The Penny... Dig it or Ditch it?

[rdavidson510]

It's been in the news every once in a while... whether the penny should be kept in US currency, or whether everything should just be rounded to the nearest $.05

It actually cost more to make a penny then then penny is actually worth. That right there tells me that it's WORTHLESS, and needs to be abolished just like the former half-cent.

Think about all the penny trays people have at gas stations. I ALSO throw my pennys in there. They just create annoyance in my pockets and wallet, and they arn't worth ****. Yeah, maybe if you collected a bunch over time and cashed it in, you might get a nice $20 (but that's still 20,000 pennys).

What do you think? Don't forget to vote.

[Jharaski]

It's been in the news every once in a while... whether the penny should be kept in US currency, or whether everything should just be rounded to the nearest $.05

It actually cost more to make a penny then then penny is actually worth. That right there tells me that it's WORTHLESS, and needs to be abolished just like the former half-cent.

Think about all the penny trays people have at gas stations. I ALSO throw my pennys in there. They just create annoyance in my pockets and wallet, and they arn't worth ****. Yeah, maybe if you collected a bunch over time and cashed it in, you might get a nice $20 (but that's still 20,000 pennys).

What do you think? Don't forget to vote.

Keep em. We don't need to be like Australia. Those really do add up if you think about it. Just another way for big business to screw you out of another 4 cents. :P

[Jude]

They're a pain in the butt...I hate getting change less than a quarter. I wouldn't mind if they eliminated all coins except the quarter.

[SubtleDagger]

Yeah, maybe if you collected a bunch over time and cashed it in, you might get a nice $20 (but that's still 20,000 pennys).

Thank God you're not with the IRS

[drewhet]

^Trade in your pennies for dimes, nickles or quarters. Or some people will probably want to keep them as collectables

Everytime i'm at a fast food place and I get change, I put anything that isnt quarters in to the starving people foundation things. I hate having loose change.

[HaVIC5]

^Trade in your pennies for dimes, nickles or quarters. Or some people will probably want to keep them as collectables

Everytime i'm at a fast food place and I get change, I put anything that isnt quarters in to the starving people foundation things. I hate having loose change.
There are so many pennies they'd be worthless as collectables.

[semi]

how would things cost x.99 then?

[Auberge le Mouton Noir]

it's a decision for the royal mint to make

[Jharaski]

how would things cost x.99 then?

Exactly! Thost $19.99 bargains will now be a whopping 20 bucks.

[semi]

i'm sure theres an actual reason for that. you must see it as 19 subconsciouly or it doesnt seem so much even though you know its 20.

[drewhet]

I don't know about that. Everytime i see a price that has .99, it's second nature for me to round up. Like if somethings $19.99, when I see it, my first thought is $20.

[mullets suk]

wouldnt they take all the pennies and recycle, them or something.

the only thing there good for is finding them heads up when walking down the street.

[Danger Bird]

It's been in the news every once in a while... whether the penny should be kept in US currency, or whether everything should just be rounded to the nearest $.05

It actually cost more to make a penny then then penny is actually worth. That right there tells me that it's WORTHLESS, and needs to be abolished just like the former half-cent.

Think about all the penny trays people have at gas stations. I ALSO throw my pennys in there. They just create annoyance in my pockets and wallet, and they arn't worth ****. Yeah, maybe if you collected a bunch over time and cashed it in, you might get a nice $20 (but that's still 20,000 pennys).

What do you think? Don't forget to vote.
:lol:

Of course not, just make them out of cheaper metal.

[Auberge le Mouton Noir]

I collect my small change (1s, 2s, 5s) and get like, £5-10 a year

[PerpetualBurn]

That's like 2-4 pints a year.

Brilliant.

