How Would You Feel About The Cent Disappearing?

quote:

---

I agree 100%! I, for one, am sick and tired of getting hosed every time I pull up to the gas pump! Gas is $3.099. Well who on earth has nine-tenths of a cent?!? So what do they do? They round it UP to the next penny! So instead of me paying $3.099 per gallon, now I have to pay $3.100 per gallon!

---

Rounding is only done on the final amount when you fill up, not each gallon. Ten gallons at $2.999 a gallon would cost $29.99, not $30.00.

Consequently, if the cent were eliminated, only the final total of your bill (shopping, dining, etc.) would be rounded to the nearest $.05, not each and every item. Every "plan" I have read still bills to the exact "$.01" for electronic (credit/debit) transactions; that is, no rounding would occur.

I dont believe our economy, sales and purchase constructs, and consumer mindset and ability to pay will see the disappearance of the cent anytime soon.

Does anyone believe, for a second, that eliminating the cent would do anything but drive up the costs of goods? Or do you believe that 1.99 product will be reduced to 1.95 or that pricing and sales tax calculations will be lowered to accommodate that change? I dont.

I'm not expert enough to know or have an expansive perspective of the overall collateral impact eliminating the cent would have.

For numismatists, eliminating the cent would make Lincolns more valuable...so will changing the design.

I say keep the cent and go back to the Indian Head cent design, that would be cool to find full struck Indian Head cents in your pocket change everyday! Sorry but I just love the design, but it won't happen, lol!

Rounding is only done on the final amount when you fill up, not each gallon. Ten gallons at $2.999 a gallon would cost $29.99, not $30.00.
Consequently, if the cent were eliminated, only the final total of your bill (shopping, dining, etc.) would be rounded to the nearest $.05, not each and every item. Every "plan" I have read still bills to the exact "$.01" for electronic (credit/debit) transactions; that is, no rounding would occur.

This is the way things SHOULD work, but doesn't. In fact the next time you go to a store and buy numerous items for say 2 for $0.99 you may be shocked that their scanning machines are set to charge you $0.50 each. This is because their machines do not know how many you are buying and they must scan each one separately. I've complained about this at stores many times but usually only get a "we will look into that sir" or "sorry sir but that is the way the computers work".
And as for gas pumps. This is why there is now a government agency that answers all such complaints since the greatest amount of pumps are set to do exactly what was said previously. The stated price may be $2.987 or something like that but if you watch the pump it will click off $2.99 and they will tell you the computer can not be set to work in the third digit. Then you must complain to this agency of people, whoever they are, they will investigate and if you were actually cheated, you will have the excessive amount returned. However, you must go there to that station for the returned amount. This is what is done in my state but may not be happening every where.
AHHH bring back the mill.

I really wouldnt mind seeing the penny disappear, but later in the future they wouldnt be worth anything, speculation of future worth would lead the public to massive hoarding, which would lead to millions if not billions of hoarded pennies!

How about keep the penny, but make low numbers only for collectors? But remove the penny from circulation and go to rounding to the nearest nickel for cash transactions. Continue to have electyronic transactions go to the cent, rather than nickel. This way, folks that don't want things rounded up can use electronic payment if they desire.

"I really wouldn't mind seeing the penny disappear, but later in the future they wouldnt be worth anything, speculation of future worth would lead the public to massive hoarding, which would lead to millions if not billions of hoarded pennies!"




You're right, of course, that billions would be hoarded or saved from destruction. The penny has so little value that billions more would be retained by those who just didn't care enough to redeem them.

There's no chance any of the currently circulating cents would become scarce in the foreseeable future.

However, that's only a small part of the story. Collectors have never sought the mundane and commonplace. Many cents are not really in circulation and there are numerous rarities which would be destroyed in very large percentages if the ciirculating coins were withdrawn.

First consider that there are no BU 1985 cents in circulation. Such coins weren't saved very widely and melting won't have much impact on the number available. Things like '14-D cents aren't in circulation either but consider the number of 1983 copper cents around. There are just a few known and probably dozens in circulation. If these are melted then we'd have just the few left. The same thing applies to many of the varieties. Some of these were missed in unc and are now just waiting in sock drawers and change jars for the day they'll be destroyed like any common cent.

The elimination of these coins will also have a strong psychological effect on people. Now everyone seems to think they have forever to assemble memorial sets but once the coins are gone people will not only grow nostalgic but they'll have a sense of urgency to put together a set. Many of these are much scarcer than the wheaties in nice condition but they sell for nothing now because there is no demand.

I can't recall the last time I used a penny in a transaction. They're useless. Get rid of them ASAP! If they do, they can even round UP all my transactions to the nearest nickel. I figure for the 100 or so transactions that I make every month it will cost me a maximum of $4.00.