contempt.
It is goofy that this country, US, keeps making pennies. Heck in Canada, even the teeny tiny dime gets no respect.
1
"When will the U.S. adopt $1 and $2 coins?"
Never, I hope. (Actually, we already have a $1 coin, which, obviously, you don't use much since you didn't even know that.)
Never, I hope. (Actually, we already have a $1 coin, which, obviously, you don't use much since you didn't even know that.)
"The second is that the US Mint has a strong union ..."
I visited the Denver mint about 25 years ago and discovered that "minting" pennies was done entirely by an industrial-looking machine that just stamped them out. There was some human being somewhere in the general vicinity. I don't know whether he was a union member, but it hardly matters since the machine was making the pennies all by itself.
I visited the Denver mint about 25 years ago and discovered that "minting" pennies was done entirely by an industrial-looking machine that just stamped them out. There was some human being somewhere in the general vicinity. I don't know whether he was a union member, but it hardly matters since the machine was making the pennies all by itself.
1
In my travels, I have yet to come across a country that regularly uses a denomination as small as a penny, and this includes a couple dozen developing ones. Not only that, large retailers and chains always ring up a total with pennies, and never round. Maddening.
1
The United States government has never minted a penny. From the very start these coins were called cents. Unlike the British at the time, our founding fathers believed in the metric system and early U.S. coins had fractional values right on them: 1/200 on a half cent, 1/100 on a cent. Early dollars have on their edges the words: HUNDRED CENTS ONE DOLLAR OR UNIT, separated by stars. Pennys were minted on this continent, but those were minted during colonial times only, before Independence.
1
The penny is valuable to states (such as South Dakota) which finance state government with sales taxes, which are often calculated in the 1/2 percent. So, the penny turns out -- like so many other things -- to be a subsidy to the states.
1
Why do you think any corporation would round prices down? I can see that in small family businesses where owners know their customers by name -- but if all the corporations decided to round up, we wouldn't have much say in the matter, would we? Study the case of the UK when they switched to the decimal system. We'd just make an easy contribute to more corporate profits. 39 million dollars amounts to about a dime per person. Well worth it to me to keep the penny.
Like others here I stopped accepting and using pennies years ago. Resistance to abandoning the penny because of fears of "rounding up" are a symptom of two broader trends in the US: paranoia and innumeracy. I suspect they all support Trump.
2
In Australia, we stopped using our 1 and 2 cent coins in 1992. There were the same arguments about prices going up, but it all amounted to nothing. It would be sensible to stop making 5 cent coins as well. As the article says, what cost a penny in 1950 requires a dime today. You just need to re-calibrate your mind to thinking of 10 cents as the smallest unit.
2
I still pick them up and toss them in a jar with the other coins. Then I bring them to TD Bank and dump 'em in the counter. I actually opened an account there just for the counter, yes. If the pennies come to a buck when they're counted, fine. It's MY dollar.
the death of the penny would be just one more example of how how the US government is cheating its citizens through overspending and making the dollar worth less.
2
A small factoid: The UK makes the penny but the US makes the cent. There are no (official) US pennies. Given the general level of fiscal insanity, a $39 million waste is hardly worth picking up off of the ground! Why not focus on overpriced drugs worth many $ billions first?
Personally, I find that I use cash of any kind less and less these days. The supermarkets where I shop now accept ApplePay, as do several of the coffee shops where I get my coffee in the morning and often go for lunch. I use credit cards for gasoline purchases, online purchases, and most department store and restaurant purchases. I use various smart apps to pay for street parking, and I use Uber in those cases where in the past I would have used a taxi. I buy airline tickets online with a credit card, and I make hotel reservations online with a credit card as well. So when do I actually use cash? Occasionally, when I buy something small at a convenience store, or maybe something from a food-truck, or some such thing. I still pay my cleaning lady in cash. But, in general, as the U.S. catches up to Europe and transitions to cashless economy, the penny problem (and the nickel and dime problem) may disappear by itself, without any official intervention.
We recently lived in Sweden, and the smallest Swedish coin is 1 Krona, or about 11 US cents. We never missed the penny or nickle at all.
What's so bad about charging $4.95 instead of $4.99, and being satisfied that Lincoln's face is still on the $5 bill? I'm furious that we're losing $39 million a year making pennies to avoid angering people, how much will they waste for me?
1
Here we are in midst of an election and you're talking BALDERDASH about a penny? Go away!
I'm a pretty sentimental Canadian, but I don't miss the penny a bit.
I like pennies. Don't get rid of them. Save 'em up in a jar and then turn those pennies into dollars!
1
"In effect, eliminating the penny means all retail prices would end in zero or five." That wouldn't be much use except in states like Delaware that don't have sales tax, or in states that have a sales tax of 5%.
It might be workable if retailers displayed prices INCLUDING sales tax, and if those prices were rounded to the nearest five cents. But I don't see that happening -- it works to stores' advantage not to remind us of the extra percentage we'll pay when the item is rung up.
It might be workable if retailers displayed prices INCLUDING sales tax, and if those prices were rounded to the nearest five cents. But I don't see that happening -- it works to stores' advantage not to remind us of the extra percentage we'll pay when the item is rung up.
You can't get rid of the penny by rounding prices to .00 or .05. Because SALES TAX is, say 7%. If I buy a $3 item, it costs me $3.21. Are you going to round all the sales taxes too? The diff between 7% and 5% or 10% is not immaterial. Pennies are here to stay.
In Canada the prices of items are not rounded up or down to the nearest nickel. It is the total sale including any sales tax that is rounded up or down so the impact is 2 or 3 cents on the total bill. Also, the use of "tap to pay" cards is prevalent so many transactions are without physical cash.
"Indeed, consumers might actually benefit. Retailers like prices that end in “.99” because people tend to underestimate the actual price."
If the reasoning is that prices would be forced up to even dollars, this seems specious. Retailers could, and would, just change the cents to ".95", producing an almost identical psychological effect.
If the reasoning is that prices would be forced up to even dollars, this seems specious. Retailers could, and would, just change the cents to ".95", producing an almost identical psychological effect.
1
Then again, why not get rid of $100 bills? And move to cashless transactions? Fascinating piece in the New Yorker on this subject: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/10/10/imagining-a-cashless-world
Phrased as gingerly and delicately as I can muster, which is not to say very gingerly or delicately, your thoughts are not worth more.
1
Just do some travelling. I backpacked across Europe in 1970 and was astonished to see in Switzerland and Holland paper money that increased in size by denomination and additionally had tactile guides to denomination for the blind. That was 46 years ago. Travelling in July I was astonished to look at a receipt where the even euro amount paid was shown and the tax was backed out of that total for the merchant to remit. One and two euro coins are the norm as well as 50 euro cent. Why are we not able to do things like this? Why don't we all take a good, long look in the mirror and ask ourselves that question and then come up with a truthful answer.
1
I'd dump the nickel, too, and introduce small $1 and $2 coins.
2
The states that impose a sales tax would never go for eliminating the penny. They want the revenue without having to take the responsibility of "rounding up" if the penny is eliminated.
1
Canada also replaced the dollar and 2-dollar bills with coins a long time ago. Retaining the US dollar bill has always been puzzling, especially watching people trying to slip it into a vending machine. A coin is real money too!
Next thing you know they'll want us to have that silly colored money that Canadians use.
No insightful comment here except to say that I have much affection for the penny. I still have faith that wherever a penny lies heads up, luck is never too far.
If final retail totals are rounded up or down for cash payment, then one can pay cash for rounded down totals and pay credit card for rounded up (thereby avoiding the round up). You and I may not do this because the $7.00 or so per year will make it a hassle. But what is to prevent some ``arbitrage-meister'' from doing the equivalent on a massive scale somewhere in our banking system, thus making us all the (little bit) poorer? We are told that arbitrage makes for efficient markets. I have my doubts.
1
Just adding my 2 cents. The United States never minted a penny. There is no such thing. They're cents. Take a look at a "penny" and you'll find "ONE CENT." This keeps the British smiling.
That study on costs: Did he calculate the cost of a national reduction in good luck that would result from not having pennies to pick up?
Get rid of it. And while we're ridding things, let's get rid of DayLight Savings Time, voting only on Tuesdays, and all Federal holidays with a religious basis.
I'm fine with eliminating the penny if we eliminate all sales tax and price everything in 5 cent increments. But none of this rounding nonsense. It would be too easy for retailers to adjust prices so they consistently round up instead of down.
Totally in favor of penny banishment. Environmental and practical reasons. And frankly, to facilitate a move to a largely cashless society (see Sweden's experience). Less cash means more financial transparency, less crime, less worry. So let's start with banishing the penny and in parallel, increase incentives to go cashless.
I would be sad to lose the penny. I feel it is part of our cultural heritage and I am more than willing to subsidise it's making. In a country that seems to be tearing itself apart I want to hold on to something that is part of our common language and experience.
As a dual citizen of Canada and the U.S. I feel confident in saying that Canada, on this (an many other) issues, is more reasonable, rational and intelligent. No pennies in Canada. No one dollar bills. The reason that the U.S. doesn't get rid of pennies is very simple: the U.S. population is probably the most conservative and resistant-to-change in the western world. Same reason you refuse to adopt the much more useful and universal metric system of weights and measures.
1
why doesn't the U.S. hold elections on the weekend or make election day a holiday?
In Canada, the pennies are still tallied on the cash register, but are simply ignored when change is made. There's no pot of take one/leave one pennies on the side. The cents figures are simply ignored in the tally.
Retailers, more often than not, will round down to 95 cents until they see a tangible loss. That's when they start up-pricing certain items. Actually, more likely, vendors will up-price for them. Manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) exists for a reason. Small retailers just pass along the cost or stock different items. They'll save time counting out the till and lose it redoing price tags.
Where it starts getting tricky is when you add sales tax, transient room tax, gas tax, whatever. These are state and local tax revenue, not federal. You eliminate the penny and suddenly 50 states are rewriting their tax code to compensate. Think about it like "Office Space". $4.95 @ 7% is .3465. What happens to the fraction of a penny? Someone has to decide. I guarantee the budget that relies on those pennies cares about the outcome. Things can get complicated fast.
Where it starts getting tricky is when you add sales tax, transient room tax, gas tax, whatever. These are state and local tax revenue, not federal. You eliminate the penny and suddenly 50 states are rewriting their tax code to compensate. Think about it like "Office Space". $4.95 @ 7% is .3465. What happens to the fraction of a penny? Someone has to decide. I guarantee the budget that relies on those pennies cares about the outcome. Things can get complicated fast.
1
Sales taxes are a major reason to have the cent coin.
My sales tax rate is 8.625%. By law, all sales tax calculations must be rounded up. A $0.99 item would cost $1.10 after tax as would a $0.97 item as would a $1.00 item.
By the way, America does not have a penny, we have a one cent coin. The penny is a British thing.
My sales tax rate is 8.625%. By law, all sales tax calculations must be rounded up. A $0.99 item would cost $1.10 after tax as would a $0.97 item as would a $1.00 item.
By the way, America does not have a penny, we have a one cent coin. The penny is a British thing.
But what about sales tax? If I buy something for a dollar, with sales tax in NYC (for instance) the bill becomes $1.09. How do you pay that without a penny? Round up and down?
In Europe, there's no sales tax, but rather a VAT (Value Added Tax) that's built into the sales price. We don't have that here.
In Europe, there's no sales tax, but rather a VAT (Value Added Tax) that's built into the sales price. We don't have that here.
The US government does not want to get rid of the penny because to do so would be to acknowledge that the government has inflated it to worthlessness.
2
The penny is just the tip of the iceberg. It is ridiculous to still have dollar bills, which are, I'd bet, much more expensive to keep in circulation as they quickly wear out and need to be replaced. Canada, UK, Europe, you name it, they've all gone to coins instead of lower denomination bills. Canada has also gone to a composite material for larger bills; lasts much longer and is harder to counterfeit. America seems to be behind the eight ball in many areas such as this. Europe has had EC and chipped cards in common use since at least 2010 and before, they are significantly more secure than swipe cards, and the US is still gearing up to use them only in the past year or so. I just don't get it. Another example over special interests controlling the situation over the best interests of the citizens? Or gutless politicians unwilling to do what's right in spite of possible blowback from citizens resistance to any change?
3
Keep the penny, the base unit of our decimal system, and get rid of the calculator. A child who can change a $5.00 bill essentially understands addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions and decimals. Teach children to make change before they see a workbook and teach them to value money at the same time.
1
Easier to just teach children the metric system
Assuming prices will be rounded up to a nickel- I don't think we have enough nickels in circulation. You just don't see too many nickels anymore.
1
Look, I don't care what some grad school economist said. No merchant is going to round down. Get out in the real world for a while.
1
Also, how about getting rid of the 9/10 cents on gasoline???????? It made (some?) sense when gas was 9.9 cents or 19.9 even up to maybe 99.9 cents, but $2.49 and 9/10?????
1
I too am a proponent of the Decadollar. Move the decimal point over one space right and voila the penny is now the dime.
Seeing the ubiquitous penny cups at stores people obviously have no practical reason to save them. We seem to want the idea of a penny, but not the penny itself. Much as I amuse myself with the idea of the Decadollar the same end could be arrived at by eliminating the penny. With the penny gone retailers biggest objection to the dollar coin is eliminated as there would now be a free change slot in the cash drawer. I am afraid however that eliminating the penny is like changing to the metric system. If we would just do it, people would complain heartily for 6 months and then it would disappear as an issue. As it is we will wax nostalgic about "A penny saved is a penny earned" while we leave them on the counter with every coffee we buy.
Seeing the ubiquitous penny cups at stores people obviously have no practical reason to save them. We seem to want the idea of a penny, but not the penny itself. Much as I amuse myself with the idea of the Decadollar the same end could be arrived at by eliminating the penny. With the penny gone retailers biggest objection to the dollar coin is eliminated as there would now be a free change slot in the cash drawer. I am afraid however that eliminating the penny is like changing to the metric system. If we would just do it, people would complain heartily for 6 months and then it would disappear as an issue. As it is we will wax nostalgic about "A penny saved is a penny earned" while we leave them on the counter with every coffee we buy.
This country simply can not move on!
We are still on 1/8 , 7/8, etc, when the rest of the world is metric.
We are (besides the Bahamas and some latin american countries) the only 110 V in electricity and, we have pennies!
Good luck getting anything through congress. The only thing they pass is legislation written by powerful lobbyists.
We are still on 1/8 , 7/8, etc, when the rest of the world is metric.
We are (besides the Bahamas and some latin american countries) the only 110 V in electricity and, we have pennies!
Good luck getting anything through congress. The only thing they pass is legislation written by powerful lobbyists.
The zinc lobby. That's the explanation.
Of course we pick up pennies. On the penny it says " In God We Trust ", simple respect for our creator would encourage us to pick them up.
In addition it is cash, and it then becomes mine. I have always picked up money and I intend to continue for the above reasons. And, it makes me feel lucky.
In addition it is cash, and it then becomes mine. I have always picked up money and I intend to continue for the above reasons. And, it makes me feel lucky.
One of the key characteristics of money is fungibility, the interchangeable aspect of currency so that larger coins or bills can be broken down into constituent parts to account accurately for price paid. This is the prime function of the cent. I agree with people who do not care for loose change as messy and bulky. Coinage and printed money are anachronistic in the digital age. Cash is seen by some as a tax dodge since there is no paper trail, but just embed a tracking chip in each piece of currency, and the IRS or NSA knows where all the cash is and who has it.
But back to the penny, culturally, this county values the lowest common denominator, the underdog, and the penny stands for the people in this sense. I think $39 million is a cheap price to pay for heritage and tradition.
But back to the penny, culturally, this county values the lowest common denominator, the underdog, and the penny stands for the people in this sense. I think $39 million is a cheap price to pay for heritage and tradition.
1
I've lived in countries that made their smallest coin irrelevant. The way all do it is to (a) make is far smaller than it is today - appreciate that the public in general will never accept a gov't edict to eliminate, (b) once small it becomes a nuisance for us (c) retailers adopt a round up/down mentality. and presto - it is essentially gone.
The article omits the actual reason for keeping the penny. Sales tax. The sales tax adds pennies to every sale. You know that if the penny were gone, the tax would always be rounded up, never rounded down. So eliminating the penny isn't a hypothetical sales tax increase by retailers, it would be an actual large sales tax increase by government.
Keep the penny.
Keep the penny.
2
It's incredible how many commenters mistakenly think the rounding idea has something to do with sales tax - it doesn't. The government gets the full amount of tax on the actual total of the purchases, no more and no less. The 1-or-2-cent difference in every case comes out of/goes into the pocket of the seller and the buyer, inevitably evening out in the end.
1
Aren't there many poor countries for which the penny is a lot of money? (comparable to a dollar)? And how would it affect them?
a penny times the square root of two
is what making a penny costs to do.
besides being the lowest form of cash of all,
the penny's net worth is irrational.
it takes 2^(1/2) cents to make a penny.
i'd put my 2^(1/2) cents in
but i didn't make any.
there's one thing i think you cents makers should know;
with less cents you have more
to pay back what you owe.
it takes eight cents to make a nickel,
and that makes sense
when it comes down to trickle.
and that's all fine, it depends on whether
you've got two nickels to rub together.
not from poems a penny each
is what making a penny costs to do.
besides being the lowest form of cash of all,
the penny's net worth is irrational.
it takes 2^(1/2) cents to make a penny.
i'd put my 2^(1/2) cents in
but i didn't make any.
there's one thing i think you cents makers should know;
with less cents you have more
to pay back what you owe.
it takes eight cents to make a nickel,
and that makes sense
when it comes down to trickle.
and that's all fine, it depends on whether
you've got two nickels to rub together.
not from poems a penny each
Ohhh. Don't get rid of it. I love the Lincoln penny. A humble memorial in every pocket. I'm an artist and just painted a tribute.
How about changing the denomination of the current 1 penny coin to 1 dollar. Same metal, just a different face, but with much better cost/value relationship.
1
President Obama was elected under a banner of "Change" - you just knew then that he was going to have a hard time of it in a country that had failed to bring in the metric system (that the rest of the world uses) after more than 200 years.
Dropping pennies? dollar coins? - no hope.
Dropping pennies? dollar coins? - no hope.
2
Until Congress acts the ones that should lead the charge should be the large retailers. They should make all prices end in zero starting right now. And that should be for both prices before tax and prices after tax, because if a product is priced at $5.00 exact and then there is a 6.5% sales tax the amount to paid goes up to $5.32 and there we have again two pennies. So retailers should modify their computer programs to make that $5.30. No more pennies please. It is ridiculous to have pennies in 2016!
2
Unfortunately for those who don't like the penny, it is a beautiful coin, both front and back.
The current shield design on the reverse is nowhere as attractive as its predecessors, the "wheat" and memorial designs, in my opinion. In any case, the coin would be just as attractive if it were made only for collectors sets, and maybe out of real copper again.
Retailers could charge .95 which could amount to a 4 % tax break - and charge $ 4.95 .
The United States should get rid of the penny. Like the mill (one thousandth of a dollar), the cent (one hundredth of a dollar—a penny) will still exist on paper. But only on paper.
No more $99.99—it's $99.95 or $100.00.
[Also note, that every gas price I've ever seen ends in ninety-nine. Even back in the old old old days of 21.99 CENTS per gallon.]
Let's face it, we're "ninety-nine" crazy in this country.
So, for the 21st century let's save lots of money by eliminating the penny (and see that any jobs lost are picked up elsewhere) and ROUND TO THE NEAREST NICKEL. [And lingering "emotional" attachment for the reddish-brown "copper" penny can be assuaged by saying, There's almost no copper in it.]
No more $99.99—it's $99.95 or $100.00.