[Chrizzle fo' Shizzle]

Or just make them out of something cheaper, like aluminum

Like the ¥1

[AmericanWeiner]

20,000 pennies is not $20

[drewhet]

lol, 20,000 would be 2,000 dollars, 2,000 pennies = 20 dollars

[VomitStainedCretin]

Introduce the 99p coin to save on change. The Monster Raving Loony Party had that as part of their last election manifesto.

[PerpetualBurn]

lol, 20,000 would be 2,000 dollars

Erm...it would be two hundred dollars.

[Auberge le Mouton Noir]

Introduce the 99p coin to save on change. The Monster Raving Loony Party had that as part of their last election manifesto.

I alos love the idea of a bastard tax

[drewhet]

Erm...it would be two hundred dollars.

lol, at least i got the second one right

[Alf™]

Keep em. We don't need to be like Australia. Those really do add up if you think about it. Just another way for big business to screw you out of another 4 cents. :P
Ah, lol, how is it a way for them to screw you out of 4 cents?

[Futue te Ipsum]

Introduce the 99p coin to save on change. The Monster Raving Loony Party had that as part of their last election manifesto.god bless the OMRLP.

[HaVIC5]

I don't know about that. Everytime i see a price that has .99, it's second nature for me to round up. Like if somethings $19.99, when I see it, my first thought is $20.
The original reason why things cost x.99 wasn't to fool people subconciously, rather, it was to make sure cashiers opened the cash register for every transaction so they couldn't just pocket bills.

[Jharaski]

Ah, lol, how is it a way for them to screw you out of 4 cents?

Business would round up. You owe 4.11, they charge you for 4.15.

[Jharaski]

The original reason why things cost x.99 wasn't to fool people subconciously, rather, it was to make sure cashiers opened the cash register for every transaction so they couldn't just pocket bills.

20 dollars plus tax is $21.20. Assuming 6% tax. Unless that started in Delaware or something.

[666Ozzfan]

In NZ, we just got rid of the 5c coins. we now only have 10c, 20c, 50c, $1, and $2 coin. The 10c, 20c, and 50c coins are all smaller as well, because it was costing too much to make them. I find it's better that way, you're carrying much less weight.

[666Ozzfan]

Business would round up. You owe 4.11, they charge you for 4.15.

In NZ, before we got rid of the 5c coins, you'd be charged $4.10, not $4.15 for something that costed $4.11. Now of course its rounded to the nearest 10c i.e. $4.15 would be $4.20, $4.14 would be $4.10

[Liquid Force]

Get rid of them. There a nuisance in my pocket.

[Alf™]

Business would round up. You owe 4.11, they charge you for 4.15.
Just like 666Ozzfan said, you would round to the nearest 5 cents.

[Jharaski]

Just like 666Ozzfan said, you would round to the nearest 5 cents.

Says who? I thought I remembered in Australia, it always going up, but it's been 2 years since I've been there.

[Alf™]

Says who? I thought I remembered in Australia, it always going up, but it's been 2 years since I've been there.
As long as I can remember (which isn't very long) it has been rounded to the nearest 5 cents.

[Jharaski]

As long as I can remember (which isn't very long) it has been rounded to the nearest 5 cents.


Well I stand corrected about Australia. In any case, my comment about those four cents wasn't entirely serious.

[Alf™]

Well I stand corrected about Australia. In any case, my comment about those four cents wasn't entirely serious.
I know, and that's why I laughed about it in my first reply. :chug:

[Sync0pation]

Um, with tax, how is thing going to work? $1.00 item, tax 7%, costs $1.07. Yeah...

[LittlePound]

all things would probably have to be priced evenly, with an even tax like .1 or something.

[Sync0pation]

I don't think it's possible to get of the penny. There are so many things other than items in the store that aren't round numbers, and 1 cent coins are necessary...

And what about Virgin Mobile :P

[LittlePound]

well there are only two ways they can do it, either round out the system or round up. (Businesses would round up, if they can make an extra 3 cents on every purchase, they will)

[gaslight]

We don't have 1c coins here and it isn't a problem. I don't really care for 5c coins either.

