Get rid of the penny?

[y_p_w]

Get rid of them.

Maybe merchants will now drop the silly $XX.X9 type of pricing.

Metal composition of coins:

https://www.usmint.gov/learn/coins-and-medals/circulating-coins/coin-specifications

That hasn't stopped the use of such pricing in other countries. I think most tranactions are now in credit/debit where it doesn't really matter. And there are still some places that have 0.9 cent pricing like fuel. There was a defunct dollar style store (99 Cents Only) that had a base 99.99 cents pricing.

 

[spasm3]

Do we need to stamp 50 some different quarters, one for each state? Is the cost of have a stamping/pressing setup for 50 designs necessary?

A lot of extra expense for a coin that is 25 cents, no matter how you stamp it. Just one design please. Now if you want to produce one for collectors, and its self funding, meaning you charge more than the face value, i don't mind.

 

[AutoMechanic]

I’m not a fan of getting rid of the penny. But it looks like it’s going to happen probably. If it does I have a ton of pennies laying around that I’ll save for collectors lol.

 

[Kira]

^Don't bother, pal. So many millions of US cents were produced, they'll never be worth anything.
There's a website which offers to buy obsolete coins. Many of the prices are listed as ZERO.

Just a "throw in" to the mix or real considerations and simple anecdotes:
There's a liquor store near me which uses the cent column as a pricing label.
If the cents # is a 7, the item is not eligible for any discount or combination toward any premium or reward.

Also, anybody remember the old TV show, maybe a Lassie episode, where the father used a penny in a fuse box because the fuse had blown?
The son referred to a fire safety lesson he learned in school but the well-intended father didn't listen.
Of course a wire-overload fire ensure and Lassie saved the day.

Maybe someone should test the current carrying capacity of a zinc/copper cent to a real one ? Ha-ha

 

[BaronHK]

It's actually $5, kinda sorta. And they're combined. As far as I can tell, it would be legal for a coin dealer to do so (up to $25) if the purpose if for legitimate sale to collectors outside the United States.

https://www.federalregister.gov/doc...ing-or-treatment-of-5-cent-and-one-cent-coins​

(2) The exportation of 5-cent coins and one-cent coins carried on an individual, or in the personal effects of an individual, departing from a place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, when the aggregate face value is not more than $5, or when the aggregate face value is not more than $25 and it is clear that the purpose for exporting such coins is for legitimate personal numismatic, amusement, or recreational use.​

I do remember years ago when my high school chemistry teacher demonstrated the metal content of (then) new pennies with a copper cladding over zinc. He scratched the copper until zinc was visible, and dropped it in hydrochloric acid. It started bubbling and after a long enough time he fished it out and showed that it was basically a shell of copper. I've also used squished penny machines. These are legal up to a point.

I requested the book from the library. I think it was called how to become a federal criminal or something.

Written by a lawyer. Raised eyebrows.

 

[y_p_w]

Also, anybody remember the old TV show, maybe a Lassie episode, where the father used a penny in a fuse box because the fuse had blown?
The son referred to a fire safety lesson he learned in school but the well-intended father didn't listen.
Of course a wire-overload fire ensure and Lassie saved the day.

That was a plot point for an episode of All in the Family, where Archie Bunker jams a penny in the fuse box after a fuse blows, and he ends up with a fire in the bathroom.

 

[Kira]

^Thanks, but the one I recall predated that AitF episode.

 

[BaronHK]

^Don't bother, pal. So many millions of US cents were produced, they'll never be worth anything.
There's a website which offers to buy obsolete coins. Many of the prices are listed as ZERO.

Just a "throw in" to the mix or real considerations and simple anecdotes:
There's a liquor store near me which uses the cent column as a pricing label.
If the cents # is a 7, the item is not eligible for any discount or combination toward any premium or reward.

Also, anybody remember the old TV show, maybe a Lassie episode, where the father used a penny in a fuse box because the fuse had blown?
The son referred to a fire safety lesson he learned in school but the well-intended father didn't listen.
Of course a wire-overload fire ensure and Lassie saved the day.

Maybe someone should test the current carrying capacity of a zinc/copper cent to a real one ? Ha-ha

I sold some half-pennies a while back. Those got me more than I thought they would. Found them in loose change when I was a child.

 

[Lubener]

^Don't bother, pal. So many millions of US cents were produced, they'll never be worth anything.
There's a website which offers to buy obsolete coins. Many of the prices are listed as ZERO.

