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 Replies: 11 / Views: 1,577 |
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Valued Member
United States
84 Posts |
So as I'm looking over recent dates and mintage numbers of some of the coins they're wanting to discontinue, i.e. penny and nickel, I'm wondering why they're minting so many. If the cost is upside down regarding face value and material value, then why do they feel they need to mint over 5 billion pennies a year, and over 2 billion nickels? Is there a shortage? They ought to lower their mintage numbers down to a 100,000,000 and save a billion dollars in material costs. Most major transactions are done by check or digital these days anyways, why mint so many coins. It's like they're trying to run it into the ground.
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Bedrock of the Community
13014 Posts |
They mint that many because thats what they need to replace, when the supply gets to a certain point they replace it and for pennies that means doing that a lot with how many sit in jars and fountains.
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Valued Member
United States
492 Posts |
They have to mint so many because of people like me and many others on this website. I have several ammo cans filled with copper cents. Why? Because I can.
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Valued Member
 United States
84 Posts |
Well, doing the math, I guess that if you add up all pennies minted from 2000 on it's somewhere in the ballpark of 80 billion. Divided by every man, woman, and child in America (last I heard, somewhere around 300 million) would gross 266.67 pennies per person. Guess it's not as far-fetched as it looks on paper. But seriously, how much would that machinery have to run to output 5 billion coins in a year. It blows my mind. Guess I need to go tour a mint sometime.
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Bedrock of the Community
 United States
12817 Posts |
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21786 Posts |
The reason why so many are minted has to do with State point of sale tax Laws, which vary from State to State. The sale price is indicated and State tax added, which brings the total sale price to an odd amount for a low value item.
The left over coins from the purchase of a low value item are an annoyance to me, so they do not get circulated, just hoarded, until I have enough to return to the bank, often to their annoyance. Not much profit in it for them for this service, which they are obligated to provide.
Wouldn't it be much better to mark the final sale price, with the state tax already included?
Surely, with the penny, it must cost more for the coin to be used in each transaction than it is worth.
TJB17: Use and old Coke can as money box. When the can is full, shoot it! The result should be spectacular!
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Valued Member
United States
492 Posts |
My wife would never let me do that. Here in NY coke cans are worth a nickel each!
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Bedrock of the Community
13014 Posts |
Quote:
Wouldn't it be much better to mark the final sale price, with the state tax already included? It has to do with psychology. Aside from seeing the lower price before tax seeing 39.99 as opposed to say 40.61 makes people feel theyre paying a lot less than they really are because of the 39 vs 40. Some people can see through that but it is effective on a lot of people. Its just like when stores run their prices way up and have a sale, the sale price is normal retail but they feel like theyre saving money because of whats marked off |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1796 Posts |
They mint to demand.
The problem with most of our coins nowadays (especially the lower denominations) is that they're spent only in one direction: Businesses give them out as change to customers. Customers hardly ever give them back. Businesses are then forced to make additional change orders from the bank and the cycle continues.
What we *really* should be doing is re-denominating our currency to make our coins *worth* something again. Get rid of the penny, nickel and quarter, keep the dime, resize the half dollar, get rid of all bills lower than $20 and replace them with coins. We'd see coins properly *circulate* again, would have to mint fewer of them, and save a lot of money in the process as coins last decades and are completely recyclable. (Bills are shredded and end up in landfills.)
Alas, I but dare to dream.
We'll most likely have to suffer kludged currency as the dollar continues to inflate. :-P
Edited by SteveCaruso
01/19/2013 9:54 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21786 Posts |
Steve: NOW yer talkin!
Why doesn't common sense reign? Perhaps common sense is just too uncommon.
Is there an official Treasury position on this issue?
Edited by sel_69l
01/19/2013 11:02 pm
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Valued Member
United States
84 Posts |
Ahh yes, the dreams of a coin collector. More realistically, I think they would rather do away with physical money altogether, and have a chip installed in your forehead which is linked to a bank account and all your personal info. Then it's all digital, and everything can be fully monitored.
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Valued Member
United States
84 Posts |
Thanks CelticKnot, I saw that thread earlier. Too bad about the San Francisco mint being closed to the public.
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Replies: 11 / Views: 1,577 |
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Posted 01/19/2013 8:06 pm