To people asking about things in Australia that cost $4.11 or whatever, I've never seen anything with that kind of price here. I've only ever seen cents at x0,x5 or x9. The majority of consumer goods are kept pretty even, the only time you can really get strange values for cents is buying things like petrol or fruit by weight that are subject to variations.

[OMGaDINOSAUR]

Can't stand pennies.

[Jude]

What would we do with all the obsolete pennies?
Exactly the same thing we do with non-obselete ones, which is tell the cashier to keep them, lose them in the couch, and toss them on the sidewalk for some little kid to be happy about finding.

[gaslight]

What would we do with all the obsolete pennies?

Knowing America, probably turn them into shrapnel bombs :p.

[Alf™]

well there are only two ways they can do it, either round out the system or round up. (Businesses would round up, if they can make an extra 3 cents on every purchase, they will)
I doubt there would be a system other than one where you would round to the nearest 5 cents.

[666Ozzfan]

About that question on the tax, you can always work it out the other way, that you price the item including tax, and then work out the tax deductions after. Anyway, 1-2 cents on tax doesn't really make much difference to the store, because it'd be made up by the items you round up to the nearest 5c. It evens out

[Jharaski]

About that question on the tax, you can always work it out the other way, that you price the item including tax, and then work out the tax deductions after. Anyway, 1-2 cents on tax doesn't really make much difference to the store, because it'd be made up by the items you round up to the nearest 5c. It evens out

Aye. Price/1.06, round down = price store gets. Because the IRS might get angry if for a $50 purchase, they pay $2.83 instead of rounding from like $2.83019 up to $2.84.

[Electric Riley]

When I visited the US, pennies pissed me off a lot. In Australia, five cent coins are almost too small a denomination, I think NZ went about it the right way to abolish them.

[Malice]

I think the Australian currency is pretty good.
There's the 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 dollar bills, plus your $2, $1, 50c, 20c, 10c and 5c coins.

It makes everything so much easier; in America I got given change for something and I got soooo many notes; I thought I was rich! But it turned out they were all $1 bills. What the hell?! Haha.

[Jharaski]

I think the Australian currency is pretty good.
There's the 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 dollar bills, plus your $2, $1, 50c, 20c, 10c and 5c coins.

It makes everything so much easier; in America I got given change for something and I got soooo many notes; I thought I was rich! But it turned out they were all $1 bills. What the hell?! Haha.

Maybe they were out of 5's and 10's. Plus no one really wants a $1 coin. The argument is that they're too heavy to carry around in your pocket if you get too many of them.

[PerpetualBurn]

We eliminated 1 pound notes about 10 years or so back.

I think it's safe to say that England has only been a better place to live since.

[Alf™]

America has one dollar notes? What the hell, get with the times.

One dollar coins dn't get too heavy in your pockets because you either spend them, or get 5 and change it into a 5 dollar note.

[xMClevelandx]

I don't enjoy having all those pennies either but I don't want everything to round up. It'll add up after a while, you just won't notice it when it happens. I say the penny should stay.

[denboy]

Maybe they were out of 5's and 10's. Plus no one really wants a $1 coin. The argument is that they're too heavy to carry around in your pocket if you get too many of them.


Most other civilised countries have eliminated bills that low and replaced them with coins... It's really, alot more efficient..

[666Ozzfan]

I don't enjoy having all those pennies either but I don't want everything to round up. It'll add up after a while, you just won't notice it when it happens. I say the penny should stay.

Dude, you're going to have to pay for 100 $4.99 items (for example) to keep you dollar. So your going to end up paying $500 in total instead of $499. Or at worst, paying $500 instead of $498. (for a $4.98 price - $4.97 = paying $4.95). Not a really big deal. Seriously, what is one or two cents per purchase.

A question to those living in America. I was talking to someone from US not long ago, and she didn't know what an EFTPOS card was. Do you not have these?