Just a "throw in" to the mix or real considerations and simple anecdotes:
There's a liquor store near me which uses the cent column as a pricing label.
If the cents # is a 7, the item is not eligible for any discount or combination toward any premium or reward.

Also, anybody remember the old TV show, maybe a Lassie episode, where the father used a penny in a fuse box because the fuse had blown?
The son referred to a fire safety lesson he learned in school but the well-intended father didn't listen.
Of course a wire-overload fire ensure and Lassie saved the day.

Maybe someone should test the current carrying capacity of a zinc/copper cent to a real one ? Ha-ha

I’m not a fan of getting rid of the penny. But it looks like it’s going to happen probably. If it does I have a ton of pennies laying around that I’ll save for collectors lol.

Save the 1982 and earlier ones. They are the copper ones and atleast have some small value to them. Don't expect them to improve your lifestyle however. Take the newer ones to a coinstar machine somewhere.

 

[javacontour]

^^I've felt this way (post #10) for years. You can't "grease the wheels" with electrons.
This goes for the new cash discounts too (post #12).
OMG...a 'thrapence' or a 'tricent' (post #14).

Give a close look to, say, Scandinavian countries which got rid of the Ore (teeny-weeny coins) and see what you can learn.
Old timers told me they call the ores (pronounced oh-rah) "tax coins".

Also, I just thought of this,: How did Italian coinage go? When I was a kid, their coins were aluminum.
They must've had an array of 'real coins' in earlier times. How'd it go there?

edit: Didn't Germany get rid of the single pfennig coin (before the conversion to Euros, obviously).

How many wheels are we greasing with pennies?

When I was stationed in Germany with the US Army, we didn't have pennies in the PX. They rounded up or down. The system didn't collapse.

 

[javacontour]

In the 1980’s Army in Germany PX’s did not use Pennies. If the transaction ended in 1,2 they rounded down, 3,4 they rounded up.

No one missed them.

Yep, I said the same in a comment above.

One can advocate for eliminating the penny and still keep cash around.

 

[Kira]

How many wheels are we greasing with pennies?

Hmmm...what the English call,,,,copperslip! (ha-ha)

For the uninitiated, copperslip (or coppaslip?) is what some there call anti-seize.

 

[Kira]

Take the newer ones to a coinstar machine somewhere.

Yeah, if you want to lose an undisclosed percentage of your face value.

With all the talk of humble beginnings and flawless stoicism on this board, and life in general, I find it astounding that people won't roll their coins. How lazy can you be?

 

[Lubener]

Yeah, if you want to lose an undisclosed percentage of your face value.

With all the talk of humble beginnings and flawless stoicism on this board, and life in general, I find it astounding that people won't roll their coins. How lazy can you be?

If you have that much time on your hands, good for you. Myself, I value my time and do not have that extra time to roll them then drive to the bank, using gas to get there and cash them in. I use the coinstar at the supermarket where I shop anyway.

 

[SC Maintenance]

Does coinstar not do gift cards for no fee/ percentage anymore?

 

[ProbeGT]

Finally it will be legal to make cheap, rust-resistant washers out of them.

 

[Patman]

Save the 1982 and earlier ones. They are the copper ones and atleast have some small value to them. Don't expect them to improve your lifestyle however. Take the newer ones to a coinstar machine somewhere.

I’m so bummed out because I used to save coins my whole life and I had a lot of older pennies dating back to the very early 1900s. But when I moved I lost that huge jar of old coins! I even put it in my “important box” which was the one I took myself in my car so I don’t know how it went missing.

 

[doitmyself]

I have not read all 7 pages. What will happen regarding sales tax if the penny is abolished. I.E., Michigan sales tax is 6%. When I buy something for $3, it will ring up as $3.18 tax included.

How will this be handled with no pennies?

 

[Patman]

I have not read all 7 pages. What will happen regarding sales tax if the penny is abolished. I.E., Michigan sales tax is 6%. When I buy something for $3, it will ring up as $3.18 tax included.

How will this be handled with no pennies?

In Canada (which got rid of the penny a few years ago) the price would still be $3.18 if you are paying electronically and if paying cash they round it up or down to the nearest nickel (so here it would be $3.20, but if the final price was $3.17 it would be rounded down to $3.15)

 

[supton]

I have not read all 7 pages. What will happen regarding sales tax if the penny is abolished. I.E., Michigan sales tax is 6%. When I buy something for $3, it will ring up as $3.18 tax included.

How will this be handled with no pennies?

This would round to $3.20.