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 Replies: 22 / Views: 834 |
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Bedrock of the Community
 United States
19964 Posts |
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All depends on your meaning of "quicker" - quicker than what? Quicker than when the mint was spitting out billions. Now that pennies are no longer being minted the current fixed supply will exhibit accelerated attrition due to more use. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4870 Posts |
Discontinuation of the cent was long overdue. It should have ended a decade ago at the very least. Other major countries have done so and well they're still on the map. Although the cents were used to facilitate correct change, most people just toss the cents into the take a penny tray and or don't even bother to pick them off the ground.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
19964 Posts |
Add the nickel and the dime to that list. Inflation has wiped out their usefulness except to collectors. The quarter and the $1 note should also just go (replaced with $1 coins). Round all cash transactions to the nearest dollar and we're good for at least 25 years. At that point folks probably won't even bend over to pick-up a golden dollar from the ground.  |
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Moderator
 United States
189297 Posts |
Quote:At that point folks probably won't even bend over to pick-up a golden dollar from the ground. Do they even do that now? Some of them get kinda gross.   |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
19964 Posts |
Quote:
Some of them get kinda gross. Like one on the floor of a portolet at the country fair? |
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New Member
United States
21 Posts |
Even if the current situation holds for a while, there's no guarantee that the government won't be more coordinated in the future. Circulation might stop quite suddenly if that happens. Canada, as far as I know, didn't ever have this gradual transition where they slowly faded from circulation after production ended. There was a particular date chosen where the banks agreed to stop giving them out, retailers were given firm guidance that rounding was permitted, and from that day on, it was a one-way trip to coin heaven for any that were spent. There's no reason that couldn't happen here if one hand ever found out what the other was doing.
Edited by ibagli
06/20/2026 1:50 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4870 Posts |
I wonder if the US Mint would ever create an alloy recovery program like Canada did.
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Moderator
United States
97163 Posts |
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society will eventually move on from all coins and there will still be cents available when that happens. I have to agree with Nickelseaker on this. |
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Moderator
United States
189297 Posts |
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Moderator
United States
189297 Posts |
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I wonder if the US Mint would ever create an alloy recovery program like Canada did. For Cents, they have to sort out the bronze from the Zincolns. They also have to decide what they are going to with all that the zinc—I cannot imagine there is a healthy market for it, given that the only reason why we have been minting billions them was to placate the Zinc lobby. I do not believe the value of recovered copper—which is more difficult to refine from bronze—could cover the costs necessary to do all that work.  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2272 Posts |
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For Cents, they have to sort out the bronze from the Zincolns. They also have to decide what they are going to with all that the zinc—I cannot imagine there is a healthy market for it, given that the only reason why we have been minting billions them was to placate the Zinc lobby. I do not believe the value of recovered copper—which is more difficult to refine from bronze—could cover the costs necessary to do all that work. The easiest and best solution is for the government to do what's right and just melt all the pennies (zinc can just be poured off the top). This would prevent the continuing waste of copper pennies going into landfill and dispose of the toxic zinc pennies safely. It's unlikely they could recover much metal because it's not worth the effort for most people to even take a gallon jug to the bank. An announcement of their intention to stop accepting pennies would still get a lot to come in. It appears they intend to just let them go away on their own. More and more venues will stop using pennies. It will be interesting to watch what happens to the 150 billion pennies in "circulation", but one thing sure, current attrition rate of nearly 5% would triple. Time don't fly, it bounds and leaps.
Edited by cladking
06/22/2026 11:48 am
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Moderator
United States
189297 Posts |
Time will tell.  |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
19964 Posts |
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current attrition rate of nearly 5% would triple.  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
638 Posts |
most of the local businesses in our small town, pop. 700, are already rounding, no pennies in change.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
19201 Posts |
Was at a bank branch doing bank stuff today, observed three teller trays on counter tops--decked out with quarters, dimes, nickels.....and nearly full runs of cents. Fun.
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Replies: 22 / Views: 834 |
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Posted 06/18/2026 8:29 pm