[666Ozzfan]

Maybe they were out of 5's and 10's. Plus no one really wants a $1 coin. The argument is that they're too heavy to carry around in your pocket if you get too many of them.

Not really, we've been living with $1 & $2 coins for years. We got rid of the 1c &2c coins 15-20 years ago (ish) and we just got rid of the 5c. How big are you imagining $1 and $2 coins to be? Sure, they get heavy if you have a lot of them, but you do end up spending them before your other notes.

Or you could always put any coins you get in a jar, then take them out at the end of the year and go get drunk. I get about $30 in a month and a half or so.

[Chrizzle fo' Shizzle]

They tried the $1 coin. Twice in recent history

It didn't work


I still don't see the problem with making pennies out of something cheaper, like aluminum

[Jharaski]

Not really, we've been living with $1 & $2 coins for years. We got rid of the 1c &2c coins 15-20 years ago (ish) and we just got rid of the 5c. How big are you imagining $1 and $2 coins to be? Sure, they get heavy if you have a lot of them, but you do end up spending them before your other notes.

Or you could always put any coins you get in a jar, then take them out at the end of the year and go get drunk. I get about $30 in a month and a half or so.


I've been there. It's not something I feel, but I remember seeing that about a decade ago as a reason against dollar coins. Dollars bills are better than coins, I think. Cheaper to make. I also know the US has half dollar bills... or did way back in the day. o_O

[drewhet]

then we have been cheated out of a half dollar for years, think about all that extra money corporations have made

[666Ozzfan]

What are US coins made of? Are they relatively heavier than coins from other places? NZ coins have a steel centre. Silver coins have a layer of nickel, then copper then nickel. The copper 10c coin has the steel centre, then nickel and then copper.

Our biggest silver coin is 24.75 mm in diameter and weighs 5.00 g (50c)
the biggest gold coin is 26.5 mm and 10 g

[DO126]

i think a penny is great....useless but great.....i belive that we should take away the penny but if we do....we should create another coin that honers Abe Lincoln.

[halfdeadhippo]

then we have been cheated out of a half dollar for years, think about all that extra money corporations have made
You can still make a half dollar by adding up smaller coins, but you can't make up a penny with larger ones. Unless I'm missing something here. :confused:

[Smokey D]

The only reason you should get rid of pennies is if they consume more economic activity than they generate. Because they're money, this isn't necessarily true if they cost more to produce than they're worth.

[Jharaski]

Wait a minute. I don't think anyone really pointed this out.

IF WE GET RID OF THE PENNY, WE STILL HAVE THE OLD ONES.

The penny will still be in use, but it just won't be made anymore. Surely, there are enough going around to keep using till inflation renders it COMPLETELY worthless.

[666Ozzfan]

Wait a minute. I don't think anyone really pointed this out.

IF WE GET RID OF THE PENNY, WE STILL HAVE THE OLD ONES.

The penny will still be in use, but it just won't be made anymore. Surely, there are enough going around to keep using till inflation renders it COMPLETELY worthless.

True, they could still be legal tender, and they could phase them out. With our removal of the 5c, they could still be used up until the beginning of last month, and then no more. After that, we could take them to the bank and get them exchanged, or deposit them

[Jharaski]

True, they could still be legal tender, and they could phase them out. With our removal of the 5c, they could still be used up until the beginning of last month, and then no more. After that, we could take them to the bank and get them exchanged, or deposit them

What to do with all the old ones? Melt em and make new coins?

[Sync0pation]

Put them all in a room.
And http://www.sputnikmusic.com/forums/showthread.php?t=490487

[666Ozzfan]

What to do with all the old ones? Melt em and make new coins?

Yeah, all our coins have steel centre with nickel and copper layers. Easy enough to separate, and can be used for new coins. Our new 10c coin is only slightly bigger than the old 5c, only copper. So we'd probably have extra nickel, unless they put a layer of nickel underneath with a copper layer on top.