[Also note, that every gas price I've ever seen ends in ninety-nine. Even back in the old old old days of 21.99 CENTS per gallon.]
Let's face it, we're "ninety-nine" crazy in this country.
So, for the 21st century let's save lots of money by eliminating the penny (and see that any jobs lost are picked up elsewhere) and ROUND TO THE NEAREST NICKEL. [And lingering "emotional" attachment for the reddish-brown "copper" penny can be assuaged by saying, There's almost no copper in it.]
1
Really, why stop with the penny? Nickels and dimes are irrelevant too.
1
Why doesn't this article talk at all about TAXES? You can change the price of an item all you want - if you ad a tax to it that is in A PERCENTAGE (as in unit out of 100 .... as in a PENNY!!!!) then you end up making change with PENNIES!!!!
Every State that has Sales, Gas, ETC. taxes would have to round (up?) to the nearest nickel. Try getting that one to work out.
Theres your reason.
Can I now get the money paid for this article - you can pay me in Pennies- It's worth my time.
Every State that has Sales, Gas, ETC. taxes would have to round (up?) to the nearest nickel. Try getting that one to work out.
Theres your reason.
Can I now get the money paid for this article - you can pay me in Pennies- It's worth my time.
1
There are so many reasons why cash isn't about to go anachronistic. 1st and foremost is the incredible number of people who aren't, and don't qualify for credit. Secondly is the employment market in which paying cash benefits both the employer and the employee.
Then there are the times when paying cash is the fastest transaction. When the total ends in .04, I'm always pleased to have 1 penny to get a nickel change.
Just based on that until the penny is not in the equation, the penny still needs to be pressed.
Look at it this way, the penny has gained a substantial amount in value vs the pound. Perhaps not enough to logistically justify coining the penny, but let's put this in perspective, Britain still coins the 1/2 penny.
Then there are the times when paying cash is the fastest transaction. When the total ends in .04, I'm always pleased to have 1 penny to get a nickel change.
Just based on that until the penny is not in the equation, the penny still needs to be pressed.
Look at it this way, the penny has gained a substantial amount in value vs the pound. Perhaps not enough to logistically justify coining the penny, but let's put this in perspective, Britain still coins the 1/2 penny.
1
Yeah - it's a total waste of (whatever it's made out of) and should join the long abandoned denarius in the Ancient Coin glass cage at the museum.
BTW - Australia and New Zealand both abandoned one (and two) cent coins in 1992 almost a quarter century ago.
BTW - Australia and New Zealand both abandoned one (and two) cent coins in 1992 almost a quarter century ago.
1
Advocated this for years. Pennies are a bothersome and heavy weight to carry around. The countries that have done this (Canada, Australia,) have made purchases and life so much easier. Rounding up and down seems to even out.
1
And if we did not have pennies, every price would be rounded up to the nickel on every purchase, causing inflation. Think about the Japanese Yen. It's worth a fraction of any other currency, but if they rounded it up, instant and inflation that doesn't represent the normal change in the value of the things you buy and what you buy them with.
If the penny is eliminated and the law making it illegal to melt down pennies is repealed, then a small set of individuals who have hoarded vast numbers of pennies will stand to gain a huge windfall profit
1
It if the penny is discontinued and the law that makes it illegal to melt pennies for their copper content, then a large number of Pennie borders
I've long advocated the "electronic penny dish". For example, if a purchase adds up to $7.48, the consumer would be charged 7.50. Two cents would be added to the electronic penny dish. If the purchase were 4.31, the consumer would be charged 4.30. One cent would be withdrawn from the electronic penny dish to cover the full purchase amount. Non-cash purchases (credit card or check) would be made to the penny. This would eliminate the need for businesses to change their pricing policies. They could continue their 99 cent pricing strategies. (Interestingly, in Europe they don't see the point in this). For Ma and Pa retail establishments with no computerized cash registers, they could just assume that the imaginary penny dish will add up to zero over time.
1
The U.S. government loves them for sentimental reasons.
I don't get the US. First, there's always talk about saving money, especially from Republicans. Then when you try to get things done, like cutting Saturday delivery, the Republican congressmen from rural states all oppose it. Then, when it comes to cutting out the penny, again, congressmen from both sides oppose it. These are like simple, cost effective measures that can save a ton of money, yet the government refuses to consider it.
1
the half cent was last minted in 1857. today's five cent piece might be worth less than what a half cent was worth in 1857.
even if the penny is terminated, prices per unit can still be quoted in denominations of $0.01 or even $0.001, and then rounded up or down when a given number of units is purchased. just because something quoted with a price of $4.99 for one unit does not mean that people will buy only one unit and that the money actually paid will equal $4.99.
in the 21st century, all coins and notes are becoming less used and less relevant relative to electronic transactions.
even if the penny is terminated, prices per unit can still be quoted in denominations of $0.01 or even $0.001, and then rounded up or down when a given number of units is purchased. just because something quoted with a price of $4.99 for one unit does not mean that people will buy only one unit and that the money actually paid will equal $4.99.
in the 21st century, all coins and notes are becoming less used and less relevant relative to electronic transactions.
1
Electronic transactions in Canada are calculated to the penny. Only if the sale is in cash is the price rounded up or down.
1
While we're at it, let's get rid of the deposit on cans and bottles as well.
I buy something that currently costs $.99. Add 6% sales tax, and it will round up to $1.05. Add 7% sales tax it will be $1.06, and so on. If the merchant rounds up a penny is the state going to round down to come out to the even $1.05. I think the round off will go up. Now the merchant gets $.01 on the merchandise and maybe $.04 on the sales tax round up. Keep making pennies and put them in a charity jar, they add up.
1
In Canada we got rid of the penny and nobody misses it. Sure a few people were sentimental but there was no cents making them anymore. Also we love our 1 and 2 dollar coins; the penny jar now has way more buying power!
This is just another in the long list of examples in America whereby the countries motto has unfortunately turned into "even when something has proven to work elsewhere, look for excuses not to do it, especially when someone can make a buck at it at taxpayers expense". In addition to getting rid of the penny, Canada, along with many other countries years before replaced one and two dollar bills with coins because coins have a much longer life span than paper money which has to be replaced more often. Of course, doing this would be just too practical and the lobbyists would have none of it.
America is only one of two countries in the world that has not implemented the metric system, as a result, it probably costs exporters more money to adjust their sizes and packaging accordingly for international markets. Ironically, even the science industry in the U.S. tends to use the metric system more often.
Get with the program folks, the change is not that difficult and rest assured the sky won't fall after it happens.
America is only one of two countries in the world that has not implemented the metric system, as a result, it probably costs exporters more money to adjust their sizes and packaging accordingly for international markets. Ironically, even the science industry in the U.S. tends to use the metric system more often.
Get with the program folks, the change is not that difficult and rest assured the sky won't fall after it happens.
1
Cut the pocket change! Eliminating pennies will save our family money on replacing my husband's wallets and jean pockets, which wear down with too much spare change.
1
Somebody's making money from making pennies and spreading it around just enough.
So, why don't we simply stop minting them and have banks pay premiums on those jars of pennies that people accumulate? Let's say, $1.00 for every $5>00 worth of pennies that people have hoarded...... We'd never have to mint any more.
Ditch the penny. Ditch the nickel. Throw the zinc lobby a bone with a two-dollar coin, and maybe they'll go along with it. (It goes without saying that we should ditch the massively wasteful one-dollar bill.)
1
Round FINAL prices to the nearest five cents.
Individual items could be priced to the penny.
Suppose some one bought 70 items priced $1.99
Now price would be $139.3
If each individual price were round up to $2.00 the final price would be $140.
Rounding the final price would be $139.
Individual items could be priced to the penny.
Suppose some one bought 70 items priced $1.99
Now price would be $139.3
If each individual price were round up to $2.00 the final price would be $140.
Rounding the final price would be $139.
1
David. Rounding the final price of $139.30 to the nearest five cents would be $139.30.
don't you mean the final price would be $139.30?
i don't know any fancy math .
If i remember the ARITHMETIC i learned in a rural school house 139.3 is equal to 139.30
I obviously dropped the 0 in line 4.
But i think my comment is valid.
If i remember the ARITHMETIC i learned in a rural school house 139.3 is equal to 139.30
I obviously dropped the 0 in line 4.
But i think my comment is valid.
Replace the slave owner on the nickel with the slave freer on the penny. That will remove one anti-penny lobby. Likely giving rise to another though.
22
Nahh. Jefferson's legacy benefits us all, descended from slaves or not.
Maybe we could put the "Pride of Guantanamo" Obama on the nickel.
When will the U.S. adopt $1 and $2 coins? Small shopping purchases and coin-operated machines here in Yerp are made much easier with £1 and £2 or €1 and €2 coins.
19
We have $1 coins and they are a colossal failure. In my experience, they seem to be used primarily to make change in vending machines that accept currency. And current mintage $1 coins are easily mistaken for quarters because they are only slightly larger in size unlike the large ones that were minted before the mid 1970s. We have $2 bills but they are rarely seen in circulation.
3
And the 1, 2 and 5 franc coins (here in Switzerland), where 5 francs = $5 USD (more or less)
1
Don't we have $1 coins?
1
Back in the late 1970s I learned of at least one study showing that the public did not consider a price legitimate if it did not have 98¢ or 99¢ at the end. A box of crackers for an even $4 or a large tub of laundry detergent for exactly $12 looks like garage-sale prices to us. Those 43% who would be disappointed or angry if the government stopped minting pennies must be the same ones who will vote for Trump--not very analytical.
9
You mean the small business owners that figured out people want .99 at the end of a price? Yeah, they are mostly Trump supporters.
The biggest reason they started the .99 was to keep clerks from pocketing the cash. If transactions ended in an even amount the customer would hand over the cash and leave, rather then ringing it up the clerk would pocket the cash. By making it more likely that making change would be required going to the till became more likely. When retailers then discovered that we're all idiots and think that $9.99 is $9 not $10 it became set in stone.
I guess the sticky fingered clerk issue is now solved by everyone paying by card. I see many cash transactions where the change is left because people don't find it worth their time to wait for any change.
I guess the sticky fingered clerk issue is now solved by everyone paying by card. I see many cash transactions where the change is left because people don't find it worth their time to wait for any change.
In Canada, when the penny was eliminated it didn't affect what prices were advertised as. So if something was $3.99 before, it was still $3.99 after the penny was eliminated. When people pay with debit, credit or check, they still pay $3.99. Cash purchasers pay $3.99 but when they get their change it is rounded up or down to the nearest 0 or 5, which effectively means they paid $4. However, when prices, with added tax, come to $4.02, people using cash only pay $4. So good to have lighter pockets too as pennies always seem to multiply magically.
"A penny saved is a penny earned." "Put your two cents in." "Your idea is not worth a cent." We will all end up penniless.
21
And, to Donald Trump, "a penny for your thoughts," because that's all they're worth.
1
A penny for your thoughts.
"The $100 bill is one of the nation’s most valuable exports." Of course the buyers of these bills are narco lords, various tax cheats, politicians how put them in their freezers and of course, Obama himself, delivering billions in $100 bills to Iran.
I would suggest making each $100 bill weigh say, 1,000 pounds. At least make it a little more inconvenient for the miscreants.
I would suggest making each $100 bill weigh say, 1,000 pounds. At least make it a little more inconvenient for the miscreants.
9
You know, of course, that we might have had a big penalty to pay had Iran taken us to court.
I live just a couple of hours from the Canadian border, so my husband and I vacation there often. The first time I experienced a no-penny transaction, I realized how simple and sensible it was. It would be a good idea for us to do the same but change is tough in the US. When I was in the third grade, we were taught the metric system because it was soon coming to America. That was 60 years ago!
22
Metric system will never come to America. With school failing and students failing faster, anything that have a ki, mi, na in front will make bad students worse.
2
The penny disappeared in Canada as a coin, but not as a unit of value. The idea, and practical solution, was to round up or down any price ending with pennies, when paid in bills and coins, but keeping the actual value of a transaction when paid with a debit or credit card. That stopped opposition, also because the "plastic" transactions are fast overcoming the "paper" money, in a very Canadian way: listening to others and compromising for everyone's benefit. Is that reasonably to be expected in today's USA?
The US will probably adopt the metric system when the rest of the world adopts English as the Galactic Standard language.
Even so the metric system is slowly creeping in. Most cars now use metric nuts and bolts, Coke comes in 2 liter bottles and 9mm is the most common pistol cartridge in the world.
Even so the metric system is slowly creeping in. Most cars now use metric nuts and bolts, Coke comes in 2 liter bottles and 9mm is the most common pistol cartridge in the world.
I have a solution to the penny problem. We print new money all the time. Instead of that, simply proclaim that the penny is now the new $1 coin. It will spread the money through out the population.
7
When I was in college, I interned for a news service that covered the Hill. One of my first assignments as a green intern was to cover a House of Representatives subcommittee hearing on eliminating the penny. That was in 1996.
It's not going to happen.
It's not going to happen.
2
While you are getting rid of the penny, get rid of the nickel. The economic cost of people handling this small change to businesses does not warrant keeping either.
Also ".99" prices did not disappear in Canada, sales tax changes the price.
Also ".99" prices did not disappear in Canada, sales tax changes the price.
5
Right, but then we have the problem of the number 5 and which way it rounds.
For instance, does $1.25 round to $1.20 or to $1.30?
With just the penny removed we have $1.22 obviously going down to $1.20 and $1.23 obviously going to $1.25. And $1.27 to $1.25—and $1.28 to $1.30.
But if you're stuck with that mid-way 5 you have to use another more complicated device, like whether the preceding digit is odd or even (scientific "rounding"), to chose which way to go.
For instance, does $1.25 round to $1.20 or to $1.30?
With just the penny removed we have $1.22 obviously going down to $1.20 and $1.23 obviously going to $1.25. And $1.27 to $1.25—and $1.28 to $1.30.
But if you're stuck with that mid-way 5 you have to use another more complicated device, like whether the preceding digit is odd or even (scientific "rounding"), to chose which way to go.
People are increasingly using credit and/or debit cards for most in store and all on-line transactions so there is no need for change.
1
No balance in this column. What about quote from zinc industry? Unfair, unbalanced. Perhaps author has shorted pennies??? Has huge copper mine investments? Brother-in-law of director of small coinage at U S Mint? Perhaps is part of ... could it be .... the one percent?
11
To ease the pain of those who would be saddened by the penny's final demise, the Mint should plan special issues of the coppers at holiday season. The price would be 99 cents each. You would pay a dollar, and the shiny coin, sealed and never touched by human hands, would be your change.
10
There are enough pennies stashed in coffee cans and glass jars to keep us all in pennies for a long time. We don't have to "do away" with them, just stop making them. There will still be plenty of pennies in circulation to pay for all the 3.98 items. Once people start to notice that there are hardly any pennies around, the millennials will probably be middle-aged, and they do not care about pennies. A lot of them rarely use actual money any more.
They are not copper
1
I love pennies and want to keep them. They are part of my life.
10
Pennies from heaven?
Perhaps a better solution is to introduce a new Penny, nickle, dime, quarter, dollar etc. at ten times the worth of the current. Much like Mexico introduced the new peso. Think how much less cash we would have to stuff into our bilfolds? It would be like stepping back to 1950 in terms of currency value.
5
People, please: "nickel", not "nickle". (Even though it's 3/4 copper.)
9
Wouldn't it be easier to just cut all prices in half?
No unit should exist to measure something having no value to measure.
I grew up when there were still "Five and Dime" stores because a nickel and a dime could be used, on their own, to purchase items.
I remember "penny" candy that actually could be purchased for a penny.
But, I've been saying for 40 years to anyone who would listen that once pennies, and now nickels and dimes, cannot be exchanged for anything in the marketplace, they should be eliminated.
Under this analysis, pennies and nickels would certainly be eliminated.
As to everything else, round up or down to the nearest dime, to take care of sales tax, and save our country billions of dollars.
I grew up when there were still "Five and Dime" stores because a nickel and a dime could be used, on their own, to purchase items.
I remember "penny" candy that actually could be purchased for a penny.
But, I've been saying for 40 years to anyone who would listen that once pennies, and now nickels and dimes, cannot be exchanged for anything in the marketplace, they should be eliminated.
Under this analysis, pennies and nickels would certainly be eliminated.
As to everything else, round up or down to the nearest dime, to take care of sales tax, and save our country billions of dollars.
12
I agree! Remember the days when you could make a telephone call for a nickel? And then the price rose to a dime. And then a quarter. I have no idea what it costs to use a payphone nowadays - good luck finding one!
Let's keep quarters and that's it for coinage. Paper for everything else.
Let's keep quarters and that's it for coinage. Paper for everything else.
9
Only Superman knows where all the phone booths are.
1
I'd recommend a national sales tax (eliminating state sales taxes) built into the price of goods, so the price advertised is the price you pay, BUT could we trust the federal government to give back to local communities their fair share or would monies be diverted to the military budget?
Then too, armies of accountants who work for businesses with interests in many states would be out of work as would state government employees who need to count and disperse sales tax revenues. Once again, what is good, reasonable and cost-saving for the taxpayer is at the bottom of the list.
Then too, armies of accountants who work for businesses with interests in many states would be out of work as would state government employees who need to count and disperse sales tax revenues. Once again, what is good, reasonable and cost-saving for the taxpayer is at the bottom of the list.
Isn't this conversation about 25 years too late? We should be talking about eliminating the nickel and quarter at this point. Round all cash transactions to ten cents and mint dimes, half dollars and dollars.
5
The govt already takes 30 cents by rounding down my SSDI 12x year. I have less than $200 to live on after paying rent, bills, utilities. Pennies add up. I have managed to buy food when homeless because I picked up enough pennies from the street. THE POOR ARE INVISIBLE TO PEOPLE WHO HAVE MONEY. The only way I'd ever agree to ending the penny would be if the govt. rounded down or up in my favor. Try putting yourself in someone else's shoes.
18
Absolutely get rid of the penny. Once it is gone, then get rid of the dollar bill and replace it with a coin. Why is America so darn stubborn on these two concepts?
10
Mike, Why get rid of the penny. Just announce overnight that the penny coin is the new one dollar coin. That will put more dollars in the hands of the rich and the poor. They will spend it and that will boost the economy country wide.
4
Frankly because a lot of us don't like to carry heavy, rattly coins in our pockets. Bills are more convenient.
I used to work for a large research university where we had a GOCO (Government Owned, Contractor Operated) research project over $350M a year in expenditures. That's a lot of pennies. We paid to the penny, but reported expenditures rounded to the dollar. The pennies over/under went into an account that I also managed. In the 6 years I managed there, that penny account never had more than +/- $50 in it. I think we can do without the penny.
7
Thank God for the comments section -- much more informative than this "article" itself, which doesn't mention the zinc lobby or explain how rounding works in places that do it. For all its words, the only useful information in the whole piece is that producing $1 of pennies costs $1.43.
The piece also doesn't explain who reaps the windfall (or pays the price) of the difference in value between cost to produce currency and its face value -- is it the private Federal Reserve or the US Mint / Treasury? My impression was that the Federal Reserve pays the Mint the cost only, and the Fed makes the profit on the exchange, though I could well be mistaken. (Let's not forget, our dollars are "Federal Reserve Notes.") Would be great if a journalist writing a story about this topic were to explore that aspect, especially one whose beat is the Fed.
The piece also doesn't explain who reaps the windfall (or pays the price) of the difference in value between cost to produce currency and its face value -- is it the private Federal Reserve or the US Mint / Treasury? My impression was that the Federal Reserve pays the Mint the cost only, and the Fed makes the profit on the exchange, though I could well be mistaken. (Let's not forget, our dollars are "Federal Reserve Notes.") Would be great if a journalist writing a story about this topic were to explore that aspect, especially one whose beat is the Fed.
