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173 Comments
- tidu, on 10/12/2007, -6/+62I actually put a penny into the vending machine yesterday and it was spit back out.
It's okay, because pennies are really only good for throwing. - spamzor, on 10/12/2007, -3/+37australia has 5 cent coins and no penny, our system works great. ditch the penny and move into the 20th century already
- ZenMojo, on 10/12/2007, -12/+39I recently traded in my pennies to the bank after carrying them around for several months. I got 30 dollars.
Apparently pennies are worth at least 6 dollars a month. That's not counting the pennies I put in the vending machine at the post office.
That's right. The post office takes pennies but coke machines don't. Coke machines are dicks, the post office is not.
Imagine a world without pennies. That's a world with interest rounded up to the nearest nickel, calculations done one after another after another until you can't keep track of what money the bank is keeping from you after they whip up their calculations. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -4/+29As to the original question: YES!
- Rabbethan, on 10/12/2007, -2/+20You don't get 2 cents, only 5.
- Otto, on 10/12/2007, -0/+17That's pretty much what they did in Australia. If you pay with credit or check, then you pay the exact amount. If you pay with cash, they round to the nearest 5 cents, and the law says that they have to round both up and down (instead of always rounding up). It works out quite well.
- cameron074, on 10/12/2007, -2/+15they bounced pluto out of the planet debate, why not get rid of that stupid copper disc as well?
- csandb, on 10/12/2007, -1/+14Here is an article which examines some negative consequences of eliminating the penny.
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3620/is_200110/ai_n8997173 - blahblah, on 10/12/2007, -0/+11The idea that rounding up would "cost millions" and is "uneconomical" is complete *****.
Let's imagine that there is currently a half-penny coin. Now, let's say in this hypothetical world, the government moves to abandon the half-penny. Everyone complains that the extra half cent would add up over time (which it would) and cost US consumers millions (which it would). But we in fact don't have half-pennies, and US consumers seem to be doing fine.
Another way to look at it is people aren't spending between 0 and 4 cents extra on every item they purchase. They are spending this on every -purchase-. Let's say the cash purcases a person makes every day are newspaper, lunch, and after work shopping. The average extra it would cost a person is 2 cents on each purchase. So, 2 * 3 (times a day) * 30 = $1.80. $1.80 a month extra... which is half a cup of coffee at starbucks.
And this is assuming the rounding UP system is used. Sure, it will "cost millions" but that is because there are millions of Americans. It won't have some wierd effect on the economy. It won't starve welfare recipients. - csandb, on 10/12/2007, -4/+15I have put my pennies to good use by creating coin structures.
http://www.sandbergventures.com/blog/2006/12/02/coin-structures/ - chrono13, on 10/12/2007, -2/+13It costs 1.4 cents to make 1 penny.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cent_%28U.S._coin%29#Criticism_and_controversy
"With the costs of manufacturing and distribution, the net cost to produce one cent is about 1.4 cents, significantly higher than the face value of the coin."
That doesn't even count the cost of handling, counting, time (the cashier wasting time counting out pennies as change because every damn thing is rounded to a penny-producing price) and other costs that affect every single business that uses cash. - gdm9000, on 10/12/2007, -0/+11I was in a strip bar once, and had a stripper on stage hit me up for a tip. She asked me for a dollar, and I told her (truthfully) that I didn't have one, tho I did have four quarters. She told me to give them to her. I thought this very odd, 'cause they usually find this highly insulting, but I was eager to see what she had in mind. She took the four quarters and balanced two on each nipple, and strutted around on the stage like that, shaking her boobs and showing how she could keep balancing the quarters like that. That was a dollar well spent, I must say!
- cypher35, on 10/12/2007, -5/+15just sell everything in multiples of 5¢
- CrispyMo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10I don't like to keep my pennies, so I always just throw them on the ground so hopefully some kid can say "Look Mom! I found a lucky penny!!" I think that's the only reason to keep them
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8we already "round" to the penny. 5% tax on an item $1.50 is actually 7.5 cents but the state rounds to 8. were 1.49 which is 7.4 cents would be rounded down to 7 cents. I can not see it being different than the nickel and actually most prices would probably be lowered in our favor as business tend to like the .99's to fool us that something is cheaper.. so something only $9.99 will now be $9.95
- Yorn, on 10/12/2007, -11/+19Actually, that brings up a good point. Not only is the penny not worth keeping around, but we're so far behind I'd argue the nickel is worthless to keep as well. Not only that, but we should probably have paper currency start at the 5 and just use dollar coins.