[xMClevelandx]

Dude, you're going to have to pay for 100 $4.99 items (for example) to keep you dollar. So your going to end up paying $500 in total instead of $499. Or at worst, paying $500 instead of $498. (for a $4.98 price - $4.97 = paying $4.95). Not a really big deal. Seriously, what is one or two cents per purchase.

A question to those living in America. I was talking to someone from US not long ago, and she didn't know what an EFTPOS card was. Do you not have these?

Yeah, that is true. Maybe it isn't as a horrible loss as I thought it was going to be.

[even if they were canadian]

To be totally honest with you, I hated pennies until this week. We just got a bunch of rolls of new pennies at work, and they're incredibly shiny. They have quite a pleasing color too.

But other than that, I see no reason for them. Just round everything off to $0.05.

America has one dollar notes? What the hell, get with the times.

One dollar coins dn't get too heavy in your pockets because you either spend them, or get 5 and change it into a 5 dollar note.
Exactly. You cash them in for a five dollar note, because no one really likes change at all. This is why we have $1 bills, and not coins. Coins suck.

Although by this logic, we shouldn't have pennies either...

[Electric Riley]

Dude, you're going to have to pay for 100 $4.99 items (for example) to keep you dollar. So your going to end up paying $500 in total instead of $499. Or at worst, paying $500 instead of $498. (for a $4.98 price - $4.97 = paying $4.95). Not a really big deal. Seriously, what is one or two cents per purchase.
This is actually wrong. Each item is not rounded individually, rather the total is rounded. Therefore 3 of an object costing $0.99 will come to $2.97. That would then be rounded down to $2.95. So in actual fact you would save 2 cents.

[(*The Noonward Race*)]

it's a decision for the royal mint to makeno man, its actually the mx pnwi forum's decision.

[666Ozzfan]

This is actually wrong. Each item is not rounded individually, rather the total is rounded. Therefore 3 of an object costing $0.99 will come to $2.97. That would then be rounded down to $2.95. So in actual fact you would save 2 cents.

Yeah, I know, but I meant if you bought that at separate times e.g. if you bought lunch 100 times on different days

[even if they were canadian]

This is actually wrong. Each item is not rounded individually, rather the total is rounded. Therefore 3 of an object costing $0.99 will come to $2.97. That would then be rounded down to $2.95. So in actual fact you would save 2 cents.
But wouldn't it make more sense to discard the whole concept of prices that don't fall evenly onto five cent marks? So there would never be a $0.99 item, only a $1.00 item. We don't measure anything in half cents because it's not a denomination used anymore, so why would we use anything less than 5 cents in a price?

[eseer erre]

But wouldn't it make more sense to discard the whole concept of prices that don't fall evenly onto five cent marks? So there would never be a $0.99 item, only a $1.00 item. We don't measure anything in half cents because it's not a denomination used anymore, so why would we use anything less than 5 cents in a price?
Well, gas prices go in tenths. If we kept the prices but ditched the penny, everything would be x.x9$. 1.29, 1.69, 2365.89, etc...
Kind of like it almost already is, I suppose...
But still, I suppose the penny makes tax easier to do.

[LittlePound]

i conclude, that they dont' get rid of the penny. They should change the value of it to Two cents, and cut the amount in circulation by half.
Then, instead of rounding to the nearest fifth cent, they could round to the any "even" cent.

[Give me Beer]

You can still make a half dollar by adding up smaller coins, but you can't make up a penny with larger ones. Unless I'm missing something here. :confused:

In Panama they still use half-dollar coins :D.

[John Paul Harrison]

I was under the impression that the penny was still relevant to the economy- and as such, not be tampered with?

[rdavidson510]

America has already tried to create a dollar coin, twice. We used to have the "silver dollar" which was a very large coin. People preferred having the $1 note instead of the coin, because frankly, no one likes carrying around coins.