7
The Treasury receives the seignorage, or surplus between cost and face value.
1
People seem to assume that prices will change. In Canada, prices have not changed, nor has associated tax. What changes is the change you get. If the total price is 3, 4, 8 or 9, you round up. If the price is 1, 2, 6, or 7, you round down. Costs are the same and both customers' and purveyors' gains and losses even out in the long run. No need to change anything except the use of pennies. (Where I work, we fell in to this habit in the cafeteria, using the magic of tacit group concurrence.)
2
Same thing at the liquor store. You can pay to the nickel and take your pennies from the little bowl on the counter labeled "Take a penny; leave a penny."
1
I live in both the US (Massachusetts) and Canada (British Columbia). It took about a week for people to figure out how it works in The Great White North, and it wouldn't be difficult in the US. It works. My big concern is what do I do with the piles of pennies in BC and in MA? Just kidding. Of course I don't want to lose Lincoln - he's such a great image for the US and Canada not so surprisingly. So print a two or three dollar bill, or just an additional set of ones, fives or tens. Or better yet, adopt the Canadian approach and create an American Loonie or Twoonie with the great gentleman's face and the monument where he sits, overlooking the good and the not-so-good of all of us.
7
There already is a $2 bill. I use it as often as I can.
Re not understanding rounding. There is a story from the burger chain industry that in the early 1990s one of the third or fourth or fifth ranked firms wanted to go after Burger King and focused their attack on its quarter pounder. They developed and tested a burger that was 1/3 of a pound, and which was then priced equivalent to the quarter pounder. And it failed spectacularly. The reason was determined to be that people reasoned (?) that since three is less than four, the 1/3 pounder was not as good a deal as the 1/4 pounder.
7
QUICK: which is greater 5/6th or 6/7th ?
What? Are you serious? Is this true? If so, truly a huge failure on the part of American education when someone thinks 1/3 lb. is less than 1/4 lb.
I lived though the 1990s. What chain? This sounds completely unfamiliar.
As a side note; On US military bases around the world, pennies haven't been used in decades; it costs to much to ship them to military sites. Prices are always to the nearest 5 cents.
7
Yes, I'm one of those who picks up pennies and all other coins in the street and have a designated box for them. When it is full, I take it to the coin machine at my bank and cash them in for $s.
That said, I'd be curious to see how turning the penny into a dollar coin would work out. Would it suffer the same fate as the current presidential series did? In 2007, the mint started issuing 5-1 dollar coins p/yr honoring U.S. deceased presidents. Due to lack of public interest, it ceased circulating them after 2011. Reason being, the public was not using them. Subsequent issues have been all uncirculated coins, marketed to collectors.
Was this lack of interest due to the size (bigger than a quarter) of the coin? How often do you get a Susan B Anthony or Sacajawea $ coin in change, which are still being circulated and the same size? It's one thing to get 4 pennies in change to put in your pocket as opposed to 4 of the above coins.
That said, I'd be curious to see how turning the penny into a dollar coin would work out. Would it suffer the same fate as the current presidential series did? In 2007, the mint started issuing 5-1 dollar coins p/yr honoring U.S. deceased presidents. Due to lack of public interest, it ceased circulating them after 2011. Reason being, the public was not using them. Subsequent issues have been all uncirculated coins, marketed to collectors.
Was this lack of interest due to the size (bigger than a quarter) of the coin? How often do you get a Susan B Anthony or Sacajawea $ coin in change, which are still being circulated and the same size? It's one thing to get 4 pennies in change to put in your pocket as opposed to 4 of the above coins.
One-cent pieces have never been used on most overseas military bases because before they used US coins they used scrip/tokens.
In Canada, when you buy stuff, the prices are all to the nearest cent, mostly because there are sales taxes. But when you get the receipt you also see the rounded down/up price that you pay for cash. For credit, it's the actual price in C$ and cents. The only difference is the 2 cents down or 2 cents up on your total purchase in cash. It's a great idea to finally get rid of pennies. France got ride of single centime coin in the 1960s I believe. In all Euro countries, all prices are rounded to the nearest 5 or 10 cent value (there is no add-on of tax at the end, the VAT is already in the price). Single cents are used in Europe only for groceries because of competition between supermarket chains.
In addition, why not replace our $1 bills with 50% $1 coins, and the other 50% with $2 bills; all the $1 coins taking space in the Treasury Dept's warehouses could finally be used, and only half the paper currency would then have to be printed. This stuff is all too logical.
In addition, why not replace our $1 bills with 50% $1 coins, and the other 50% with $2 bills; all the $1 coins taking space in the Treasury Dept's warehouses could finally be used, and only half the paper currency would then have to be printed. This stuff is all too logical.
6
There is no reason to have a bill less than $10.
NMAAHC is right, and the article is wrong, about what would need to be rounded if the penny is abolished. It is the total price of all the items that you are buying, not each individual item, which can still cost, for example, $1.51, $1.52, $1.53, and so on.
Make the pennies out of plastic. Nobody likes plastic and they'd soon be discontinued. Or pot metal or anything cheap. People don't like change (cf. beer, potato chips, etc.) And there would be little objection to discontinuing them.
Pennies are more than just expensive; they're a nuisance. They clog up my pocket. They end up in drawers, boxes, cabinets and are wasted value. If something costs $x.99 or $x.98 I generally refuse the change. I don't like pennies - kill them off.
Pennies are more than just expensive; they're a nuisance. They clog up my pocket. They end up in drawers, boxes, cabinets and are wasted value. If something costs $x.99 or $x.98 I generally refuse the change. I don't like pennies - kill them off.
7
Eliminate the penny and the cost of everything will go up by at least a dime. And we are talking about items that affect peoples' lives. Primarily food and the like.
1
I worked for years in overseas US military installations. All the base shops - exchanges, commissaries and private shops didn't use pennies and rounded prices up or down. I never heard anyone complaining about this.
1
It's American exceptionalism. Take exception to everything others do if we haven't thought of it first. Th. We metric sysgem? Celsius temperatures? Pennies? Paper money for $1 and $2. And then the gall to say the public has rejected these things. Just do it. There will be some grumbling at first but for pete's sake, many European cojuntries completely revamped their currencies just 15 years ago and people were all screaming bloody murder that it would take a couple of years. Within two months, it was done.
And we should do what is being done now almost completely in Sweden and more and more in other Scandanavian countries. Do away with cash altogether. You want a cup of coffee for the equivalent of 75 cents. Your credit card please, sir. As a matter of fact, at the Wasa Museum coin operated lockers now have coins provided by the clerks as nobody walks around with cash. But it won't happen here. American exceptionalism.
And we should do what is being done now almost completely in Sweden and more and more in other Scandanavian countries. Do away with cash altogether. You want a cup of coffee for the equivalent of 75 cents. Your credit card please, sir. As a matter of fact, at the Wasa Museum coin operated lockers now have coins provided by the clerks as nobody walks around with cash. But it won't happen here. American exceptionalism.
2
Let's hope it never does. We have way too many parties tracking (or trying to track) our lives as is.
We didn't think of Fahrenheit temperatures or the Imperial system first either, btw. That has nothing to do with anything.
We didn't think of Fahrenheit temperatures or the Imperial system first either, btw. That has nothing to do with anything.
2
The celsius temperatures are terrible, there are too few degrees. Having 180 ticks between the freezing and boiling points of water is much better, more precise, than only 100 ticks.
2
"There will be some grumbling at first but for pete's sake, many European cojuntries completely revamped their currencies just 15 years ago and people were all screaming bloody murder that it would take a couple of years. Within two months, it was done."
A typical government worshiping "progressive" who believes that their great god government, actually an unelected, parasitic bureaucrat, always knows what is best for "ordinary people" because it is best for the bureaucrats that make up 90+% of the government.
A typical government worshiping "progressive" who believes that their great god government, actually an unelected, parasitic bureaucrat, always knows what is best for "ordinary people" because it is best for the bureaucrats that make up 90+% of the government.
2
A problem would be dealing with sales tax. For example, if you pay $9 for an item in a place where there is a 6% sales tax, that total is $9.54. Many locations have fractional sales tax values, or taxes that vary depending on highly specific locations (Chicago had/has an added tax that is less than 1% for being within the downtown area and another fractional tax for restaurant meals).
There's where the increases in prices will arise, as all sales tax values need to be adjusted so they don't produce a price that ends in a number that isn't 0 or 5, and I don't trust that the governments (state, county, city, state/county/city regulatory agencies on things like hotels) are going to round their tax rates down.
So sales tax rates will be limited to 5% or 10%. Or prices will have to be divisible by 5 or 10.
There's where the increases in prices will arise, as all sales tax values need to be adjusted so they don't produce a price that ends in a number that isn't 0 or 5, and I don't trust that the governments (state, county, city, state/county/city regulatory agencies on things like hotels) are going to round their tax rates down.
So sales tax rates will be limited to 5% or 10%. Or prices will have to be divisible by 5 or 10.
3
New Zealand stopped minting the one and two cent coin in 1989 and the five cent coin in 2006. No one batted an eye.
"...purchases made in New Zealand are subject to "rounding" of amounts either up or down. The Reserve Bank believes most retailers are adopting the Swedish Rounding System. Under this system prices, ending in 1 to 4 cents will be rounded down and prices ending in 6 to 9 cents will be rounded up. For example, a purchase of $15.14 would be rounded down to $15.10, and a purchase of $15.16 would be rounded up to $15.20. It is at the retailer’s discretion how they handle prices ending in 5 cents." (from newzealand.com)
"...purchases made in New Zealand are subject to "rounding" of amounts either up or down. The Reserve Bank believes most retailers are adopting the Swedish Rounding System. Under this system prices, ending in 1 to 4 cents will be rounded down and prices ending in 6 to 9 cents will be rounded up. For example, a purchase of $15.14 would be rounded down to $15.10, and a purchase of $15.16 would be rounded up to $15.20. It is at the retailer’s discretion how they handle prices ending in 5 cents." (from newzealand.com)
2
This reflects the same misunderstanding found in a lot of the comments. Assuming that we adopt the Canadian system, the government's take remains exactly the same, no adjustment in rates needed. The penny or two difference per sale (never more) is taken from/given to the seller and the customer, inevitably balancing out over time.
2
This answer is so obvious and Taxes aren't even mentioned (no "clever" angle that way I guess. Does Cananda have a different system of Sales tax etc.? We run State by State - a nightmare to change.
1
Nickel for your thought pennypincher.
It's almost shocking to read all the comments here from people who can't understand the simple concept of rounding the total transaction amount to the nearest .05 which tends to even out anyway unless you're in the habit of making lots and lots of individual purchases of items with prices ending in .99 and that are non-taxable (or you live in Delaware, Montana, Oregon or New Hampshire). When they got rid of the penny here there was barely a whimper of protest and nobody misses it.
5
NO no no! Penny loafers, penny poker, pennywise but a pound short, penny-ante, Aunt Penny, and me, I'm from Penny-sylvania. http://www.wordfind.com/contains/penny/
5
Some prices would rise a few pennies; some would be rounded down.
The latter is a joke, right?
5
No, it works actually. If I go to the store and the item is $1.98 - I pay $2.00. If the price is $1.94 - I pay $1.90. Pretty simple
1
What!? Delete your account. PENNIES forever!!! More than money. An icon. A glowing copper (colored) orb. The analysis here is penny wise and pound foolish or what's left of the pound anyway. This article is penny dreadful.
3
Is there a way to make the penny worth more so that we aren't losing money just making them ? Ideas?
3
Why does Illinois always get the blame? Yes, its politicians and citizens may get a sentimental kick out of having Lincoln's face on the penny. But if you want to know who would really be put out, look to Tennessee which supplies the zinc that makes up 97.5% of the "copper" penny. No pennies, less demand for zinc, more outrage from Tennessee.
Also, look up "seigniorage" to see why governments like printing and minting cash. The penny is a loss leader.
Personally, I like them. I stop to pick them up, collect them in a jar, roll them, and take them to the bank. If you don't like them, leave them where they fall. I'm happy to take them from you.
Also, look up "seigniorage" to see why governments like printing and minting cash. The penny is a loss leader.
Personally, I like them. I stop to pick them up, collect them in a jar, roll them, and take them to the bank. If you don't like them, leave them where they fall. I'm happy to take them from you.
5
Actually, I vaguely remember a 60 Minutes episode that strongly suggested that the main reason we still have pennies is because the private firm contracted to produce them (actually I believe the 'blanks' that are then pressed by the government) has lobbied strongly to keep them (not surprisingly).
Does this suggest that representatives can be bought for pennies? (sorry, couldn't resist)
Does this suggest that representatives can be bought for pennies? (sorry, couldn't resist)
6
Some future civilization, having survived nuclear winter, climate change, and the Republican Party, will discover two species that have survived into their era from ours: cockroaches and pennies. The hearty survivors will say to each other in wonderment: "You know, roaches aren't bad sautéed. But pennies? Must have been some kind of barter token; who knows . . ."
1
I am an American, but I grew up in Australia where they did away with the 1c and 2c coin (yes, they had both) in the early 1990's. The low value coins had become irrelevant even then, 20+ years ago. The simple fact is, nothing changed and it was a seamless, easy process. It worked like this: All prices remained the same. Cash transactions were rounded to the nearest 5c denomination (on the TOTAL amount—not each individual item), and; credit/debit card transactions were processed for the full total amount, no rounding. Who can argue the fundamental simplicity of this proposal?! My honest opinion (sad as it might sound) is that the greater American public does not wholly understand the idea of rounding numbers. After all, Americans rank spectacularly poorly in mathematics (and science) among our peer industrialized nations...
7
Doesn't Australia include sales tax in the price?
The penny could be eliminated but the nickel and quarter would have to go as well, leaving dimes and new coins that amount to tenths of a dollar, or eliminating all denominations below one dollar. The reason being that any legitimate price for anything must enable currency and coin to represent that price in real units of exchange. As long as a price can include decimal values of .01 to .99, you need pennies. If the price can only include decimal values of .1 to .9 then the smallest coin may be a 10 cent dime. If the price cannot include decimal values, then the smallest coin or currency must be one dollar.
1
Did you ever buy gasoline for 2.899 a gallon? There is no need for prices to be representable in coins.
2
Did you ever pay 2.899 per gallon or was it rounded off to the nearest hundredth of a dollar when you paid for it?
This article addresses the wrong question. The real question is this: why don't we head toward a completely cashless society? Sweden is headed that way, having recently eliminated its lowest denominated coin. It is also issuing new notes and coins, with the new coins having many advantages, including very low manufacturing cost. Details are at http://www.riksbank.se/en/Notes--coins/Frequently-asked-questions/
3
Sales Tax is the only reason for the penny.
We have a NYS sales tax of 8.875% in New York.
How to do without the penny and NOT raise the sales tax?
Conundrum? Catch 22?
Beats me.
We have a NYS sales tax of 8.875% in New York.
How to do without the penny and NOT raise the sales tax?
Conundrum? Catch 22?
Beats me.
2
The NYS sales tax is 4%. In New York City it is 8.875% due to an added 4.5% city sales tax and a Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District surcharge of 0.375%.
But this is irrelevant. Other places that have eliminated pennies have taxes and they have managed to come up with a way to deal with the problem.
But this is irrelevant. Other places that have eliminated pennies have taxes and they have managed to come up with a way to deal with the problem.
My understanding is that what is keeping the penny going is the zinc lobby. As so often happens in American politics, the taxpayers shovel money down holes that flow to private, corporate interests. That is the welfare that needs to be stopped.
12
In addition to government gridlock, it's an example of how lobbying influences Congress. The zinc industry (pennies are mostly zinc) doesn't want to see the penny go away and spends lots of money to tell our government about how eliminating it would "kill jobs".
6
Pennies are lucky, and we need all the luck we can get. Maybe that sounds superstitious, but what if it really were unlucky to stop making pennies-- why risk it?
4
If we get rid of the penny, it will free-up a bin in cash registers for decent $1 coin (see the British £1 coin as a nice example -- feels nice in the hand, easy to recognize...)
2
I really don't think the N.99 cent prices will go away. Most people these days pay for everything with credit cards, but even if you don't, once you add on tax, it's no longer N.99 cents.
Just get rid of the pennies. $39M a year is a pittance for a federal government that wastes many times that on a daily basis, but it's still a lot of money.
Just get rid of the pennies. $39M a year is a pittance for a federal government that wastes many times that on a daily basis, but it's still a lot of money.
2
Let's get rid of the tax instead. LOL
2
Hey, when I was about 16 yrs old, I started throwing pennies into a jar. At the end of the day, any pennies in my pockets went into the jar. After a few years, I had so many I had to transfer 'em to a metal pail. It was a fun thing to do, and I honestly did this for over 30 yrs. I saved up about $260!! I rolled 'em myself, took 'em to my bank to deposit 'em - and bought a new stereo receiver with the money. Trash your pennies if you want, but I found a way to have fun with 'em!
4
I've heard of more than one charity having a "Penny Round Up" , people donate all the pennies they have languishing at home, in the car, in their desk, purse, backpack, etc. Thousands of dollars can be raised.
1
Sorry, but even at minimum wage you would have been a lot better off spending the time flipping burgers instead of rolling and transporting pennies. The "fun" of collecting is costing us 35 million a year, not to mention the daily aggravation of dealing with the change at cash registers.
Yes, get rid of the penny. I won't suggest retiring the paper dollar bill because Americans simply refuse to use one-dollar coins. And while we're at it, how about finally converting to the metric system? If Australia, Canada and South Africa did it, why can't we Americans?
4
Canada started out with 1 and 2 dollar coins; I think Australia goes to 5 dollars now. Why America still insists on using tons of disgustingly used 1-dollar bills for everything is a mystery to me.
3
Americans refuse to use dollar coins only because there's a familiar alternative. As for the metric system, Lord save us from hectoplasms and millipedes!
1
some establishments prefer paper money to coins
2
When ATM cards were first introduced, I thought they were a really dumb idea. Today, I carry very little cash around with me because it's so inconvenient to use.
The penny is an anachronism and the nickle and dime are approaching that same status.
The penny is an anachronism and the nickle and dime are approaching that same status.
7
Not "needing" pennies is affectation and pretention. One needs pennies. One uses pennies all the time when paying cash in supermarkets. People like yours truly use credit cards only for gasoline and Internet purchases; those people need pennies like it or not. An "anachronism" is a person who has no awareness of needing pennies because of idiosyncratic habits or who has surrogate shoppers.
2
The only coin worth keeping is the quarter. Every other coin just makes holes in your pockets. The quarter is useful for vending machines and parking meters.
3
In Washington, DC and other cities quarters aren't necessary for parking meters anymore. I pay for parking with a cell phone app.
both of those machines are going credit card.
1
Yeah in some smarter cities (Other than NY etc.) they were smart enough to figure out that having machines that take all denominations of silver coins is a good idea. How many times in NY did I get a ticket while going for change in quarters when I had nickels and dimes on me.
And remember, there is such a thing as the "digital divide" - not everybody has the money for a cell phon, smart phone, an app. (or a bank) Coins are important in the real world.
And remember, there is such a thing as the "digital divide" - not everybody has the money for a cell phon, smart phone, an app. (or a bank) Coins are important in the real world.
Ask the zinc mining industry and their tools in congress why we still use pennies. Pennies are mostly made of zinc.
10
My daughter-in-law had given birth to a beautiful baby-girl but hadn't decided yet on the name. I suggested "Penny" and instantly was thrown out of the house.
9
Very funny. Have you heard the old joke about the line for couples in heaven?
The first guy has a wife named Penny. St. Peter admonishes him for his greed, and says he even married a girl named Penny and sends him away.
The second guy has a wife named Sherry. St. Peter admonishes him for his drinking, and says he even married a girl named Sherry and sends him away.
