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 Replies: 73 / Views: 4,142 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1415 Posts |
Random thoughts from a random mine. I saw an article about the US 1 cent costing 1.7 cents to manufacture. And the government was thinking (I know oximoron [ government and thinking] about eliminating the 1 cent. I guess this question would apply to any coinage. What would be the impact of such an event. Sales taxes comes directly to my mind - computers that evaluate such would all have to change. Would they create a new coin - the 2.5 cent? Any thoughts  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1429 Posts |
Also sits well with the Lincoln Cent being 100 years old next year.... maybe we will go back to the 3 cent coinage :) |
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Pillar of the Community
Poland
3201 Posts |
Make a clad half-quarter, and a copper coin with a 6.25 face value. I think Haiti had one of these  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
632 Posts |
This has been discussed a thousand times on this forum so I'm pretty sure everything said here will have been said a thousand times before by enthusiats on both sides of the cent issue.
But the elimination of the cent isn't anything new the issue has been around for decades.
And starting 2009 cents are going to be made out of steel and thus reducing the production costs. It should no longer cost more than a cent to make a cent.
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Moderator
 United States
16677 Posts |
I believe as long as we have folks using cash and not solely credit cards or ATM cards for purchases and as long as there is no rounding up in purchases; ie. from $26.27 to $26.30, I think there will always be a need for the Cent. With no "pay as you go" spending in our government, I don't think they care about spending 1.7 cents to make the 1 Cent coin.
swcoin.ecrater.com
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Rest in Peace
United States
9104 Posts |
Quote:
And starting 2009 cents are going to be made out of steel and thus reducing the production costs. It should no longer cost more than a cent to make a cent. Yeah, instead it will just cost billions to unjam all the vending machines. Cents are pocket lint, and should have a big anniversary bash, then be eliminated. It's not just just the 1.7¢ manufacturing cost, but the shipping and .2¢ it costs every time they're counted. When the Half Cent was eliminated, it was worth 11¢ in today's money. If we were as smart as we were in 1857, we'd eliminate both cents and nickels (which cost 7¢ to make) and round to the nearest dime except for CC and check transactions. |
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Rest in Peace
United States
9104 Posts |
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I think there will always be a need for the Cent. That's what Got a penny? Leave a penny. Need a penny? Get a job! trays are for. |
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Moderator
United States
187634 Posts |
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Sales taxes comes directly to my mind - computers that evaluate such would all have to change. Sales tax is already rounded to the nearest cent (up or down). No reason why it cannot be rounded to the nearest five cents, if necessary. Debit/Credit transactions would still be to the cent. Cash would have to be rounded, but I could see a lot of places opting to round down, even it if means losing four cents, just to keep cash customers happy. It is not really a stretch now, just think of the number of cash customers that toss their cents in the "need a penny, take a penny; have a penny, leave a penny" trays. That said, even if they quit making cents tomorrow, I feel there are enough just laying around to keep the cash users happy for a few years! I honestly think that less than a year after it is gone, no one would miss the cent. Did the nation collapse into a quantum singularity when the half-cent disappeared? |
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Moderator
United States
16677 Posts |
Quote: That's what
Got a penny?
Leave a penny.
Need a penny?
Get a job!
trays are for. 
swcoin.ecrater.com
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Moderator
United States
187634 Posts |
Quote:
Got a penny?
Leave a penny.
Need a penny?
Get a job! |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
Quote:
This has been discussed a thousand times on this forum so I'm pretty sure everything said here will have been said a thousand times before by enthusiats on both sides of the cent issue.
But the elimination of the cent isn't anything new the issue has been around for decades.
So true, so true. Could it really be thousands? Probably more if you consider all the answers. Every time I see this subject I always simply reply with "Since when does our government care about 1.7 cents spent on anything?" Unless you don't watch TV did you notice the many all night parties the Republicans are having? Millions and maybe Billions spent on that convention and people are starving, homeless and Huricane sufferers are still without homes. And someone thinks the government cares about how much it cost to make a penny? |
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Valued Member
United States
135 Posts |
Although I'm a Lincoln Cent collector (1909 to date) I am OK with the cent being discontinued. It has outlived its usefulness. |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
965 Posts |
Rounding occurs in so many other countries, and has been for many years, and their economies didn't suffer, and the working class didn't suddenly get poorer. Americans can't seem to wrap their head around the concept. I know, because I was one of them until I saw how well it worked firsthand. Then you'll wonder why we didn't get rid of it a long time ago.
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
1682 Posts |
A friend of mine ran a photoshop did rounding all of the time. He rarely used pennies or nickels.
I been to Namibia a few times and their lowest coin is a 5 cent. Everyone there seems to function fine.
What is also weird is that the South African rand is legal tender in Namibia but you can't use Namibian money in South Africa.
FYI - the oldest Namibian coins are from 1993.
UK is joy since they have 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, and 50 pence coins and 1 and 2 pound coins. Lowest notes are £5
You can quickly end up with a heavy pocket of change. I would not miss the 1p or 2p coins in the UK.
I wonder if people would complain if Lincoln was not on a coin.
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Moderator
United States
187634 Posts |
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Rounding occurs in so many other countries, and has been for many years, and their economies didn't suffer, and the working class didn't suddenly get poorer. Americans can't seem to wrap their head around the concept. I know, because I was one of them until I saw how well it worked firsthand. Then you'll wonder why we didn't get rid of it a long time ago. Well said!  Quote:
I wonder if people would complain if Lincoln was not on a coin. I would be surprised if the complaints lasted more than a few months; I would not be surprised if the complaints ended after one news cycle. It would be nice if the Mint would just stop making them for circulation. Is there legislation that sets quotas for the cent? If not, then enough cents could be minted so that collector mint/proof sets could go out as normal, satisfying the legislated requirement to mint the cent (again, assuming there is no quota). The Kennedy half dollar is already NIFC since the Fed quit ordering them. Was this legislated or an action of the mint? Regardless of how it happens, with no new cents entering circulation, the banks would get the leftovers from the Fed until it runs dry; then they would probably stop complaining when people try to return them. People will start emptying their change jars more often when they realize they can cash-in with less hassle. Given the billions of cents that are just laying around, I feel it would take years before we ever ran out. By the time we did, people will have adapted. Just my theory. I could be wrong! Edited by jbuck
09/04/2008 2:34 pm
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Valued Member
Finland
294 Posts |
Some way I think it's quite sad if coin has no purchasing power and it just lay around in jars etc.  |
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Replies: 73 / Views: 4,142 |
Posted 09/01/2008 5:09 pm