Then in 2000, they created the dollar coin, which was a shade of gold. They were popular for maybe a few months, if that. I haven't even seen one of those coins since 2000. I kinda liked them, but of course, I'd prefer to carry a note around in my wallet then 4 of these big coins (because if I had 5, I would just trade in for a $5 bill).

[HaVIC5]

America has already tried to create a dollar coin, twice. We used to have the "silver dollar" which was a very large coin. People preferred having the $1 note instead of the coin, because frankly, no one likes carrying around coins.

Then in 2000, they created the dollar coin, which was a shade of gold. They were popular for maybe a few months, if that. I haven't even seen one of those coins since 2000. I kinda liked them, but of course, I'd prefer to carry a note around in my wallet then 4 of these big coins (because if I had 5, I would just trade in for a $5 bill).
We've actually had three different dollar coins in recent memory - the Einsenhower, the Susan B. Anthony and the Sacagawea. The einsenhower, the classic "silver dollar", generally didn't become popular because of its size, as you said. The Susan B. Anthony dollar didn't become popular since it was nearly identical in shape and size to the quarter, and many mishaps at vending machines, etc, occured. The Sacagawea golden dollar was briefly popular in 2000, but it was only minted one year for whatever reason, and since then the number in circulation has declined.

Theoretically, a dollar coin for US use is still possible. The golden dollar was popular, but since it was only printed one year, it didn't garner enough support and fell back into obscurity.

[form]

you might get a nice $20 (but that's still 20,000 pennys).

lol

[666Ozzfan]

America has already tried to create a dollar coin, twice. We used to have the "silver dollar" which was a very large coin. People preferred having the $1 note instead of the coin, because frankly, no one likes carrying around coins.

Then in 2000, they created the dollar coin, which was a shade of gold. They were popular for maybe a few months, if that. I haven't even seen one of those coins since 2000. I kinda liked them, but of course, I'd prefer to carry a note around in my wallet then 4 of these big coins (because if I had 5, I would just trade in for a $5 bill).

I prefer coins. If I have coins in my pocket, I know how rich I am by how heavy my pants are. I know I should change my coins when my pants try to fall down.

[Volumnius Flush]

Stop making pennies, but allow the ones already in circulation to still be used as tender. If pennies are that big nuisances, contact me and mail me your pennies. I'll take them off your hands.

[HaVIC5]

^

Exactly. The two dollar bill hasn't been made for decades, but its still legal tender. Stopping the production of pennies really won't have that much of an impact.

[even if they were canadian]

^

Exactly. The two dollar bill hasn't been made for decades, but its still legal tender. Stopping the production of pennies really won't have that much of an impact.
Actually, the two dollar bill never went out of production. I have a few bills from 2003.

I agree with your point though.

[Chrizzle fo' Shizzle]

Somebody explain to me why it's so infeasible to simply make pennies out of a cheaper material, like how the Japanese make the one yen coin out of aluminum

[LittlePound]

why is it infeasable to change the value of hte penny to two cents, and drop the number in circulation by half?

[Chrizzle fo' Shizzle]

Because then you're still going to have to round to the nearest even cent. It makes more sense to just make it out of a cheaper material

Hell, it we could save even more money and use recycled aluminum

[LittlePound]

Because then you're still going to have to round to the nearest even cent. It makes more sense to just make it out of a cheaper material

Hell, it we could save even more money and use recycled aluminum
i'd rather round to the nearest cent then round to the nearest nickel like was mentioned earlier in this thread. And it wouldn't bother me to round to the nearest cent. Something i'd pay a penny more for, some things i'd pay a penny less for, it'd even out to be about what we're paying now.

[MrSigma]

the penny is 1 cent

[Dinosawesome]

Whenever I'm in the states I can't stand them. Australian currency > US currency, do you realise how annoying it is having to put 6 quarters in a vending machine for a drink when you have grown up with $1 and $2 coins?