The third guy turns to his wife and says, "Come on Fanny, let's get out of here."
The first guy has a wife named Penny. St. Peter admonishes him for his greed, and says he even married a girl named Penny and sends him away.
The second guy has a wife named Sherry. St. Peter admonishes him for his drinking, and says he even married a girl named Sherry and sends him away.
The third guy turns to his wife and says, "Come on Fanny, let's get out of here."
1
Although we have scrapped the physical penny here in Canada, we have retained it as a unit of account. Rounding up or down only occurs for cash transactions. In debit and credit card transactions we to pay to the nearest penny and those .99 cent price points haven't gone away.
15
Anytime I travel to Illinois, I make sure to bring dozens of rolls of pennies. I use them to pay for all sorts of low price items. The best is paying for tolls in Chicago them. One booth operator thought I was joking. I told him that lawmakers won't vote the penny away. You can keep those pennies Illinois!
1
Great idea. And we should get rid of the $1 bill as well--it is the lowest-valued paper currency in the OECD.
2
Ask the powerful strip club lobby and their friends in congress why we still use $1 bills.
3
Another reason to get rid of the penny is that they're very ugly now. I notice that in the photograph accompanying this article you only show pre-2010 pennies.
2
If all prices were expressed in multiples of the smallest coin, the nickel, were the penny to be abolished, it doesn't solve the problem of sales tax, which as we know varies widely throughout the land.
The sum total may well not be a multiple of 5 cents.
I believe that as long as prices, meaning the final price, is number not divisible by five we need the penny.
Why not revalue the dollar so that it's worth more?
Other than that, we'd have to make a decision. Who takes the hit on shortchanging, the consumer or the business.
Nobody likes to be cheated.
The sum total may well not be a multiple of 5 cents.
I believe that as long as prices, meaning the final price, is number not divisible by five we need the penny.
Why not revalue the dollar so that it's worth more?
Other than that, we'd have to make a decision. Who takes the hit on shortchanging, the consumer or the business.
Nobody likes to be cheated.
3
Let's get rid of the 9/10 cent gasoline price First! Or demand that the US Government start issuing 1/10 cent coins.
2
Does anyone seriously believe that prices will be rounded down as much as they are rounded up? Any legislation proposed to create fairness in rounding will either be opposed as another business killing government regulation or not enforced in reality by businesses that have no fear of being frivolously sued for a penny.
Or perhaps the anti-penny coalition is being abetted by those who have yet to forgive Lincoln for his signature accomplishments on race. Just a thought.
Or perhaps the anti-penny coalition is being abetted by those who have yet to forgive Lincoln for his signature accomplishments on race. Just a thought.
1
My life in Canada with rounding up or down tells me that it will be enforced, and that it's very hard for stores to have upper hand due to multiples of items, taxes, etc.
They still keep the 9-cent pricing here, though.
They still keep the 9-cent pricing here, though.
3
Good grief. Is an emotional issue the best way to make a decision? Practical matters such as continuing to produce a penny which costs $1.43 cannot be based upon whether someone "likes copper" (which is not copper) or whether the hero Abraham Lincoln's image is featured. Abe is well represented on the $5 bill for those fans of his.
It is absurd to think $4.99 means $4 rather than $5! How hard can it be to save the government (the people) 43 cents per penny made?
It is absurd to think $4.99 means $4 rather than $5! How hard can it be to save the government (the people) 43 cents per penny made?
3
Just as a point of clarification, the article states that it costs $1.43 to make 100 pennies. That's 1.43 centers per penny. So the savings per penny would be .43 cents.
7
For those who are math-deficient, to clarify that's 43 cents per 100 pennies made, NOT 43 cents per penny. Check the article!
2
I have seen even little kids laugh at parents when given pennies. They soon learn pennies are nearly worthless and kids don't want them in their piggy banks.
Even the "Pennies From Heaven" somg seems so out of date. If people woke up and found the ground covered with pennies they would see it as more a nuisance than a windfall.
Even the "Pennies From Heaven" somg seems so out of date. If people woke up and found the ground covered with pennies they would see it as more a nuisance than a windfall.
The the sales tax in NYC from eight to ten percent. That is not an insignificant amount on a large purchase.
1
An eight-percent sales tax on a $1 item becomes a 10-percent sales tax: you pay $1.10.
An eight percent sales tax on a $100 purchase remains eight percent: you pay $108.00.
And so on and so forth.
An eight percent sales tax on a $100 purchase remains eight percent: you pay $108.00.
And so on and so forth.
Sales tax in Chicago (where I live) can be 10.25 to 11.50, a significant amount on a purchase of any size.
Australia, which uses currency denominations like the USA stopped producing the 1 cent and 2 cent coins in 1992! I've made a few trips there and it was no big deal when checking out at a store, after they ring the total they round up or down the attitude seems to be that in the end it all balances out. Other nations like Brazil, New Zealand, Malaysia, Denmark, Finland and Hong Kong to name a few have discontinued their lowest denomination coins in the currency they use.
Furthermore the Department of Defense stopped using pennies at overseas bases more than 30 years ago, implementing a rounding system whereby cash transactions ending in 3, 4, 8, or 9 cents are rounded up, and those ending in 1, 2, 6, or 7 cents are rounded down. The Army and Air Force Exchange Service has determined that the rounding system has benefited neither the consumer nor the store.
But I don't expect my country to follow suit with much of the rest of the world. After all we are one of the few who don't use the much more practical metric system for units of measurement!
Furthermore the Department of Defense stopped using pennies at overseas bases more than 30 years ago, implementing a rounding system whereby cash transactions ending in 3, 4, 8, or 9 cents are rounded up, and those ending in 1, 2, 6, or 7 cents are rounded down. The Army and Air Force Exchange Service has determined that the rounding system has benefited neither the consumer nor the store.
But I don't expect my country to follow suit with much of the rest of the world. After all we are one of the few who don't use the much more practical metric system for units of measurement!
4
To clarify, this is rounding to the nearest 5 cents, i.e. 3,4,6, and 7 get rounded to 5, 1and 2 get rounded to 0, 8 and 9 get rounded to 10.
High time we got rid of the penny.
High time we got rid of the penny.
New Zealand got rid of pennies (and 2 cent and 5 cent pieces) years ago, and everything is so much easier. They have a round up system that brings the total, either up or down, to 10 cent intervals, so it all evens out. Credit card charges still have the cents showing. And, the comment below about the metric system is certainly appropriate. I think it is just now the US, Burma and Liberia that retain the old imperial system.
2
Before we eliminate the penny, we should eliminate the mil, a long defunct item of currency, worth one-tenth of a cent. It is ubiquitous at gasoline pumps where the price is quoted in real currency and 9/10 of a cent. Nobody pays any attention to the mil, but it has the effect of making gas look cheaper.
Then we could go over to selling gasoline by the liter. Imagine: it would reduce the apparent retail price to a quarter of the current price per unit!
Then we could go over to selling gasoline by the liter. Imagine: it would reduce the apparent retail price to a quarter of the current price per unit!
1
It's not the unit of denomination: It's the actual COIN that this article discusses. Obviously when you stop the gas pump it stops at some $ and cent value. Under the new system, your credit card is still charged at the EXACT $-cent rate; if you pay by cash, you might save as much as 2 cents, or pay as much as 2 cents extra on a $25 purchase. Big deal!
I'm Canadian. I like the penny. I like getting exact change. It's one reason I like visiting the US. In Canada, we round prices up or down to the nearest 5 cents, an invitation to increasing prices...and inflation. Why not strengthen the currency so that a dollar is worth a dollar, and a penny is worth what it costs?
4
No. Half the time Loblaw's or whatever rounds down, too. And sometimes it's right on the nearest 10 or 5 cents. Don't assume that they always round up. And especially because the exact sales tax is (to the average person) unpredictable when a number of items are bought, the store's cashier will not be able to cheat you.
Cash transactions are a small portion of economic activity.
1
The reason eliminating the penny is much harder here is because unlike almost every other nation in the world, we do not include sales tax in prices. If we began this practice, then it would be very easy to round all priced to the nearest .05. Otherwise, I will be charged a different price if I pay via credit card than if I paid cash. I'm all for eliminating the penny (and moving the $1 bill to a coin, while we're at it), but building in sales tax in retail shops would have to become the norm, and I think certain political forces would be opposed to that.
2
So Ross wants to be rid of the weight of pennies and carry dollar coins. Which makes sense to one of us.
Which weights more a $1 coin or a whole bunch of useless 1-cent coins? Ross makes sense to all of us minus 1.
some years ago i started tossing my pennies on the ground. it takes 100 or more of them to simply buy a candy bar. i don't want to waste time storing them up and managing them.
2
A nickel for you thoughts? Nah, too expensive. We still need pennies.
3
A nickle for your thoughts? I worry such inflation would quash idle discourse.
Ninety-nine cents is one of the most ubiquitous and frustrating lies of this past American century. In eliminating the penny, we can also eliminate one of the many deceptions that consumers meet between the automatic doors and the checkout counter. Nobody will admit to being fooled by $19.99: that's twenty bucks to anyone with good sense. And yet for all our wisdom the gimmick has been wildly successful. Perhaps with a little more honesty coming our way from the merchants, Americans can more honestly assess their expenditures and build the security and good spending habits which make for healthy households and upward families. Young people may finally grow up knowing the Value of a Dollar.
1
Hear, hear.
I deplore .99 pricing. See an item at one store: $4.99 - I remember it as 5 bucks. See the item at another store: $5.99. I remember it as $6.
Then I think back: was the item at the first store really $5? Or was it $5.99 too?
Deceptive.
I deplore .99 pricing. See an item at one store: $4.99 - I remember it as 5 bucks. See the item at another store: $5.99. I remember it as $6.
Then I think back: was the item at the first store really $5? Or was it $5.99 too?
Deceptive.
1
"Some prices would rise a few pennies; some would be rounded down."
Want to bet? Retail prices are set according to formulas, based on the price the retailer pays the wholesaler, and normally set to provide a relatively small profit. Rounding down might mean taking a small businessman's entire profit on small items.
I worked at a store that, among other things, had a pop vending machine. The cost, plus tax, plus the usual profit margin, meant the pop, if sold over the counter, would come out to an amount ending in 6 cents. Since the machine had to be set for an amount that did not involve pennies, we rounded up to the next nickel rather than write off one cent on each can. I don't remember the number of cans sold, although it was an astonishing amount, but losing one penny per can would mean a loss of 24 cents per case, and we used as many as 10 cases a week.
I don't know any merchant who is going to be willing to sacrifice even a penny of profit, much less cost, just to avoid using pennies.
Want to bet? Retail prices are set according to formulas, based on the price the retailer pays the wholesaler, and normally set to provide a relatively small profit. Rounding down might mean taking a small businessman's entire profit on small items.
I worked at a store that, among other things, had a pop vending machine. The cost, plus tax, plus the usual profit margin, meant the pop, if sold over the counter, would come out to an amount ending in 6 cents. Since the machine had to be set for an amount that did not involve pennies, we rounded up to the next nickel rather than write off one cent on each can. I don't remember the number of cans sold, although it was an astonishing amount, but losing one penny per can would mean a loss of 24 cents per case, and we used as many as 10 cases a week.
I don't know any merchant who is going to be willing to sacrifice even a penny of profit, much less cost, just to avoid using pennies.
1
According to you, rounding down would eat into not just cost, but "cost, plus tax, plus the usual profit margin."
Also, what if by rounding down instead of up your store sold 11 cases a week instead of 10? Smaller profit on more sales could be more dollars than higher profit on fewer sales, yes?
Also, what if by rounding down instead of up your store sold 11 cases a week instead of 10? Smaller profit on more sales could be more dollars than higher profit on fewer sales, yes?
Why would rounding down sell more? Most people buy what they need or want, and price only enters into the amount bought is the discount is worthwhile, like BOGO or something. Nobody is going to buy two of anything because the price has been lowered a few cents.
There's another set of factors that affect the existence of the penny: lobbying for the copper and zinc industries. I noticed this about 10 years ago while reporting a story about how the increasing prominence of digital payment options were affecting the use of coins in general.
Former U.S. Representative Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz.) in 2002 proposed the Legal Tender Modernization Act. It failed to pass, but Kolbe favored the elimination of the penny. If his campaign had been successful, Americans would have needed more nickels and dollar coins to be injected into the system. Nickels are made of 95 percent copper; the dollar coin is 88.5 percent copper.
Arizona, which Kolbe represented, is the nation's largest producer of copper.
Pennies are made of 97.5 percent zinc, with a copper coating. Lobbying efforts to save the penny can be linked to the zinc industry.
Kolbe, who left Congress in 2007, now is a co-chair of the Dollar Coin Alliance.
Former U.S. Representative Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz.) in 2002 proposed the Legal Tender Modernization Act. It failed to pass, but Kolbe favored the elimination of the penny. If his campaign had been successful, Americans would have needed more nickels and dollar coins to be injected into the system. Nickels are made of 95 percent copper; the dollar coin is 88.5 percent copper.
Arizona, which Kolbe represented, is the nation's largest producer of copper.
Pennies are made of 97.5 percent zinc, with a copper coating. Lobbying efforts to save the penny can be linked to the zinc industry.
Kolbe, who left Congress in 2007, now is a co-chair of the Dollar Coin Alliance.
2
If the penny were to be eliminated, would people still be able to conduct electronic or check transactions in increments smaller than 5 cents? For instance, could I write a check to someone for $4.99, or transfer money electronically to a friend for $7.43?
If we don't require all transactions to be in an amount that is a multiple of 5 cents, then we would have created an advantage for check/electronic transactions over cash and coinage. This could be seen as disadvantaging people without (or with lesser) access to such check/electronic payment methods.
If we don't require all transactions to be in an amount that is a multiple of 5 cents, then we would have created an advantage for check/electronic transactions over cash and coinage. This could be seen as disadvantaging people without (or with lesser) access to such check/electronic payment methods.
Of course!!! How do you think it was done in France all the decades that 1-centime coins didn't exist?
1
The govt. actually loses money on each nickel minted, as well as each cent. Eliminate both, and reintroduce the dollar coin. And add a $5 coin for good measure.
For those higher value coins to be accepted, the corresponding certificates (1$, $5) would have to be phased out. With the dollar it should have been done over 30 years ago (the SBA dollar coin was introduced in 1979).
These changes would save the government money, and would be ecologically sound as well--the dollar and $5 bills only last a few months; the coins would last for years.
This is the only country on earth that seems to want the populace to "approve" of the circulating currency. Every other country simply introduces, withdraws, and reconfigures coins and certificates, and everyone accepts it. It's a weird kind of conservatism (if you can call it that)--Obama was obviously correct.
btw Lincoln is on the obverse of the cent, not the "front," whatever that means.
For those higher value coins to be accepted, the corresponding certificates (1$, $5) would have to be phased out. With the dollar it should have been done over 30 years ago (the SBA dollar coin was introduced in 1979).
These changes would save the government money, and would be ecologically sound as well--the dollar and $5 bills only last a few months; the coins would last for years.
This is the only country on earth that seems to want the populace to "approve" of the circulating currency. Every other country simply introduces, withdraws, and reconfigures coins and certificates, and everyone accepts it. It's a weird kind of conservatism (if you can call it that)--Obama was obviously correct.
btw Lincoln is on the obverse of the cent, not the "front," whatever that means.
3
"the dollar and $5 bills only last a few months"
The 2 one-dollar bills in my wallet are dated 2009 and 2013. The 2 fives are dated 2013.
The 2 one-dollar bills in my wallet are dated 2009 and 2013. The 2 fives are dated 2013.
I virtually never use cash, preferring to use a credit card for all transactions. If I were to use cash, I would refuse *any* coins in change.
2
It's a waste of resources. No one uses pennies anymore. People don't even pick up pennies on the street. That said, money is money, even a penny counts; hence, I always pick up a penny when I see one. One time, someone dumped huge pool of pennies on street side, I picked them all up, more than 500+ pennies in all. Yes, it's a lot of work, and I counted them all.
There will always be people who get angry when something currently in existence disappears. One notable huge money loser, is Saturday mail deliveries. How life-and-death is that? Lots of resources are wasted delivering such services that hardly anyone ever needs anything, and in the case of penny-making, lots of metal go into producing it that no one even wants.
Sure, some prices are going to go through adjustments. I'd bet even the poorest of the poor who care about pennies. There was a time when I empty my pocket change to a homeless guy, and when he saw all those pennies in his cup, he asked me if I had anything bigger. I almost asked for all the pennies back. If he didn't want it, I'll put them in my bank.
There will always be people who get angry when something currently in existence disappears. One notable huge money loser, is Saturday mail deliveries. How life-and-death is that? Lots of resources are wasted delivering such services that hardly anyone ever needs anything, and in the case of penny-making, lots of metal go into producing it that no one even wants.
Sure, some prices are going to go through adjustments. I'd bet even the poorest of the poor who care about pennies. There was a time when I empty my pocket change to a homeless guy, and when he saw all those pennies in his cup, he asked me if I had anything bigger. I almost asked for all the pennies back. If he didn't want it, I'll put them in my bank.
3
The United States should not only abolish the cent (it is NOT "the penny." The U.K. uses pennies. We similarly do not call it the kopeck or the centime).
We should completely redesign our coins and currency. We should abolish the cent (our first coin to display a personage from our past rather than a depiction of our nation's ideals) and the nickel. The dime should be our lowest denomination, and our coins should include the quarter, the half-dollar, a dollar coin, and a two- and five-dollar coin.
Similarly, we should eliminate the one, two, and five dollar bills ("Bad money drives out good," and the coins will never be popular as long as bills remain in circulation).
And we should go back to celebrating our ideals on our coins and currency rather than our past. No man is more than a man, but liberty and justice transcend any individual whatever his accomplishment, and are ideals we need to be reminded to strive to achieve.
We should completely redesign our coins and currency. We should abolish the cent (our first coin to display a personage from our past rather than a depiction of our nation's ideals) and the nickel. The dime should be our lowest denomination, and our coins should include the quarter, the half-dollar, a dollar coin, and a two- and five-dollar coin.
Similarly, we should eliminate the one, two, and five dollar bills ("Bad money drives out good," and the coins will never be popular as long as bills remain in circulation).
And we should go back to celebrating our ideals on our coins and currency rather than our past. No man is more than a man, but liberty and justice transcend any individual whatever his accomplishment, and are ideals we need to be reminded to strive to achieve.
If we eliminate the nickel then we need to round everything to 10 cents, at which point we don't want to have quarters, since one would always be using and even number of them at a time - better to have half dollars. So dime, half dollar, dollar coin - very reasonable.
And 'penny' is another name for the 1 cent coin.
And 'penny' is another name for the 1 cent coin.
When was the last time you received a half dollar in change? It was probably at least 20 or more years ago.
1
And while we're on the subject of currency, let's also get rid of the $1 bill! $1 coins have not been popular for two reasons: 1. the paper bill is still in circulation and old habits die hard and, 2. the $1 coins have been too similar in size and weight to a quarter and hard to distinguish. Stop printing the $1 bill and introduce a $1 coin that feels different from a quarter and people will use the coins. The British £1 coin is a great example....it's much thicker than other British coins.
1
I worked for a hospital foundation when Canada got rid of the penney. People around the hospital brought their accumulated penneys to the Foundation. $7,500. worth of them in 10 days.
1
Thanks to the magic of inflation, a penny in 1914 buys what a quarter will buy today.
This is simple: let's dump the penny, nickel and dime all at once.
Cash transactions rounded to the nearest quarter.
The increasingly ubiquitous credit transactions don't need to be rounded at all.
This is simple: let's dump the penny, nickel and dime all at once.
Cash transactions rounded to the nearest quarter.