Of course, this is coming from a guy that purposely litters pennies. Did you know that in about the time it takes a cashier to get you your change (~10 secs), she's already gotten paid as much as whatever amount of pennies she might have figured out?
Seriously, do the math: $30,000/year = $2500/month = $625/week = $125/day = $15.63/hour = $.26/minute = $.004/second
Just think of all the time accountants and bankers spend on pennies as well. It is simply ridiculous that we have such a monetary unit. There was a poll (maybe someone here can find it) that said something like 90% of the US population is in favor of getting rid of the penny. Why do we still have it? It's mostly zinc now and it's still costs more than a penny to produce! - csandb, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8All prices would be rounded to the nearest 5 cents. There would never be a situation where you would need a penny.
- jesselee54, on 10/12/2007, -7/+14I dislike pennies, too. But has anyone studied the effect that eliminating it would have on pricing and the economic effect on consumers? Wouldn't a gallon of gas that once sold for $2.21 now be priced at $2.25? I don't think any business is going to round down.
- aapala, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8I dont know if I'm for getting rid of the penny, but I would like to see more 1 dollar coins
- Recuso, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Actually it's only coated in copper. Modern pennies consist mostly of Zinc. [1982+ It's 97.5 Zinc 2.5% Copper]
- jsg7, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8Can't they just stop minting them?
There's no reason we can't keep pricing things by the penny, at least for now. There have to be enough pennies in circulation already for people when they pay cash and don't use check or credit/debit... - nonesupplied, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7Then we can stop referring to midgets as people?
- bobmagoo, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7my thinking is that we are headed towards a cashless economy where money is nothing more than numbers in a bank account that are withdrawn by credit cards(or some other futuristic device)
Everybody nowadays seems to be shifting towards accepting credit cards, checks are all but obsolete, and i think that as credit card machines become more popular cash will no longer be used. - gotamd, on 10/12/2007, -6/+12We should be focused on stopping inflation which is what has made pennies not worthwhile anymore. That's what's really costing us money. It's just a hidden tax that you don't see on your pay stubs.
- martalli, on 10/12/2007, -3/+9nickel for your thoughts?
- aegis9975, on 10/12/2007, -3/+8Japan still has the 1 yen coin, which is worth a little less then a penny (even though paper money starts at 1,000 yen/~$8).
However, the 1 yen coin is made out of 1g of dirt-cheap aluminum and is cheaper to make then the actual monetary value of the coin, which is the opposite of the penny which costs more to make.
Perhaps, if we insist on keeping the penny we should ditch the copper Lincoln and adopt a penny that is cheaper to make (and won't make your fingers smell of rust) - ryanknapper, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6A penny costs more than one penny to create, but it isn't used once. Over the lifetime of that penny, how many transactions does it take part in? No one (sane) would pay US$10,000 for a car they used only once. An object's value is measured over its lifetime.
- gdm9000, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Here's a thought experiment: when you see a penny on the ground, do you pick it up? If you say no, then a penny is not even worth your effort to stop walking and bending down to pick it up, and the weight of carrying it around. What denomination would be worth your effort to pick up? This is the lowest denomination we should have. I personally pick up dimes, and sometimes nickels, and when I get pennies back in change, I throw them away.
Stores should price items to the cent, and round your transaction to the nickel at the register. So, if you bought 3 $.99 items with no tax, instead of $2.97 you'd be charged $3.00. Gas stations already do this. They price gas like $2.459, and if you buy three gallons, it comes to $7.377, but they charge you $7.38. The most you'd lose would be $.04 per transaction, and honestly, how many transactions do you make in a week? You wouldn't lose much... - Spikito, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5When i went to australia, they dont have pennies, whatever your total comes out to, gets rounded up to the next 5 cent mark, thats a max mark up of 4 cents, not gonna kill anyone. anyway, ol' abes got the $5 bill, he doesnt need the penny
- elroy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5@bryxal:
Actually, the US has used copper-coated zinc pennies since 1970 or so. Take a new penny outside and scrape it's edge on the concrete. You'll see zinc below the scrape... - aahpandasrun, on 10/12/2007, -4/+9Pennies are just worthless. The least expensive thing in a typical store would cost at least 30 pennies. You can't even use them in vending machines. Besides keeping them in my coin jar to dispose of at the bank for real money and for throwing at people, there aren't any uses of them.
