Demonetisation Of The Penny?

Do you mean that if the cent was eliminated for production, what denomination would you collect next?

I don't see why not still collect the cent, since there were billions minted for over 100 years.

And why do so many people think that if they stop minting the cent (penny), that it would be removed from circulation the next day?

There are so many billions of cents out there, that can be used, it would take many years for them to stop circulating, if people would use them.

Now if people hoard them, thinking they'll be worth a lot of money some day, with all of those billions out there, they will never be worth much over face, but just as bullion, if they could be melted. And I'm talking about the circulated ones. Not the BU, proof, or high grade ones.

I don't think they will disappear the same day but I agree with jbuck that it would only be a matter of months. I base that opinion on the fact that some businesses have already stopped using the penny.

That is true, some banks will special order half dollars. However, half dollars don't circulate in normal business anymore. I see the same thing happening with the penny. However, if the feds allow pennies to be melted for scrap, a lot of them will disappear into the melting pots.

I dunno, put it on the $5 William?

I don't think you can buy anything with a dime anymore?

I have seen cash registers that will distribute the exact amount of change, so only the cashier has to count out the bills to hand to the customer. That would save time, but I bet the registers cost a lot to have that feature. Hence why we barely see them.

When I was a kid, there were still some gumball machines that took pennies, though even the small-size gumball machines were switching over to dimes - the funny kind with the horizontal lever - there were a lot of March-of-Dimes machines like this. There were a few party stores that had "penny candy" sections, where you could buy ONE little tootsie roll or ONE gum cigarette for a penny, but most of the items (e.g. Dum-Dums) were a nickel or a dime. And this was like 25 years ago. Regular size candy bars were 40 cents at the time.

You can still get horsey rides at Meijer with a penny, but that's a store-specific gimmick; surely the maintenance and electricity to run it are much more than 1 cent per ride. That's literally the only thing I can think of that can be purchased for a cent, and the only machine I know of (other than coinstars or bank coin counters) that even accepts cents. There are precious few things that cost less than 25 cents. Probably there are bits of hardware and screws and things you can get at the hardware store that are a dime or so apiece.

(The Meijer horsey reminds me of my first real "parenting" moment. I don't have kids, but I was entertaining my three-year-old niece at Meijer while her parents were checking out. She was getting on the horse and needed both hands, so she handed me the core of an apple that she'd been chewing on. My hands were full, and I needed to free one up, and there were no trash bins within sight. I took a deep breath, stiffened my lip, and stuck the sticky, slobbery thing in my pants pocket.)

Or round down, as most places around me already do.



People already have.

I get rid of a few Zincolns that way.




We bought a 1¢ Gumball Machine, and asked up at Atlas Master Vend how you could make any money paying $7+ for 500 gumballs. The man came back with a box of 5800 gumballs. $19.