The increasingly ubiquitous credit transactions don't need to be rounded at all.
2
The solution is easy, in fact trivial: post prices in cents but make it legal for merchants to round the final amount to the nearest 5 cents, both up and down. Nothing changes, nobody loses anything.
1
That's exactly what the article was saying. You just said the exact same thing in two sentences. Well Done!!
1
We worked on military installations in Germany for over twenty years. The US Military overseas does NOT use pennies. I have to admit there was no sales tax on base, but it worked great for the PX, commissary, bookstore,etc. Get rid of them!
Here's a better idea. Why not issue a new dollar worth 5 "old" dollars? That way the new penny will have the purchasing power of the current nickel, newspapers and cups of coffee could be bought with coins, and to be a millionaire will once again be something not so many people attain.
Eliminate the penny? Never! What about all the coin collectors, myself included, who got their start sifting through pennies from change? What about the manufacturers of penny coin albums, who would have to eliminate American jobs if the penny were discontinued?
It costs more to mint a penny than the cash value of that penny? No problem. Just eliminate the copper and zinc in the penny, and make them out of cheaper aluminum. The U.S. Mint explored this very possibility in 1973, but decided against it. Maybe the time is finally ripe for an alu-penny.
It costs more to mint a penny than the cash value of that penny? No problem. Just eliminate the copper and zinc in the penny, and make them out of cheaper aluminum. The U.S. Mint explored this very possibility in 1973, but decided against it. Maybe the time is finally ripe for an alu-penny.
If the government offered an incentive, as several writers have suggested, we could get the millions (billions?) of pennies languishing in jars back in circulation and stop minting new ones. Collectors could get new copper pennies made solely for the annual proof and mint sets, similar to what now is the case with half-dollars. As for the people whose living actually depends on making penny coin albums, I'd be surprised if you could find a half-dozen.
The Canadian system works - I've used it many times. Time for us to change the change.
The Canadian system works - I've used it many times. Time for us to change the change.
1
Make them out of the cheapest metal or plastic you can find. Then it will be like the Austrian Groschen of 20 years ago; about 1/2 US cent. Even then, you couldn't find anything small er than 10 groschen (1/10 of an Austrian Schillling).
Given that credit, debit card, and electronic transactions are on the rise, it doesn't make sense to get rid of the penny - at least not in its virtual form. It allows transactions to be precise without the need for complicated rounding mechanisms. Keep the penny, but in virtual form only. We don't need to waste resources making physical pennies and eventually we won't need to waste resources printing money either.
I haven't had a jar of pennies in years because everything I pay for goes on one charge account or the other. No physical money never actually touches my wallet. That's the true way of the future.
I haven't had a jar of pennies in years because everything I pay for goes on one charge account or the other. No physical money never actually touches my wallet. That's the true way of the future.
1
I don't think anyone disagrees with the idea, but as a practical matter, how do we get there? No politician would touch the issue.
All we need is a movement by retailers to round the transaction on cash purchases. Post a sign stating the policy and just do it. Have a jar of pennies under the counter and just give anyone who complains their two cents. Peer pressure would quickly eliminate the pennypinchers.
There's no reason to change credit and debit card transactions, or any other electronic transfers. It's just about the physical cent.
After awhile, with acceptance or resignation, perhaps laws could be passed to completely normalize the procedure. One real benefit would be a freed up bin in the cash drawer for one or two dollar coins, probably one of the major reasons prior dollar coins have failed to catch on.
All we need is a movement by retailers to round the transaction on cash purchases. Post a sign stating the policy and just do it. Have a jar of pennies under the counter and just give anyone who complains their two cents. Peer pressure would quickly eliminate the pennypinchers.
There's no reason to change credit and debit card transactions, or any other electronic transfers. It's just about the physical cent.
After awhile, with acceptance or resignation, perhaps laws could be passed to completely normalize the procedure. One real benefit would be a freed up bin in the cash drawer for one or two dollar coins, probably one of the major reasons prior dollar coins have failed to catch on.
2
Great idea how to make it happen in a bottom-up way!
I recently came up with a new way to get rid of pennies that accumulated in jars next to my desk. The donation option I used to have no longer exists. So one morning not long ago, I left a jar of them at the door of the bank before it opened. I hope they appreciated it, and that it didn't throw their books off.
Of course we should get rid of them. Should have long ago.
Of course we should get rid of them. Should have long ago.
1
The buying power of a penny is a symptom. Sure, it could be discontinued but that isn't addressing the underlying issue.
There is nothing wrong with our currency system. It works just fine.
The buying power of our currency declined via monetizing the national debt and quantitative easing in the economists belief that some inflation is good for the economy. Maybe it is, I don't know the answer to that, but don't blame the penny.
Why not just take a zero off our currency and call it the new dollar? Voila, the penny now has the buying power of the old dime.
There is nothing wrong with our currency system. It works just fine.
The buying power of our currency declined via monetizing the national debt and quantitative easing in the economists belief that some inflation is good for the economy. Maybe it is, I don't know the answer to that, but don't blame the penny.
Why not just take a zero off our currency and call it the new dollar? Voila, the penny now has the buying power of the old dime.
No. What you are saying is that the old $1 bill becomes worth 1/10 of a new $1, or basically the new Dime. The Old Dime becomes the New Cent. And the old cent just goes away. Look up "French New Franc" in the Wikipedia.
The only reason that I would advocate for keeping pennies is that they are very useful for teaching young children to count and provide a concrete illustration of the decimal system. Count out ten pennies, trade them for a dime, count out ten dimes, trade them for a dollar...and so on. Yes, you can use all those plastic counters that they sell teachers but they don't have relevance in the real world: how many "bears" equal a dime?
Those pennies do matter at the poorest fringes of the economy. Rather than indulge the mathematical absurdity of deleting the primary unit of the decimal system why not revalue the currency once every hundred years or so to reset for inflation? This would also give a boost to the world economy by forcing cash hidden from criminal enterprises back into circulation before the revaluation takes effect...
2
A favorite farmer uncle of mine was both pragmatic and (extremely) frugal. Reflecting on the declining value of pennies, he used to muse that the government should mint all new coins -- with holes in them: They would weigh less, cost less, and (at the penny-pinching least) he could use them as washers when repairing his vehicles and machinery.
3
Thoughtful; in Bolivia, we buy things at a given price, and taxes are already included; it eases things, and makes us feel better knowing that the asking price will not be abused by adding to it. This seems, at least to us, a doable and laudable proposition. But then again, an impossible task, given the proud do-nothing obstructing Congress.
As noted already, in Canada prices are not set to the nearest nickle before the sale. Only at checkout is the final amount rounded using the standard math rule. Thus $12.88 become $12.90 while $12.87 become $12.85. Likewise if the ending amount is between 0.01 and 0.04.
When my wife and I were visiting Canada earlier this year I wondered how hard the rules would be for Americans making change. I sometimes get worried or confused looks when I give extra change in order to get back bigger coins or paper only. I suppose the register could have two numbers on it. The "actual" total and then the rounded total. Like most modern registers this would minimize any necessary thinking.
When my wife and I were visiting Canada earlier this year I wondered how hard the rules would be for Americans making change. I sometimes get worried or confused looks when I give extra change in order to get back bigger coins or paper only. I suppose the register could have two numbers on it. The "actual" total and then the rounded total. Like most modern registers this would minimize any necessary thinking.
1
If one is totaling columns of monetary transactions and rounds the dollar amounts up or down to the nearest dollar, in the course of doing this numerous times, the total amount added will be as accurate as if one spent the necessary extra time adding the "change". I learned this years ago when adding up weekly receipts. I add the dollar amounts rounding the cents up or down as necessary, choosing to round the 50 cents up to the next dollar. In the end there is no functional difference in the amount. When I file my sales tax returns for my business the cents are generally ignored completely. We don't need pennies any more than we need paper one dollar bills!
Drop the penny and convert the paper dollar to a coin, one that is NOT so similar to a quarter! Britain can do it, why can't we? Make the dollar coin thicker and a different color, maybe even hexagonal sides. The public will get used to carrying dollar coins. In the ever increasing world of electronic transactions the "hardship" of lugging around a few extra coins representing dollars will be minimal.
Drop the penny and convert the paper dollar to a coin, one that is NOT so similar to a quarter! Britain can do it, why can't we? Make the dollar coin thicker and a different color, maybe even hexagonal sides. The public will get used to carrying dollar coins. In the ever increasing world of electronic transactions the "hardship" of lugging around a few extra coins representing dollars will be minimal.
1
Man I sure wish I was one of the "Average Americans" making "nearly a penny a second." Earning $315k/year sounds pretty great to me!
You are wrong unless you work 24/7/365, yes?
1
Eliminating the penny would not only save money but also help the environment. Think of all the energy that is wasted mining zinc to produce pennies.
2
Plenty of times when i am vacuuming in my house and there is a penny in the corner, I don't even bother bending over to pick it up. I vacuum right over it!
2
Everyone wants to cut government spending and waste until it comes to the nostalgia of an expensive and useless coin. Yup, that's us!
2
Let's get rid of Republican control of Congress, state legislatures and governorships, and the Supreme Court, and make ourselves some real money, instead of continuing to suffer the ravages of Corporate Kleptocracy. After that happens we will be able to afford the luxury of wasting time worrying about the penny.
Just redesign the currency and move the decimal point. A copper (or zinc) coin is a good, durable marker of value. Let it be worth 10 of our current cents, let the new dime be worth the old dollar and let the new dollar be worth 10 of the old ones.
We don't need more expensive, silver coins to pay for the least valuable things we buy. We just need to reform our currency, which is on its way to becoming as ridiculous as the lira used to be.
We don't need more expensive, silver coins to pay for the least valuable things we buy. We just need to reform our currency, which is on its way to becoming as ridiculous as the lira used to be.
2
Keep the penny, just stop minting it. Offer back $1.05 on every 100 pennies cashed in at retail level at the post office, n the form of a dollar coin and a nickel or in postage. We 'all keep plenty of pennies in circulation that way, it costs less, and the adoption of the dollar coin goes up.
Then Janet Yellen doesn't have to increase the federal funds rate- the small investor gets the 5% rate of return- instead of the big banks.
Then Janet Yellen doesn't have to increase the federal funds rate- the small investor gets the 5% rate of return- instead of the big banks.
5
The problem presented is that sales tax is often a fractional percentage. Shall we round up prices and then round sales tax up again? $39 million is not very much in the national budget scheme; what would all the rounding cost us? I bet a penny it would be more than $39 million.
There is no need to adjust prices to be in 5 cent increments. The final total (after tax) is what gets rounded.
The penny can stay or go, but if it does go then transactions need to handled fairly regardless of payment method. You cannot allow credit/debit card transactions to remain the same and only apply the changes to cash payments. That amounts to a cash payment penalty as there are many rounding rules and no promise that stores will round down.
The way to be fair is to round the total bill to the nearest 5 cents by a mandated formula. The adjustments would be tallied and split between the merchant and taxing bodies according to sales tax laws.
The way to be fair is to round the total bill to the nearest 5 cents by a mandated formula. The adjustments would be tallied and split between the merchant and taxing bodies according to sales tax laws.
1
I proposed an idea to voluntarily get rid of them by allowing businesses to round down any case transactions to the nearest nickel. The key insight was while everyone else complained that it costs more than a penny to make a penny, we noted that it costs more than a penny to handle a penny. We tried to start a penny revolution in Concord, MA. It ended because the register receipts couldn't reconcile, messing up sales tax calculations. But as you can see from this article, people loved it. Hopefully a merchant will see this comment and try it again. With new technology, reconciling receipts should be much easier.
http://archive.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/02/10/c...
http://archive.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/02/10/c...
1
More pertinently - why have dollar notes? Or two dollar notes (rather rare). They just jam up the wallet or the purse.
Why not have $1 and $2 coins like Britain (£1 and £2) and Europe (1 Eur and 2Eur)?
Why not have $1 and $2 coins like Britain (£1 and £2) and Europe (1 Eur and 2Eur)?
US military bases overseas use American currency, but not the penny. Rounding up, rounding down, we're doing just fine - except at the US Post Offices on base they still use the pennies . . . fill in your own witty comment here:
1
I could do without them. Besides, Abe is still on the fin, so his Illinois fans should be ok. I do pick them up, though, maybe because I'm old.
The half cent coin was discontinued in 1857. At that time a half cent was worth more than a dime is now. So the fact is that the one cent coin is not the only denomination that has become unnecessary due to years of inflation. The dime and the nickel could be discontinued too. The only coin that is actually still useful is the quarter.
1
Given the guile with which food companies raise prices (a 4 pound bag of sugar, for example) what makes you think any prices would be rounded down?
1
I don't see why people think we should do everything Canada does... and, besides, if you get rid of the penny it will be impossible to play penny ante poker! If we got rid of the Federal Reserve, instead of the penny, it is likely the penny would have real value without all that fiat money being printed...
2
If we get rid of the penny then won't the nickel become the next Small Change? Seems to me people will round up their prices, and ridding ourselves of the penny will be a small push towards more inflation.
1
A nickle for your thoughts ...
Let's eliminate the penny- after all, it's not even copper anymore but mainly zinc, and virtually worthless. Then in recognition of the heritage of our nation why not end the practice of placing presidents on coins. Lets return to more symbolic and much more beautiful figures such as the standing liberty image once found on the $20 gold piece and now placed on the numismatic bullion coins produced by the mint.
1
In Australia we got rid of our 1 and 2 cent coins (worth about 2/3 of the US) over 10 years ago and it hasn't been a problem. We round up or down to the nearest 5c and retailers who sell products by weight will put a minimum quantity to stop someone buying 7c worth and paying 5c. I think many people now want the 5c to disappear as well. Most products are now priced in multiples of 10c so it is just work for the retailer when people use 5c.
We've also turned our $1 and $2 notes into coins, but for some stupid reason ended up with a $2 smaller than the $1.
We've also turned our $1 and $2 notes into coins, but for some stupid reason ended up with a $2 smaller than the $1.
1
This web page summarizes it best:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_debate_in_the_United_States
I don't think the penny is going away any time soon. People like to write news articles on how costly it is to keep the penny around, and there is about 15 mins of shock and awe, and then everyone seems to lose interest in the topic.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_debate_in_the_United_States
I don't think the penny is going away any time soon. People like to write news articles on how costly it is to keep the penny around, and there is about 15 mins of shock and awe, and then everyone seems to lose interest in the topic.
1
On the question of rounding: from personal experience in another nation, I can assure Robert Whaples, and others here who try to minimize the effects of rounding, that commercial interests large and small always round UP, not down. And that 99 cent item rarely gets rounded to $1.00; it usually gets "rounded" to $1.05 or $1.10. For that same reason, proposals to eliminate the $1.00 bill are sheer madness.
The cost of of minting pennies, as a justification for eliminating the coin altogether, is a red herring. If cutting the cost of currency production is the true aim of the anti-penny/anti-dollar bill "activists", why not start by lengthening the life of currency notes by producing them on a non-paper medium. Imbedding an inexpensive read-only chip in each bill, regardless of denomination, would also permit Treasury and the Fed to keep accurate track of currency flows and help Federal law enforcement "follow" the large-denomination bills that fuel illicit commerce activities.
The cost of of minting pennies, as a justification for eliminating the coin altogether, is a red herring. If cutting the cost of currency production is the true aim of the anti-penny/anti-dollar bill "activists", why not start by lengthening the life of currency notes by producing them on a non-paper medium. Imbedding an inexpensive read-only chip in each bill, regardless of denomination, would also permit Treasury and the Fed to keep accurate track of currency flows and help Federal law enforcement "follow" the large-denomination bills that fuel illicit commerce activities.
Coming to America one is aghast at the piles of filthy, crumpled dollar bills that glut cash registers and wallets. The Eurozone, the American abomination, has always had coins for one and two euros (roughly equivalent to one or two dollars), and it's very practical. But Finland has gone one better and eliminated the use of the penny and two-penny coins (although they remain legal tender).
There is, however, a common misunderstanding abroad about the procedure. Unless one goes to the supermarket to purchase exactly ONE € 1.99 item and pays cash, the rounding up does not necessarily occur. The final sum is rounded down or up, depending on the last digit. And the effect of rounding to the nearest 5 cents evens out during the day.
But cash is not much used any more in Northern Europe. Practically everyone pays even small purchases with a debit card. And that is simpler for the customer and much cheaper for the store. Here the pennies are maintained intact.
There is, however, a common misunderstanding abroad about the procedure. Unless one goes to the supermarket to purchase exactly ONE € 1.99 item and pays cash, the rounding up does not necessarily occur. The final sum is rounded down or up, depending on the last digit. And the effect of rounding to the nearest 5 cents evens out during the day.
But cash is not much used any more in Northern Europe. Practically everyone pays even small purchases with a debit card. And that is simpler for the customer and much cheaper for the store. Here the pennies are maintained intact.
2
Payment with actual money was quick, and still is. I`m sure I am not the only one to impationatly wait for the customer ahead of me to fumble for his card, and slowly enter it in the machine. The card advocaters are sheepisly helping those who want a world somewhat like Orwell`s "1984".
1
An embarrassing symbol of government dysfunction. And now Coinstar has an endless supply of cash to lobby Congress ensuring nothing ever changes.
1
The penny is the essential symbol of a retro America, a country that simply cannot move into the 21st century in so many ways that matter.
In that I say nothing new; Barack Obama could not have said it better than in his 2013 "(the penny) is a good metaphor for the problems we've got" retain the old do not ring in the new.
Keep those fossil fuel fires burning, bring back coal, preserve the 18th century USCB system for describing us, and keep those pennies in a paper cup on the counter to remind of us of our paralysis.
Debate 3: Mr. Trump, what do you have to say about our commitment to the penny?
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com
Dual citizen US SE
In that I say nothing new; Barack Obama could not have said it better than in his 2013 "(the penny) is a good metaphor for the problems we've got" retain the old do not ring in the new.
Keep those fossil fuel fires burning, bring back coal, preserve the 18th century USCB system for describing us, and keep those pennies in a paper cup on the counter to remind of us of our paralysis.
Debate 3: Mr. Trump, what do you have to say about our commitment to the penny?
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com
Dual citizen US SE
2
Who cares?
If they round down the prices of everything to the nearest nickel, I'm in. Otherwise, I'd rather keep the pennies. Though, let's please go back to the old style. The new ones look ridiculous (to me, at least).
Wait...there's an idea -- make them uglier. Then we'll all want to get rid of them.
Just wait a little while first. I'd like to collect some so that when paper and coin money is completely abolished in favor of virtual currency, I can show my grandkids how we used to have these pieces of metal we'd carry around to pay for things. -- It'll give them a good laugh and maybe they can play with them like pogs. You know, those other things they wouldn't know about...
Wait...there's an idea -- make them uglier. Then we'll all want to get rid of them.
Just wait a little while first. I'd like to collect some so that when paper and coin money is completely abolished in favor of virtual currency, I can show my grandkids how we used to have these pieces of metal we'd carry around to pay for things. -- It'll give them a good laugh and maybe they can play with them like pogs. You know, those other things they wouldn't know about...
I put them in a jar then when I've accumulated enough to make about 5-10$, I give them to a homeless person. Despite that, I hate them. Take up useless space. We have too many coins anyway.
1
Why won't America abandon the penny when other countries have? Because other countries did it first. No politician wants to be seen as thinking they could learn something useful from those dang foreigners.
5
My wife wouldn't like this idea: I save the pennies I get (and find), and they become small frivolous presents for her.
More seriously, getting rid of the penny made great sense years ago, but Americans are so fond of their currency that they are willing to ignore both common sense and economics to retain their pennies, one dollar bills, and paper (instead of plastic) currency. It would make even more sense to eliminate sales tax and introduce a VAT included in the retail price like the rest of the world, so we would no longer need pennies at all. But that won't happen in my grandchildren's lifetime, either.