- cdromincluded, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Leave the penny, get rid of FIAT currency, fractional reserve banking, and inflation. Never foget that GOLD is the only real money.
- gharding, on 10/12/2007, -3/+7I've found a lot of stores have pretty much eliminated the penny themselves. High traffic restaurants and delis just round off. Same with some corner stores. This is Manhattan.. if Cafe Water shorts me $0.03, I'm not gonna go cry.
- dicerandom, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6I personally don't keep anything under a nickel. One of my friends doesn't keep anything under a quarter, but he has more money than I do ;)
I figure the entertainment I get from seeing how I can bounce/roll/whatever a penny down the street or sidewalk as I walk out of a store is worth far more than $0.01. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3susan b anthony coins rock!! they last a lot longer than bills to, therefore keeping down costs and inflation
- wandog, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Yeah and then you'd have to deal with those damn bill scanners on soda machines EVERY time...forget that!
- canti32, on 10/12/2007, -7/+10I'm conflicted on this one. Personally I believe that taking away the penny is stupid, simply because I'm just so accustomed to them being around, plus it makes it easier to accurately price services and goods. However, doesn't it cost more than 1 cent to make a penny now? It's stupid to lose money trying to create money. And who cares if it sits at the bottom of your pocket. Personally I prefer having some change in my pocket, even if it is just pennies.
/Besides what would the old ladies pay with? - martalli, on 10/12/2007, -3/+6Get rid of the penny, put Lincoln on the $5 coin.
- bakatrinh, on 10/12/2007, -6/+9I heard it cost more than a penny for the government to make each pennies.
- bocaJWho, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3@bryxal:
You're first point (that US pennies are expensive because they are still copper through and through) is just wrong.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Cent_%28United_States_coin%29
"Composition: Copper-plated Zinc
97.5% Zn, 2.5% Cu" - Qenton, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I say we fund a billion dollar study to determine the best course of action for this. I'm sure if we do this we can have a 1/10th cent piece so that we can pay the exact amount at the gas pump.
- GeneralChang, on 10/12/2007, -3/+6do strippers take dollar coins?
- dwemer, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4The US should get rid of the 1 and 2 dollar bills. The idea is working perfectly here in Canada.
- zeblith, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Um, there's that nine-tenths of a cent at the end, they don't round THAT up until the end, I think a $2.21 gallon of gas wouldn't get rounded up either until you've gotten all the gas you're going to get.
- V1be, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2006/06/penny-anti.html
Article appears to have been plagiarized in part from an economics professor at Harvard ^^. - azimir, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2You will be next year!
They're rolling out a Presidential Dollar Series, much like the state quarters. Expect much merchandising!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidential_$1_Coin_Act_of_2005
For those in know, you can also get the first ladies in bronze or gold. Sadly, I will not be able to afford the gold ones, as they're a 1/2 oz each. - WaterDragon, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3"i usually end up with $10+ in change in my ***** pocket, and it is like walking around with leg weights on"
This was done deliberately by the Canadian government, so that people would have a bit more traction when walking on black ice.
In the US, it 's not necessary because everyone is already too heavy.
I, for one, love those $2 coins. Such power, concentrated in one small token. - johnnybluejeans, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I've always thought that the penny should be replaced by a 2 cent piece. For starters, the US wouldn't lose money minting the 2 cent piece like it does the penny. Secondly, the only values that couldn't be created with a change to 2 cent piece would be 1 cent and 3 cents. Every other amount could made using a combination of 2 cent pieces and nickles.
- Dawnspire, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3It would be more like, gas is 2.23 a gallon to say..
You get 9 gallons...total of 20.07, THEN it would round to 20.10. You dont get a charge on your card, or pay each gallon individually normally do ya? - vdog, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2As some people have mentioned, here in New Zealand we have nothing smaller than a 10c piece. I work retail, and it's a blessing as it's one less fiddly thing to count at the end of the day.
As for rounding, that only happens on the total value of the purchase. So if you bought items costing 28c, $1.97, $2.24, & 76c, you'd pay $5.20. Because we round down on 5c, we actually make less money, not more (not to mention the fact that items under $10 used to be $9.95 are now typically $9.90, loosing us even more).
It's not a big issue though, as cash sales make for less than 20% of our take for any given day.
Do you know what hit us the hardest? Stamps. Posting a letter used to cost 45c. now it's 50c. Given that most of us correspond via e-mail, even that is not a big thing. -
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