More seriously, getting rid of the penny made great sense years ago, but Americans are so fond of their currency that they are willing to ignore both common sense and economics to retain their pennies, one dollar bills, and paper (instead of plastic) currency. It would make even more sense to eliminate sales tax and introduce a VAT included in the retail price like the rest of the world, so we would no longer need pennies at all. But that won't happen in my grandchildren's lifetime, either.
1
Japan's smallest note is ¥1000, or about $10. It didn't take long to get used to ¥500 ($5) coins and now when I visit the states I find $1 and even $5 notes a nuisance.
$1 and $5 coins would also save government money as paper money needs to be replaced much more often than coins do.
America should not only get rid of the penny, but the $1 and $5 notes too.
$1 and $5 coins would also save government money as paper money needs to be replaced much more often than coins do.
America should not only get rid of the penny, but the $1 and $5 notes too.
2
Many have commented along the following lines:
"Just to clarify, in Canada the rounding mechanism is for the total price of a purchase, which includes the items and sales tax. So if buying groceries means rounding up a penny, it gets distributed across all the items and the taxes. And when it rounds down (about half the time), the reverse is true. No one misses pennies."
Can we have solemn pledges from all of our US banksters, CEOligarchs, and finagliaciers that the same practice will be enforced here in the States with regard to all fees, interest payments, premiums, investment incomes, sales, etc.
Of course they will pledge this. Why would I even suspect otherwise? All will be transparent and above board as it always has been.
"Just to clarify, in Canada the rounding mechanism is for the total price of a purchase, which includes the items and sales tax. So if buying groceries means rounding up a penny, it gets distributed across all the items and the taxes. And when it rounds down (about half the time), the reverse is true. No one misses pennies."
Can we have solemn pledges from all of our US banksters, CEOligarchs, and finagliaciers that the same practice will be enforced here in the States with regard to all fees, interest payments, premiums, investment incomes, sales, etc.
Of course they will pledge this. Why would I even suspect otherwise? All will be transparent and above board as it always has been.
1
Get rid of the dollar bill too, and replace them with $1 coins and use the $2 bills more widely (they're sitting in govt vaults somewhere). Use the present $1 bill slots in cash registers for $2 bills. But the $1 coins need to be all alike, so that collectors will not hoard them. The $1 coin presidential series was nothing more than a gift to collectors. Thessteps will save lots of money and also be better for the environment. Think of the ink saved!
2
We should eliminate more than just pennies. The buying power of a penny in 1900 was equal to at least $0.20 in today's dollars. They didn't have anything smaller then and it worked fine. Even if we want to be very cautious about this, we should get rid of nickels as well and round everything to the nearest 10 cents. Most other countries eliminate smaller denominations when it makes sense to do so -- I'm not sure why we are so much more resistant to change here.
2
Probably a lot of people would not stoop down to pick up a nickel. Need about 40 of them just to buy a cup of coffee.
And a what cost a dime in 1950 requires a dollar today, and the old half dollar would require $5 today. Back in those days I don't think anyone would have preferred a paper dime or a paper half dollar.
We now have a handsome dollar coin ( my nickname is "Goldie") yet it seems to be dying on the vine. Why reach into your wallet to pull out a dirty messy dollar bill, when a nice coin in the pocket will be easier? If we had a five dollar coin we could nickname it a "Starbuck" (one coin pays for your coffee and cookie).
But as long as the country is stuck in "the nays have it" mode, progress is will have to be patient.
And a what cost a dime in 1950 requires a dollar today, and the old half dollar would require $5 today. Back in those days I don't think anyone would have preferred a paper dime or a paper half dollar.
We now have a handsome dollar coin ( my nickname is "Goldie") yet it seems to be dying on the vine. Why reach into your wallet to pull out a dirty messy dollar bill, when a nice coin in the pocket will be easier? If we had a five dollar coin we could nickname it a "Starbuck" (one coin pays for your coffee and cookie).
But as long as the country is stuck in "the nays have it" mode, progress is will have to be patient.
3
"In effect, eliminating the penny means all retail prices would end in zero or five. Some prices would rise a few pennies; some would be rounded down."
Rounding down, as we all know, is a favored capitalist stratagem. What used to end in 9 will without a doubt be downgraded to 5. Banks doubtlessly will lead the way by recalculating all fees downward.
Oh, brave new penniless world!
I support the move of course. I especially look forward to the day when all taxes will be rounded down due to all the tax-payer money the government will save by ceasing costly penny production. The tax rebates alone will justify the change.
Rounding down, as we all know, is a favored capitalist stratagem. What used to end in 9 will without a doubt be downgraded to 5. Banks doubtlessly will lead the way by recalculating all fees downward.
Oh, brave new penniless world!
I support the move of course. I especially look forward to the day when all taxes will be rounded down due to all the tax-payer money the government will save by ceasing costly penny production. The tax rebates alone will justify the change.
1
Mr. Bjelland, do you include cents amounts on your tax returns?
The tax software I use won't allow cents - all items are rounded to nearest dollar.
The tax software I use won't allow cents - all items are rounded to nearest dollar.
Given the high cost of living and the comparative worthlessness of coinage to all save the coin collecting industry, why not dispense with all spare change? Even quarters will soon have limited utility as parking meters increasingly accept smartphone scans and credit cards. Cash machines dispense only twenties, having embraced the principle of streamlining long ago.
1
No, Citibank--to single out a big bank doing something right--gives out tens at its ATMs, at least in Washington, DC, and Chicago; and I get out tens each time I visit. (And some branches of Chase, since you are in NYC, dispense your choice of any bill, including single dollars). So thank you, Citibank.
Transaction machines can be programmed to round up or down according to an established formula. This penny business is foolish and wasteful. Just eliminate them, which also frees up a bin in the cash drawer so retailers can start using dollar coins in transactions.
And while we're at it, how about putting a number on every coin with its value? Numbers like 5, 10, 25 and 50 are easy to see and understand for everyone. What is "one dime" or "quarter dollar"? People do come here from other countries and, unless we are entertained by their confusion, let's just have numbers on coins.
And while we're at it, how about putting a number on every coin with its value? Numbers like 5, 10, 25 and 50 are easy to see and understand for everyone. What is "one dime" or "quarter dollar"? People do come here from other countries and, unless we are entertained by their confusion, let's just have numbers on coins.
2
We've been talking about this for decades. It's common sense (sorry for the pun.). Just DO IT and move on. Goodness, there are bigger problems our nation needs to tackle!
2
I put all my pennies n the trash, immediately.
1
People who worry about a $4.99 price tag—do you ever give your gas station trouble for not refunding your change from a $1.4 and 1/10 cent gallon of gas?
We're already putting women on some of the bills (yay!). Now's the time for a more thorough overhaul: dump the penny, make the dollar a coin, and add some diversity throughout the paper money. By doing so we would celebrate the diversity of America and show the world we still have intelligence!
Protip: the next President should make it their first act in office, so that the people who report that they would be "angry" have time to cool down and then re-elect the "bold move" that would greatly improve their lives.
Protip: the next President should make it their first act in office, so that the people who report that they would be "angry" have time to cool down and then re-elect the "bold move" that would greatly improve their lives.
1
Not so fast - I mean, the dollar IS a coin now (as well as a bill).
1
There is nothing wrong with making pennies. The bigger issue is why the U.S. government continues make hordes of $1.00 and .50 cent coins that NOBODY uses. And what about $2 bills? The money wasted by Congress forcing these useless coins and bills makes the penny pale in comaparison. And this is just currency, I'm sure its real easy find a multitude of ways that our government squanders millions and billions of taxpayer dollars. $39 million? Chump change compared to other waste. Heck, just look at the insane governor of Nevada. He's planning to waste $750 MILLION of Nevada taxpayer money to build a football stadium so only a select few can prosper....
That's alot of pennies!
That's alot of pennies!
Sorry to intrude with facts, but no half-dollars have been minted for circulation since 2000 and no dollar coins since 2012. $2 bills haven't been printed in a couple of years. (I use all three, by the way.) The annual costs of continuing the penny and the nickel do NOT pale in comparison.
And while it's certainly true that governments waste a lot of money needlessly, that provides no excuse for wasting $39 million that could be put to much better use.
And while it's certainly true that governments waste a lot of money needlessly, that provides no excuse for wasting $39 million that could be put to much better use.
The government makes a profit on the $1 and 50 cent coins and $2 bills that it sells to collectors who keep the numismatic items in a drawer or safe. The government puts into the US treasury the money from the credit card transaction in which it sells the coins and banknotes that almost never are circulated. Then the collectors' heirs sell the items to a coin shop. The government, the heirs, and the coin shop (when it sells the items to new collectors) have all make a profit out of what was originally almost nothing of value).
This makes way too much sense. Therefore there's got to be a special interest with a small team of lobbyists keeping it from happening. Maybe one day we'll go to public funding of elections and then our congress people won't have to beg for funds from whoever is motivated to maintain their special interest. it'll happen one day.
Obama is so wise.
If only we could elect him dictator for life.
I'm sure the Russians and the Iranians dream the same dream.
If only we could elect him dictator for life.
I'm sure the Russians and the Iranians dream the same dream.
Mimicking my grandfather, I used to always bend down to pick up a penny when I saw one. Then I got a hernia. Realizing that I'd need to pick up over a hundred thousand pennies just to cover my deductible, I've entirely abandoned the practice. Now I'll only stop for a quarter or above.
I spent some time in Ireland this summer and even though a Euro cent exists and products are priced to the penny, many stores round to five cents as a matter of routine, even at the automated checkout stations. Sometimes you pay a cent or two more, sometimes a cent or two less.
1
Minting pennies costs us $39 million per year. Making one new fighter jet costs over a billion dollars a year. Keep the pennies. Dump one fighter.
1
I think the anti-penny bean-counting brigades seriously underestimate the psychology involved in the consumer economy. Those ".99" pricetags probably drive billions of dollars in sales - yes, maybe the government "loses" money minting pennies, but each individual penny can be used countless times, and the flexibility made possible by decimal pricing entices consumers to make more purchases than if everything was priced at the same two, boring old .05 or .00 amounts. Besides which, pennies are our cutest currency, hands down.
Get rid of the penny, nickle, and dime! And quarters and dollar bills for that matter. The only coins I ever keep in my pocket are dollar coins. All others go in tip jars or charity jars. Dollar bills go to the unfortunate homeless folks selling Real Change.
1
Get rid of it. Such a waste. Click "Recommended" if you agree.
2
Ten of my 24 years in a USAF uniform were spent living in Germany. On the bases and posts there, the exchanges and commissaries don't use pennies, they simply rounded up or down. We were told the cost to ship pennies back and forth to banks in USA was cost prohibitive. I didn't talk to any service member who missed those darn pennies. GET RID OF THEM.
3
While we're at it, let's get rid of nickels as well!
2
Agreed. Nickels may be worth more, but they're also much bulkier. Dimes and quarters are sufficient. I'll be less than 1% of Americans carry $1 coins, and when was the last time you saw a 50-cent coin?
We have no pennies in Canada and we don't miss them.
I think we're considering getting rid of the nickel. They're useless: any coin that can't be used in a parking meter (metre?) is worthless.
I think we're considering getting rid of the nickel. They're useless: any coin that can't be used in a parking meter (metre?) is worthless.
1
Rounding down would not happen.
1
Maybe it comes from being a senior, but I read this article and the comments and thought - Why not get rid of seconds too, on watches and digital devices.
1
I would hate to see the penny go but probably only for nostalgic reasons.
Growing up on Long Island in the 1970's, I look back fondly on that time when a penny would buy you a gumball. And two pennies slid back-to-back into one of the more expensive machines would buy you a bigger gumball.
I now live in Australia where the smallest coin is a 5 cent piece and most people would not bend over to pick one up because they are tiny and not worth much. Ah, the diabolical nature of inflation.
But my advice would be to hang onto the penny, Americans. Getting rid of it would be the thin edge of the wedge and the nickel will be next!
Growing up on Long Island in the 1970's, I look back fondly on that time when a penny would buy you a gumball. And two pennies slid back-to-back into one of the more expensive machines would buy you a bigger gumball.
I now live in Australia where the smallest coin is a 5 cent piece and most people would not bend over to pick one up because they are tiny and not worth much. Ah, the diabolical nature of inflation.
But my advice would be to hang onto the penny, Americans. Getting rid of it would be the thin edge of the wedge and the nickel will be next!
I found a penny today. It was darkened and dirty and I thought -wow maybe it's really old like that penny I found that was from 1923. I cleaned it up and nope- it was from 2013. I didn't care, it was a bright shiny penny and it made me happy that it had popped into my rather dull day. My Dad used to wax on about getting silver dollars from a rich Uncle when he was a kid. No rich Uncle for me but I have many warm memories involving a penny, and obviously I'm still making them.
1
Never clean coins that may have collectors' numismatic value. Cleaning them severely reduces their value to collectors. Most coin shops will not buy cleaned coins.
Of all the problems the U.S. faces, this has to be about 5000th in importance! Save money? In 2015 the U.S. was still spending $187 million per day on the war of folly in Iraq! In 2013 the U.S. spent $454 million to imprison and torture prisoners in Guantanomo!
What is my roll of 1943 pennies worth? I hoped someday more than fifty cents as they were a war baby.
It is not worth much if the coins are circulated, but it has a worthwhile value if it has never been opened and contains uncirculated coins. Look up values on that big online seller named after a body of water.
Personally, I do pick up pennies. Why don't we get rid of $100 bills? That's a currency only used by drug dealers, racketeers, and besides, you can't get change for a cup of coffee.
We need to go the other way with a $.001 coin. Many times I am will to pay $.99 for an item but not $1.00. The 1/10 cent coin will fix that.
I'm an old man and limit my bend overs to nothing less than a quarter. I'm afraid, when I bend down, I'm going to stay down forever. Sitting is another worry. I was recently in a deep hotel chair and had to ask to be pulled out.
1
There is a very good reason to keep the penny. Eliminate the penny and prices will round up from 1 to 4 cents (to the nearest 5). For inexpensive items this is a net cost increase to the consumer of 1.25-2.5%. As virtually all prices in our interlinked economy are relative values, any goods of slightly higher value will also increase by this percentage. For example the price of a donut rises, then so does the coffee. The ripple effect virtually ensures an inflationary bulge of about 2% when the penny is discontinued. That cost is considerably more than the lost cost of making pennies.
In Canada we round up — and down. This chart explains how it works.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/currencies/how...
Your fears are vastly overblown.
You'll note that there is no rounding if you use a debit or credit card.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/currencies/how...
Your fears are vastly overblown.
You'll note that there is no rounding if you use a debit or credit card.
3
Maybe the stores would round up or down, by what about sales tax? Who would want to pay extra tax? Would the government round down?
Why would we keep the penny if it costs more? Time to say goodbye to the penny. It was good for a time, but sorry I will not miss you.
2
In a previous life, while in the service at the US Naval Support Activity UK, in London (early '60s) pennies were prohibited. These coins were the same size as the English sixpence coins and could be used in vending machines to procure cartons of milk and junk food at big savings. So in the buildings that dealt in Yank currency (embassy, exchanges, clubs) every was rounded up or down to the nearest nickel. It presented no problems whatever. And, the world being a cash society, it was enough to tote around both American and British currency without adding to the burden with pennies.
2
The way I look at it, pennies are invaluable because, after years of just tossing them into my back seat, they aid in providing weight and hence traction during harsh Cleveland winters.
Plus, given an unreliable economy, I know I can probably get at least one good meal out of getting back there and rolling them up, if I get laid off.
Plus, given an unreliable economy, I know I can probably get at least one good meal out of getting back there and rolling them up, if I get laid off.
1
Um, maybe you should actually study how this works in Canada before making a statement such as "In effect, eliminating the penny means all retail prices would end in zero or five." Not so. In Canada, prices did not change a bit. Something costing $1.17 still costs $1.17. Rounding occurs to the nearest five cents once the entire amount of your purchasel is tallied, and it applies to cash sales only. If you pay with plastic, you pay the exact amount with no rounding. It works beautifully, saves the government money, and I've not heard a single complaint. If anything, people are happy not to have useless pennies piling up all over the place.
6
As as one who covered the House of Representatives for the NYT, I find this story to be interesting but incomplete. There have been a number of Congressional attempts to kill the penny. Former Arizona Representative Jim Kolbe introduced three different bills between 1990 and 2006. And there are issues regarding zinc, the main component of pennies, too. The lobbying by the zinc industry has stopped this sensible move for decades.
1
I honestly can't even remember the last time I saw a penny in my personal possession. I open the drawer of the shelf beside my bed, and I see a bunch of coins - quarters, dimes, nickels, but no pennies. What's the point? Pennies are worthless.
And those who are worried about losing the face of Abraham Lincoln need not worry, he's still on the 5 dollar bill.
And those who are worried about losing the face of Abraham Lincoln need not worry, he's still on the 5 dollar bill.
2
I hate pennies and stuff the few I get into Los Angeles parking meters that don't seem to notice the donation.
Let's get rid of the thing and round up, and dedicate the bonus riches to paying the increasing costs due to the ignored effects of global warming.
Lincoln will understand.
Let's get rid of the thing and round up, and dedicate the bonus riches to paying the increasing costs due to the ignored effects of global warming.
Lincoln will understand.
2
Some of us - and not that old either - can remember buying a "Penny Candy" --
I have a reprint copy of the New York Daily News for which the price is 4¢ -
I remember going to the Penny Arcade - when collecting ten pennies meant a copy of "Superman" comics - or a new Yo-Yo at the "Dime Store"...
Yes - I know - how quaint that I wax nostalgic about the long-lost value of a penny, here in 2016 -- but I can tell you that I've known a number of very wealthy people - and they will all stand at the counter, patiently waiting for their 14¢ in change from a purchase -
I'm always amused when I see someone drop a penny on the ground and leave it there - while exclaiming. "I don't bend down for pennies" ...
Yeah - Ask Warren Buffet how often he throws his money on the ground --
But the most important reason is the strong psychological effect that the $xx.99 price has for retailers - it's very strong and very real -
And for those who insist they're too smart to get caught up in that trap - please keep that in mind the next time you're buying a new car with a sticker price of $39,999 and you find yourself thinking the car only costs a little over $30,000...
I have a reprint copy of the New York Daily News for which the price is 4¢ -
I remember going to the Penny Arcade - when collecting ten pennies meant a copy of "Superman" comics - or a new Yo-Yo at the "Dime Store"...
Yes - I know - how quaint that I wax nostalgic about the long-lost value of a penny, here in 2016 -- but I can tell you that I've known a number of very wealthy people - and they will all stand at the counter, patiently waiting for their 14¢ in change from a purchase -
I'm always amused when I see someone drop a penny on the ground and leave it there - while exclaiming. "I don't bend down for pennies" ...
Yeah - Ask Warren Buffet how often he throws his money on the ground --
But the most important reason is the strong psychological effect that the $xx.99 price has for retailers - it's very strong and very real -
And for those who insist they're too smart to get caught up in that trap - please keep that in mind the next time you're buying a new car with a sticker price of $39,999 and you find yourself thinking the car only costs a little over $30,000...
1
Well, I don't agree on the penny-candy part; that isn't anything I remember, except as sold in a nostalgic mail-order catalog for much more than one penny. But as far as leaving pennies on the counter, on the ground, or in a tip jar (for very minimal service, not a large order)--absolutely not. I can't afford to do that.
I vote for keeping the penny because Lincoln is on it. That's worth way more than $39 million. Keep the dollar bill , too, as Washington is on it.
Apparently, a penny saved is a $39 million burned.
5
The military has no problem with not having pennies. wherever you shop on a base (PX/BX/commissary), they do not have pennies. And it all evens out in the end. Sometimes in rounding up, you pay a little more, but just as often, you pay less when they round down. So much easier!
2
Eliminating the penny creates the opportunity to also stop making paper dollars. Dollar coins can use the empty penny compartment in cash register drawers. This simple modification will save us millions of dollars. Chump change to the federal government but accomplishing anything at all is a win.
3
I have many pennies, what to do? Yes that's it! End The Penney! Because I don't give a sou and because I now have enough pennies to line my pantry with them and hang all my copper pots in there. Yes, I know my pots have more copper, and yes, my project is just as mindless as minting pennies. But Hey. We live in a mindless time. So maybe I'll do something more productive soon like wave a copper bottomed tea pot at those people sending Drones off to do god knows what. Another example of mindlessness.
There are two obvious reasons we've kept the penny this long. First, while the penny costs just over a penny to make the nickel costs over 7 cents to produce so eliminating the penny and relying more on the nickel would cost us more in manufacturing. The second is that the US Mint has a strong union and eliminating production of the penny would mean layoffs, so they've strongly supported and lobbied for continuing.
1
"To get rid of the penny would be a serious disservice to coin collectors."
New coin collectors, yes. Established ones with lots of pennies, though -- just the opposite. I'll wager that the numismatic value of a penny jumped 10-20% just because of this article.
New coin collectors, yes. Established ones with lots of pennies, though -- just the opposite. I'll wager that the numismatic value of a penny jumped 10-20% just because of this article.
2
Where sales taxes are concerned, who gets the rounded up or down change?
Here we pay seven cents on the dollar. If you think that the State will accept 5 cents or that I am willing to accept 10 cents of tax, you are sadly mistaken.
The only purpose of the penny today is state sales taxes on cash transactions, many of which are very small.
Here we pay seven cents on the dollar. If you think that the State will accept 5 cents or that I am willing to accept 10 cents of tax, you are sadly mistaken.
The only purpose of the penny today is state sales taxes on cash transactions, many of which are very small.
"There is serious consideration being given to eliminating the $100 billl ...This is because it is the major currency of illegal activity, including drug trafficking."
A recent New Yorker article reported that the US $100 bill is, by far, the most popular denomination (in no small part for the reasons you mention). I was surprised to read that. I'd have guessed it was the $20 bill, since they're given out in ATM machines. I very rarely use anything larger than a $20 bill, since that's what credit cards are for (and I'm just not into drug dealing all that much these days).
A recent New Yorker article reported that the US $100 bill is, by far, the most popular denomination (in no small part for the reasons you mention). I was surprised to read that. I'd have guessed it was the $20 bill, since they're given out in ATM machines. I very rarely use anything larger than a $20 bill, since that's what credit cards are for (and I'm just not into drug dealing all that much these days).
1
Pennies are a "cast back" from the past when they were actually worth something. Now they are simply a nuisance. Let's get into the 21st century and rid ourselves of these coins who litter our homes, cars, and pockets. Honestly, they will not be lost.
1
I've long been in favor of eliminating the penny. Many years ago, various European currencies did so, with stores rounding purchases up or down. Now, it's time to get rid of the nickel, too. It pays for less than 2 minutes of parking on any meter in San Francisco, and isn't enough to get anything from a bubble gum machine, either. With those two coins gone, then there's a place in the cash register for a dollar coin, much as Canada did many years ago.
2
Can't say I've given this a lot of thought.
2
It was great when Canada eliminated the penny. The US should follow suit.
2
I read a few years ago that the main reason we don't get rid of the penny is thanks to lobbying by Jarden Zinc Products in Greeneville, TN, the nation's sole supplier of "penny blanks."
http://www.greenevillesun.com/business/jarden-zinc-lobbies-to-continue-t...
"The subsidiary of Rye, N.Y.-based Jarden Corporation paid Baker & Daniels LLP $180,000 in 2006 to fight legislation that would have allowed retailers to round off cash transactions to the nearest nickel, effectively creating a penniless society."
http://www.greenevillesun.com/business/jarden-zinc-lobbies-to-continue-t...
"The subsidiary of Rye, N.Y.-based Jarden Corporation paid Baker & Daniels LLP $180,000 in 2006 to fight legislation that would have allowed retailers to round off cash transactions to the nearest nickel, effectively creating a penniless society."
2
Brazil still has pennies but no one uses them as all cash transactions are rounded up or down.
1
Pennies have cost me a lot of money in that I always leave small change, really created by pennies, on the table. So basically for me, a penny gained is a dollar lost. I should talk to The Donald how I can convert that into a tax benefit.
I propose putting Donald Trump on the penny beginning October 11 and getting rid of both on November 8.
Are you with me, Americans?
It's just not worth it anymore.
Are you with me, Americans?
It's just not worth it anymore.
3
It's not that simple. If everything cost a multiple of $0.05, we'd still have a problem. If sales tax is, for example, 8.25%, something that costs $9.95 would end up being $10.77. We'd need to have advertised prices that include sales tax, but with sales tax varying by sales tax district, that would seem to be unfeasible to implement. Another solution would be to get rid of cash entirely, but also not feasible. I think we are stuck with pennies.
1
We like 'em.
Who uses money any more? My first choice is Apple Pay and if that is not available then I use plastic. Tolls are paid electronically. Unless you smoke weed or crack or shoot heroin there is no need for money any more. I keep a few hundred in my wallet for an emergency but rarely if ever run into a situation where plastic is not an option.
We stopped minting the half-cent piece in 1857. A half cent then was worth what 13 cents is today, so if we eliminated the nickel and dime, too, we'd have one remaining coin, the quarter, that has about the same value as a penny did 159 years ago.
2
So your state has an 8% sales tax. So when you pay, round UP so you're effectively paying 10%--a tax hike without voter input, no?
1
Apparently you're referring to buying something that costs $1, which would indeed be rounded up from $1.08 to $1.10, costing you two cents. But when you buy something that costs $4, it would be rounded down from $4.32 to $4.30, saving you two cents. On the whole, it averages out.
But most purchases aren't so small, so let's look at a more realistic example. Let's say you go the supermarket and buy $29.99 of groceries. With 8% sales tax, that comes to $32.39, rounded up by one penny to $32.40. So the effective sales tax is 8.04%, hardly a big difference. And if your purchase costs $30.01, with 8% sales tax that comes to $32.41, rounded down by one penny to $32.40, yielding an effective sales tax of 7.96%. So once again, you're just as likely to gain a penny as to lose a penny, and the deviation from 8% is trivial.
But most purchases aren't so small, so let's look at a more realistic example. Let's say you go the supermarket and buy $29.99 of groceries. With 8% sales tax, that comes to $32.39, rounded up by one penny to $32.40. So the effective sales tax is 8.04%, hardly a big difference. And if your purchase costs $30.01, with 8% sales tax that comes to $32.41, rounded down by one penny to $32.40, yielding an effective sales tax of 7.96%. So once again, you're just as likely to gain a penny as to lose a penny, and the deviation from 8% is trivial.
1
The average American makes $36/hr?
1
We've documented the loss of producing them.
That surely pales next to the cost of handling them in the retail setting.
Like our inconsistent and impossible-to-remember system of weights and measures, the continuing use of the penny (and nickel and dime) seem to represent a strange fascination with needless complexity. I would love to hear a psychologist weigh in on this.
That surely pales next to the cost of handling them in the retail setting.
Like our inconsistent and impossible-to-remember system of weights and measures, the continuing use of the penny (and nickel and dime) seem to represent a strange fascination with needless complexity. I would love to hear a psychologist weigh in on this.
1
I guess it would be nice to see gas prices indicating $2.49 a gallon for gasoline without all those 0.99.
Personally, unless I'm traveling in a developing nation, I haven't carried cash for years. It would just be a bunch of messy clutter in my pockets. I keep a few bills and change in my car for fruit stands, parking, and camping (no pennies though).
1
Because it has Lincoln's image on it.
the United States has never had a "penny." They are called "cents." Go to Britain if you want "pennies."
1
American readers may not give currency to this, coming from a Canadian, but I do believe Lincoln is on both sides of the penny. If you look carefully, you can see him on his perch inside the Lincoln Memorial. I don't miss our own penny, but it does cost more now for thoughts.
2
The only problem in Canada with ditching the penny was getting rid of the ones that we forgot to turn in when they were eliminated from commercial transactions.
It's rather laughable to travel across the border into the USA and see Americans still using this useless item.
However....there is no rounding of cents when it come to credit card transactions. A penny still has value for a credit card company.
It's rather laughable to travel across the border into the USA and see Americans still using this useless item.
However....there is no rounding of cents when it come to credit card transactions. A penny still has value for a credit card company.
2
I use mine as pie weights.
Say what you will, I either leave them behind or throw them away. They go back to the earth.
1
One is tempted to ask, why should the U.S. get rid of the penny?
Then would come the turn of the nickel, dime, quarter, and the one-dollar-bill. No, get back to the gold coins!
Then would come the turn of the nickel, dime, quarter, and the one-dollar-bill. No, get back to the gold coins!
Eliminate pennies? why not. As to higher denominations, lets get our own loonie and twonie.
4
Canada also got rid of its dollar bills also (long before the penny was dropped). By the way, when is America going to adopt the metric system?
150
Well first, it would be rather expensive because all the land divisions which are in non metric units would have to be changed. Rural townships were surveyed to 6 mile squares with 36 square miles each, and each square mile with 640 acres - what a mess that would be. Second certain metric units are very unhandy, for example temperature. Celsius degree units are too big and tenths of Celsius degrees are too small. Third, having worked as a scientist all my life using metric units at work and British units at home I found no problem switching between the two - you naturally think in one set of units in the work environment and a different one at home. Finally, what about time? 365 days in a year, 24 hours in a day, 60 minutes in an hour, 60 seconds in a minute - if metric is so useful and great, why didn't they create metric time?
3
Nearly every major country has stopped using paper for the equivalent of the $1 bill. Recently in Canada and very happy not to deal with pennies.
2
Never! That's a treasonous and anti-American thought! :)
I stopped taking pennies from clerks/stores at least ten years ago. They are worth little, take up space (in my pocket) and time (in sorting and eventually returning to banks) and should have been phased out a long time ago. If I forgo $10 in pennies a year (1000) to the penny tray on the counter, I figure I've helped hundreds of people a year. In addition, when I need a penny or two for exact change, I don't feel guilty taking the from the tray.
END THE PENNY NOW!!
END THE PENNY NOW!!
93
"... I figure I've helped hundreds of people a year."
After the penny is suppressed, you won't be helping anyone. Or will you then indulge your fantasies of philanthropy by donating nickels?
After the penny is suppressed, you won't be helping anyone. Or will you then indulge your fantasies of philanthropy by donating nickels?
1
I totally agree that the penny should be eliminated, as it is really obsolete in today's society. And while we are on the subject, why is the United States the only major country in the world that still has not converted to the metric system. As I recall, during the Raegan Administration this was proposed, but was, of course ignored.
2
As others have stated, including Paul, I stopped taking pennies in change a long time ago. At least 15 years ago, and perhaps as long as 20 years ago. I hate having them, and I don't want them. I've seen other people in line in front of me do the same thing, and now I'm wondering just how many millions of people simply are just refusing to keep and use pennies.
2
I decided not to wait anymore for Congress: I have unilaterally banned the penny from my life. I simply leave them on the counter when I buy something with cash. They never go in my pocket. You will not find them in my change drawer, car floor, couch cushion, etc. Done. That was easy.
50
Nickels aren't much better. They're big and clunky and not worth much. No complaints about dimes and quarters. I much prefer dollar bills to dollar coins. It's been many years since I last saw a 50-cent piece (and almost forgot they even exist).
On balance, I could live with just dimes and quarters and bills for everything $1 and up.
On balance, I could live with just dimes and quarters and bills for everything $1 and up.
I don't even pick up nickels anymore.
1
Really? I do, if I can find one, which isn't very often. I am on foot most of the time, and I've never found much in the way of change. But count me as someone who uses cash as much as possible. I enjoy doing so, and I don't like being tracked.
It's a de facto subsidy to the zinc lobby, aka "Americans for Common Cents".
Get rid of the penny, get rid of the $1 bill, make a dollar coin that people will want to use. It's absurd that the US has non-circulating coinage. Coins are meant to be spent, not just received as change and put in jars. But this is the same stagnant mentality that keeps the US on feet and inches.
(The $X.99 sticker price is a red herring in most states because of sales tax, and the rounding question is moot for card transactions.)
Get rid of the penny, get rid of the $1 bill, make a dollar coin that people will want to use. It's absurd that the US has non-circulating coinage. Coins are meant to be spent, not just received as change and put in jars. But this is the same stagnant mentality that keeps the US on feet and inches.
(The $X.99 sticker price is a red herring in most states because of sales tax, and the rounding question is moot for card transactions.)
82
"It's absurd that the US has non-circulating coinage. Coins are meant to be spent, not just received as change and put in jars."
By your reasoning, it would be wrong to carry any cash, because it is is not being "spent" while you are carrying it.
And people who save coins in a "jar" can exchange or deposit those coins at a bank or credit union. Thus, they are "circulating" the coins.
By your reasoning, it would be wrong to carry any cash, because it is is not being "spent" while you are carrying it.
And people who save coins in a "jar" can exchange or deposit those coins at a bank or credit union. Thus, they are "circulating" the coins.
1
It is very easy to make a dollar coin that "people will want to use" - getting rid of the $1 bill will take care of it in hurry.
1
"... make a dollar coin that people will want to use."
To me, that's an oxymoron. I've long thought dollar coins are a very bad idea. The New Yorker just ran a story on the pros and cons of becoming cashless entirely -- no bills or coins of any denomination. That will take some getting used to, but we can at least start by not making any more dollar coins.
To me, that's an oxymoron. I've long thought dollar coins are a very bad idea. The New Yorker just ran a story on the pros and cons of becoming cashless entirely -- no bills or coins of any denomination. That will take some getting used to, but we can at least start by not making any more dollar coins.
To everyone who would like to keep the penny because you're worried about being on the losing end when prices are round I have this question: Would you support introducing a half-penny to make prices even more accurate? If not, why not?
69
You mean "re-introducing" a half-penny.
2
I would support the half-penny because I like math and the fact that it's a fraction really appeals to me. I know it's not feasible or sensible. But, the idea of fractional money just sounds interesting. Can we get a fourth-penny, too? I'm not so keen on thirds. Let's keep it to multiples of two. If the value of the dollar goes up, maybe we can have eighth-pennies. But, sixteenth-pennies is where I draw the line. That's just excessive. Oh, and for a special release for coin enthusiasts, we can have a pi coin that stands for 3.14159... cents. They'll have to round it somewhere, though, because otherwise, we'd need thousandths and billionths, etc., of pennies just to make change.
I look forward to the day where somebody is walking along the street, sees something shiny, and says: "is that a penny?" Then, they walk up and find that it's a Planck's cent, which is almost worthless. So, they leave it there for somebody else to pick up.
It's wild how things keep changing, and yet, they also stay very much the same...
I look forward to the day where somebody is walking along the street, sees something shiny, and says: "is that a penny?" Then, they walk up and find that it's a Planck's cent, which is almost worthless. So, they leave it there for somebody else to pick up.
It's wild how things keep changing, and yet, they also stay very much the same...
2
We once had a half penny. We got rid of it (in 1871) because it wasn't worth enough. Adjusted for inflation, it was worth 13 cents.
1
When we got rid of the penny in Canada I wondered how long it would take all of us to get used to the "change". I'd estimate about 15 minutes.
BTW, only totals are rounded to the nearest nickel. So individual prices are only rounded if that is the sole item purchased. At the supermarket it is random whether your payment is rounded up or down.
BTW, only totals are rounded to the nearest nickel. So individual prices are only rounded if that is the sole item purchased. At the supermarket it is random whether your payment is rounded up or down.
104
That is a good point - it is only the total (after sales tax in most states) that would need to be rounded. At a grocery store, the loss or gain is at most 2-3 cents out of a bill of $20-$100.
4
Great, I'm down with that. I hate all the pennies in my cabinet bowl.
The Michigan sales tax is 6 percent. Not 5, not 10. I don't expect the state taxing authority will to agree to rounding sales taxes down. Up, yes. Not down.
6
I'm sure it would be happy to round to the nearest 5 cent increment, since it would gain about as much as it lost. For example, a $1 soda with tax would be $1.06, rounded down to $1.05. But a $4 hamburger with tax would be $4.24, rounded up to $4.25.
1
The state still gets their 6% of the gross; individual transactions round up or down but the overall average is parity.
I recommend handling this the same way you are currently handling it. 6% of a $0.99 purchase also involves rounding.
Trump's face should be on the penny, before it's dumped as worthless.
144
I'm guessing quite a few folks (despicables?) would suggest Hillary be on the other side- two sides of the same coin- both unworthy.
Eliminating the penny would increase taxes. States would just round up the sales tax costing us much more than the 39 million subsidy of coining the penny.
4
A little numeracy would be in order before posting a comment like this.
6% sales tax on 99 cents is 6 cents. 6% sales tax on $1 is still 6 cents. Ending the penny won't make any perceptible difference to a retailer's daily take, maybe a few pennies in, say, $10,000. Remember, the tax is figured on the total purchase and could be rounded up or down. This would not affect the tax liability in the slightest - or, if you want to split hairs, just maybe a penny up or down in $600.
6% sales tax on 99 cents is 6 cents. 6% sales tax on $1 is still 6 cents. Ending the penny won't make any perceptible difference to a retailer's daily take, maybe a few pennies in, say, $10,000. Remember, the tax is figured on the total purchase and could be rounded up or down. This would not affect the tax liability in the slightest - or, if you want to split hairs, just maybe a penny up or down in $600.
17
Read the article.
In Canada, after they eliminated the penny they instituted simple, conventional rounding rules to bridge over the penny differences. The rounding occurs ONLY on the total of the bill, so at most 3 cents are at play in any given cash transaction. ANy digital transaction (credit, debit, whatzit) proceeds exactly as before. Me, I'm glad they have done it here, since the (smaller than USD) pennies kept slipping through the holes in my pockets caused by the loonies and toonies we have in place of the $1 and $2 dollar bills we had previously . . .
2
What would the supermarkets do with the excess floor space when the "card for cash" machines are not as productive?
I recall that most of the coin volume (or weight) deposited in these machines is from pennies. Hundreds of coin movers out of work!
Keep the penny.
I recall that most of the coin volume (or weight) deposited in these machines is from pennies. Hundreds of coin movers out of work!
Keep the penny.
2
Those were arguments for keeping toll booth collectors. But tell me, if you have EZPass, who would want to go back to human collectors? It's faster, it's easier, with no hassle for digging for cash and change. It's not unlike asking anyone who's been using a smartphone for years to go back to using landline. Not gonna happen.
3
We should keep the penny so that we can keep the machines? That's putting the cart before the ox (or carriage before the horse). The coin machines were not always there so I'm sure supermarkets will find some other use for that space like they had in the past.
6
I always heard it was the Zinc lobby. That makes more sense than the other reasons given.
I worked at a busy ice cream store in New Zealand where they don't use pennies and it shaved a second or two off of each transaction. Everyone would benefit a small amount by getting rid of pennies, but the zinc companies have a strong incentive to keep the government perk that they are getting.
Most people don't care, but a few donors care a great deal. In our system that means the penny is here to stay.
I worked at a busy ice cream store in New Zealand where they don't use pennies and it shaved a second or two off of each transaction. Everyone would benefit a small amount by getting rid of pennies, but the zinc companies have a strong incentive to keep the government perk that they are getting.
Most people don't care, but a few donors care a great deal. In our system that means the penny is here to stay.
24
Pennies are one of the few things that if you don't have one, you'll get four.
93
They're like rabbits. I wonder if their increase could be calculated by the Fibonacci sequence...
1
If pennies are eliminated, how will my beloved pay for my thoughts. I doubt she'll go as high as a nickel.
195
Maybe offer her two thoughts for a nickel. My dear wife might pay that -- at least on some days.
2
And what will I put in my loafers?
3
But she'll still go in a dime for your dreams, right? I'd rather mine have my dreams, anyhow.
Just to clarify, in Canada the rounding mechanism is for the total price of a purchase, which includes the items and sales tax. So if buying groceries means rounding up a penny, it gets distributed across all the items and the taxes. And when it rounds down (about half the time), the reverse is true. No one misses pennies. It cost you a dollar to read this article, even more to comment. Over pennies.
67
Re "eliminating the penny means all retail prices would end in zero or five." This would not be the case -- at least it isn't in Canada. Credit and debit sales would be unaffected by eliminating the penny. Only cash transactions would be rounded to the nearest nickel. Also, only the total of all items made in one purchase need to be rounded, not each individual item.
48
This. Its a really simple concept, but people don't seem to get it.
3
That would not be fair, to be sure. Prices should have been the same across the board, with or without cards. Otherwise, you would be unfairly discriminating those cardless and bankless community who has less resources to begin with.
1
So if using a credit card saves you money, because a cash sale would be rounded up more frequently than down, eliminating the penny means more people would be using credit and debit cards. I, for one, am sick and tired of standing in line behind someone who is trying one card after another to find one that is not maxed out or is looking up his PIN number or swiping his card three times trying to get the machine to take the scratched electronic strip. (And, BTW, I had a cast on my right arm for most of the summer--did you know credit card machines are made for right-handers, and if you swipe the card with your left hand, it often is not at the correct angle and has to be done over?) Credit-card fees add to the cost of everything we buy, even if we personally are paying cash. And It's a lot harder to commit fraud when spending cash than when using a credit card.
We do not need to do anything to encourage more use of credit cards.
We do not need to do anything to encourage more use of credit cards.
2
Maybe it's a generational thing, but when I see a penny on the sidewalk, I stop, pick it up, and put it in my pocket. Keep the penny. We need it.
19
For back exercises?
31
A found penny on the sidewalk always brings good luck.
13
Absolutely. I pick 'em up for luck, but have refused to take 'em in change for over a decade.
The penny really should be retired if it costs almost 50% more to make than it's worth. Nickels and dimes are still useful if we round prices to the nearest 5-cent increment and pay in cash. As a kid, whenever we had a nickel, we'd buy a pack of baseball cards or a box of candy - that change didn't stay in our pockets for very long.
The dime was useful when you had to use a pay phone (remember those?) or park. Today, not so much - more and more parking meters that still take coins have moved to 25-cent time increments.
Face it - the quarter in 2016 is the dime from 50 years ago. And where do most of those wind up? In change jars (if not in the aforementioned parking meters). I keep a bunch of quarters in the change trays in my cars but don't use them very much.
While we're at it, why not bring back the $500 bill? A $100 is no big deal nowadays. You can get 500 Euro notes, so why not $500?
The dime was useful when you had to use a pay phone (remember those?) or park. Today, not so much - more and more parking meters that still take coins have moved to 25-cent time increments.
Face it - the quarter in 2016 is the dime from 50 years ago. And where do most of those wind up? In change jars (if not in the aforementioned parking meters). I keep a bunch of quarters in the change trays in my cars but don't use them very much.
While we're at it, why not bring back the $500 bill? A $100 is no big deal nowadays. You can get 500 Euro notes, so why not $500?
7
There is serious consideration being given to eliminating the $100 billl (never mind the $500 bill). This is because it is the major currency of illegal activity, including drug trafficking. Apparently there are billions of $100 notes in foreign countries as the safe way to avoid being destroyed by inflation and exchange rate problems.
16
We export paper $100 bills (to be hidden away) and import shoes, clothing, household appliances, cars, etc., etc. etc. It is a good deal except for those who lost their jobs to Asian sweatshop laborers.
5
Sending pallets of $100 bills to the Middle East is how the Pentagon lost that $6 trillion. Can't imagine them using twenties.
You don't need to round prices to the nearest nickel. You round the amount of change to the nearest nickel. For debit and credit card transactions, you obviously don't have to round amounts.
25
..and while we're on the subject I wish they'd get rid of ALL real humans on coins. Everyone loves Lincoln, I understand... but not everyone loves Ike, or JFK. In today's polarized climate they're soon going to want Reagan on a coin. He already has an airport...and I HATED his policies. Then FOX "news" people, guess what...Obama would be up next. So can all agree to put LIBERTY back on the coins that are left?
12
The mint stopped producing 1/2 cent pieces eons ago and the country survived. Canada also is making do without pennies. Seems like a no brainer to stop minting pennies and put the money towards reducing the country's debt (39 million saved per year adds up to real money quickly). Also would eliminate the dollar bill so people would use the millions of dollar coins minted and now laying in bank storage vaults. Could bring back the 2 dollar bill if people need a denomination smaller than the 5 dollar bill.
10
You can still get the $2 bill...
--John 10/11/16 - 6AM
--John 10/11/16 - 6AM
1
$2 bills are still being printed and are in circulation; just ask for them at most banks. We could get huge numbers of pennies out of jars and dollar coins out of vaults if the Treasury would sell the latter in exchange for 98 pennies. But that requires creative thinking, which our gummint is not capable of.
2
Yes, please, let us follow our northern neighbor's lead and get rid of pennies. While we're at it, let's get rid of dollar bills, too, and start using our own version of the loonie. And, while we're at it, let's elect a president that's more like Canada's new prime minister!
134
No maple syrup? That's just disappointing.
The dollar coin never caught on because everyone needs dollar bills for vending machines. If the government had offered financial incentives to defray the cost of replacing all vending machines with some that accept dollar coins, people would eagerly have used dollar coins instead of ragged dollar bills that the machines reject.
But the machines were being upgraded at normal replacement rates (meaning the machine has to be totally dead before the company gives it any attention), people given dollar coins at the bank would ask for bills instead because "I need it for the vending machines at work."
But the machines were being upgraded at normal replacement rates (meaning the machine has to be totally dead before the company gives it any attention), people given dollar coins at the bank would ask for bills instead because "I need it for the vending machines at work."
We did. Obama. Greatest Prez ever!
"eliminating the penny means all retail prices would end in zero or five"
Not necessarily. If you are buying multiple items in a store, you would just need to round the total bill to the nearest 5 cents. Individual items could still be priced to the nearest penny.
Not necessarily. If you are buying multiple items in a store, you would just need to round the total bill to the nearest 5 cents. Individual items could still be priced to the nearest penny.
12
Times: "Printing paper currency is hugely profitable for the federal government: The $100 bill is one of the nation’s most valuable exports. Quarters and dimes are moneymakers too. But it costs $1.43 to produce 100 pennies. Last year, making pennies cost taxpayers almost $39 million."
Government is not a profit-making operation, so that argument is fallacious.
Anyway, the Times should report the NET "profit" for ALL currency and the "profitability" of the US Mint as a whole.
Government is not a profit-making operation, so that argument is fallacious.
Anyway, the Times should report the NET "profit" for ALL currency and the "profitability" of the US Mint as a whole.
3
Guess we don't care how the government spends money. If a small business owner adopted this theory they could well go under. The penny is not needed as a "loss leader."
Another great example of how our government wastes our money.
Another great example of how our government wastes our money.
The government is not "profit-making", but it should be taxpayer money-saving. The argument is not at all fallacious. It makes just as much sense to stop minting pennies (except perhaps for collector sets) as it did for Ford to stop producing the Edsel.
1
Government may not be a profit making enterprise overall, but the concept of seigniorage, i.e. that money should cost less to make than its face value, is as old as coins themselves. Another aspect of seigniorage is that the metal in a coin should be worth less than the face value of the coin, to discourage melting coins down for their metal content. That's why pennies are now mostly zinc rather than copper, and it's why silver was removed from quarters and dimes in 1965. The nickel is a close call; at times in recent years it has contained more than 5 cents' worth of metal, depending on commodity price fluctuations.
Lobbying to keep the penny alive is Jarden Zinc Products - the sole US maker of the blanks to the US mint.
Canada, Australia and many others have abandoned this nonsense of the physical penny. Prices are still to the cent. (Gasoline to the 10th of a cent).
Credit Card and Electronic payments are to the penny. All others are rounded up or down.
Saves the _tax payer_ money. And that is all that counts. Not some company that makes profits on the backs of tax payers without any economic benefit to anyone.
Time to kill pennies and save dollars.
Canada, Australia and many others have abandoned this nonsense of the physical penny. Prices are still to the cent. (Gasoline to the 10th of a cent).
Credit Card and Electronic payments are to the penny. All others are rounded up or down.
Saves the _tax payer_ money. And that is all that counts. Not some company that makes profits on the backs of tax payers without any economic benefit to anyone.
Time to kill pennies and save dollars.
189
How does charging a customer (who is also a taxpayer) an extra two or three cents on most transactions save us any money?
To get rid of the penny would be a serious disservice to coin collectors.
1
It is not the role of government to "serve" coin collectors in the issuance of currency.
37
No longer producing a coin is part of what makes it valuable and desired by coin collectors.
6
The smallest coin we needed in the fifties was the penny. The smallest one we need now is the dime. The only reason to keep the penny and the nickel is aversion to change.
44
An aversion to change would be a reason to eliminate the penny.
3
I never carry them anymore. My use of pennies is to throw them into a penny jar, which I cash in when it fills. Otherwise, I can see little consequence for eliminating them.
5
Why not let charitable institutions collect donated pennies and sell them back to the government for say $.015? That way everyone benefits since most pennies in the hands of consumers end up in "penny" jars, out of circulation and the government feels obligated to replace them.
1
To the average consumer a penny does not mean much. To a large banking or retail corporation a penny added or subtracted to millions of accounts or transactions could result in a good bit of profit.
13
Hi John, Those accounts don't contain physical pennies, you know.
2
E-pennies will always exist, no matter whether they would no longer be coined.
1
Let's keep the penny, and let's keep Lincoln on the penny. It's a strong symbol of our Union and our greatest president and all that he accomplished
5
Sure, trash the penny, even the nickel, but -
add a $5 coin (Japan has a 500Y coin), resize coins according to value based on the size of the current 1$ coin, and change the designs every ten years.
This will reduce cost, keep the numismatists happy, keep pace with inflation and make it easier to make change.
add a $5 coin (Japan has a 500Y coin), resize coins according to value based on the size of the current 1$ coin, and change the designs every ten years.
This will reduce cost, keep the numismatists happy, keep pace with inflation and make it easier to make change.
10
The answer lies in Illinois but it isn't pride of Abe Lincoln.
Follow the money to the manufacturer of the unminted discs.
Follow the money to the manufacturer of the unminted discs.
3
Another related question is why does the USA keep printing one dollar bills? Anyone who has traveled has probably realized that by now the one dollar bill is the smallest unit of paper currency in the world (at least among advanced nations). I'm sure the savings would dwarf getting rid of the penny.
5
If Andrew Jackson's face was on the penny instead of that of Abraham Lincoln, that copper colored piece of cheap tin would have been gone in a New York minute. But I think Aaron Sorkin's justification "the government keeps making pennies because Abraham Lincoln is on the front, and lawmakers from Illinois, in particular, are reluctant to eliminate a ubiquitous tribute" has some real merit. I always thought the Susan B. Anthony coin was a real bust. I can't tell you how many times I was given incorrect change because cashiers kept mixing up the quarter with the Susan B. Anthony coin because the size of both coins was so similar.
Besides, if pennies were eliminated, the phrase "a penny for your thoughts" would eventually have no point of reference because no one would know what a penny is or was. How could present day society rob Sir Thomas More of his infamous phrase?
1
It appears only Americans expect exact change.
3
If the change from cash transactions is rounded, you will sometimes come out ahead and sometimes you lose a couple of cents, but it essentially randomizes out to almost nothing over time.
As more and more payments are made with credit and debit cards, the rounding of change on cash transactions is becoming less and less significant. You don't need to round when you're not using cash, of course.
As more and more payments are made with credit and debit cards, the rounding of change on cash transactions is becoming less and less significant. You don't need to round when you're not using cash, of course.
9
Why not get rid of all currency? Only Hillary and Donald can afford to buy anything now, anyway.
7
For those who worry that an item that now lists for $4.99 will cost $5.00: electronic transactions (e.g., credit card purchases, PayPal transfers, etc.) could still be carried on in pennies. You could even write checks for $120.21 if you want. The only difference is that when you conduct business in cash, you would have to round off the amount to the nearest nickel. Given that most businesses now have a little saucer on the counter where customers leave the pennies they receive as change, it would seem clear we don't need the penny any more.
Getting rid of the penny is simply too common-sensical a step for the USG to implement.
Getting rid of the penny is simply too common-sensical a step for the USG to implement.
70
"... when you conduct business in cash, you would have to round off the amount to the nearest nickel."
That's an obtuse way of saying that customers who pay in cash would be forced to pay a TRANSACTION FEE.
That's an obtuse way of saying that customers who pay in cash would be forced to pay a TRANSACTION FEE.
And in some stores, people leave nickels, dimes, and even quarters in the "leave a penny, take a penny" trays. Quarters! (I use them to pay for my takeout orders at a local chain.)
They also round down. Sometimes you have the advantage. So .01, .02, is rounded DOWN and .03 and .04 are rounded down when you're paying cash. That's how it works in Canada. You could make a tidy profit if you put your mind to it.
awww, c'mon.
why not get rid of the DOLLAR??? &
--all that wasted "paper".
duh.
why not get rid of the DOLLAR??? &
--all that wasted "paper".
duh.
1
A government that takes away our cash money (whether $500 bills or pennies) restricts our movement a bit at a time and brings us closer to a "cashless" society where our every financial transaction can be tracked and analyzed.
Keep our coinage.
Keep our coinage.
12
Eliminating the penny doesn't affect prices at all. Prices are still to the penny. Change rendered is rounded up or down. On average you break even. On average stores break even.
Credit Card and lectronic transactions go to the penny, of course.
The only reason the US penny is still around is because one company that makes the zinc blanks (Jarden Zinc Products) lobbies hard to keep them alive.
Credit Card and lectronic transactions go to the penny, of course.
The only reason the US penny is still around is because one company that makes the zinc blanks (Jarden Zinc Products) lobbies hard to keep them alive.
10
Excellent points. This proposal is yet another attack in the war against cash.
2016-10-10 21:51:10 UTC
2016-10-10 21:51:10 UTC
1
So, getting rid of the waste of taxpayer money that is the lowly penny is just another step towards total government domination of society? First I've heard of that. Sounds like a bit of a leap...
2
Get rid of the penny and the nickel. Get rid of the $1 bill.
Size coinage by face value.
Use the opportunity to create much more beautiful classic designs than has been the case in recent generations.
Size coinage by face value.
Use the opportunity to create much more beautiful classic designs than has been the case in recent generations.
44
I agree Karl, our coins didn't have dead presidents on them in the 19th century, even early into the 20th century. If we had a dollar, quarter, dime, we could make the change we need. I don't even use dollars to tip most of the time when I travel, only really incidental here's a few bucks kind of tip. I'm 60 and I remember, even when I was a kid, pennies were starting to be not very useful. 10 got you a dime, but penny deposits on soda bottles were useless.
4
Joe... with only quarters and dimes, how would you make change for a $0.85 or $0.95 purchase?
1
Joe... You are right about deleting nickels as well. We just need to round off to the nearest dime. It costs 8 cents to mint a nickle. Do both coins at once, just rip off the band aid. By the way, a dime costs about 4 cents and a quarter costs 9 cents. Probably would make sense to eliminate quarters and go back to half dollars. When everything is rounded to the dime, all cents transactions can handled with dimes and halfs.
Oh, do some people still use coins?
4
Of course? What do you use - food stamps? Cash is the backbone of our economy!
13
To rah62: Mainly a debit card, which is now accepted everywhere here, including parking meters.
4
To rah62: There was a point to my question about use of coinage, as opposed to bank notes. I seriously do wonder how much longer coins will be practical. As a matter of habit, from the past, I keep a supply of banknotes in my wallet and some coins, of various denominations, in a small compartment on the dashboard of my car. They rarely get used. Most stores and service providers now accept, and seem to prefer us to use debit cards.
For small items, it is more common now for me simply to add them to a list of items that will be purchased during weekly visits to the supermarket, drugstore or the next order to some online retailer. Online retailers often waive shipping costs when the total bill exceeds a certain minimum. Our local drug store and supermarkets now deliver for a nominal or no extra fee, if one will pay via debit card.
For orders more than a few dollars, it is acceptable and far more convenient simply to be billed on site, or online, and to pay either by debit card, or by making an online request to the bank “bill-pay” service for them to send a check to the designated online payee, and to debit one’s checking account.
Will the US, like much of Europe, find carrying coins an antiquated practice?
For small items, it is more common now for me simply to add them to a list of items that will be purchased during weekly visits to the supermarket, drugstore or the next order to some online retailer. Online retailers often waive shipping costs when the total bill exceeds a certain minimum. Our local drug store and supermarkets now deliver for a nominal or no extra fee, if one will pay via debit card.
For orders more than a few dollars, it is acceptable and far more convenient simply to be billed on site, or online, and to pay either by debit card, or by making an online request to the bank “bill-pay” service for them to send a check to the designated online payee, and to debit one’s checking account.
Will the US, like much of Europe, find carrying coins an antiquated practice?
I would say goodbye to the Penny and the Nickel.
[ If the Nickel remains, please put the Native American and Buffalo back on it. ]
And make the Dime more substantial in size and weight and how about
putting Ronald Reagan on it.
[ If the Nickel remains, please put the Native American and Buffalo back on it. ]
And make the Dime more substantial in size and weight and how about
putting Ronald Reagan on it.
3
oh brother (eyes roll) can you spare a dime, john brown?
We can agree at least we went through another great recession just a few years even if we can't agree it was caused by "trickle down"
We can agree at least we went through another great recession just a few years even if we can't agree it was caused by "trickle down"
6
parkbrav,
I said "how about" -
we have:
Jefferson a slave holder
Washington a slave holder
Jackson a slave holder
all on our currency.
And you complain about Reagan for an economic collapse
structured via Clinton's hand some 23 years after he was
President ?
I said "how about" -
we have:
Jefferson a slave holder
Washington a slave holder
Jackson a slave holder
all on our currency.
And you complain about Reagan for an economic collapse
structured via Clinton's hand some 23 years after he was
President ?
1
Without the penny, do we round up sales tax to the next nickel or do we do round down to the previous nickel?
2
Always up!
3
The total price, including taxes, is rounded. If the merchant ends up with more, then (in theory) he has to pay the sales tax on the difference. If the merchant ends up with less, then he can credit himself the difference. In practice it is not worth accounting for unless it is a very large store like Wal*Wart.
Eliminating the penny in Australia and Canada has not caused any issues at all - most are happy to be rid of pennies and wish it had happened years earlier.
Eliminating the penny in Australia and Canada has not caused any issues at all - most are happy to be rid of pennies and wish it had happened years earlier.
8
In Canada, they round up or down, whichever is closest. The idea of having prices set to an even nickel (say $1.00 instead of 99 cents) is ludicrous because sales tax will always (except for a few states!) make that effort useless.
With rounding to the nearest five cents, sometimes you lose, sometimes you win, but it averages out. Even if it didn't, who cares?
With rounding to the nearest five cents, sometimes you lose, sometimes you win, but it averages out. Even if it didn't, who cares?
12