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Posted
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msmash
vember 12, 2025 @02:25PM
from the end-of-an-era dept.
The US is set to make its final penny. The Philadelphia Mint will strike its last batch of one-cent coins on Thursday, after more than 230 years of production. From a report: The coins will remain in circulation but the phase-out has already prompted businesses to start adjusting prices, as they say pennies are becoming harder to find. The government says the move will save money, or as President Donald Trump put it in February when he first announced the plans: "Rip the waste out of our great nation's budget, even if it's a penny at a time."
Pennies, which honour Civil War president Abraham Lincoln and are made of copper-plated zinc, today cost nearly four cents each to make -- more than twice the cost of a decade ago, according to the Treasury Department. It estimates the decision to end production will save about $56 million a year. Officials have argued that the rise of electronic transactions is making the penny, which first went into production in 1793, increasingly moot. The Treasury Department estimates that about 300 billion of the coins will remain in circulation, "far exceeding the amount needed for commerce."
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The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
bysabbede ( 2678435 ) writes:
Can we just mint a ton of them once or twice a decade? I get that it doesn't make sense to spend more than one cent to mint a penny, but we should refresh the supply every now and again.
byArmoredDragon ( 3450605 ) writes:
Why bother? Nostalgia? Just to add some perspective here, when the US first discontinued the small penny, which was half of a cent, it was worth roughly 15 cents in today's money. The large penny, (which got smaller at point) which was one cent, was worth more than today's quarter at about 30 cents.
So back then, prices were incremented by more than today's quarter. There's no reason we can't simply do the same today. We may as well even get rid of nickels and dimes while we're at it. A nickel and a dime today won't even get you a slice of pie.
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byPCM2 ( 4486 ) writes:
One reason I can think of is that different states and municipalities impose different rates of sales tax at the register. Multiplying a retail price by 8.75% may not always produce an even, round number.
bydskoll ( 99328 ) writes:
You just round the final total to the nearest 5 cents if someone pays cash. That is what happens in Canada.
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bySpinlock_1977 ( 777598 ) writes:
We Canadians eliminated the penny in 2013. But, like most other Canadians, I have a box of the damn things in the corner of my bedroom. Yeah, we don't stamp out new ones, but we still have lots of them kicking around.
byfahrbot-bot ( 874524 ) writes:
We Canadians eliminated the penny in 2013. But, like most other Canadians, I have a box of the damn things in the corner of my bedroom. Yeah, we don't stamp out new ones, but we still have lots of them kicking around.
Several articles have noted that pennies will remain exchangeable for the foreseeable future and legal currency forever. So people in the U.S. should be able to use them up / get rid of them (through payments) eventually.
byEvilSS ( 557649 ) writes:
They may take them to a bank or kiosk to cash them in, but no way most people will get rid of them through payments. That's one of the problems with them, no one wants to carry them so they pile up. I remember my parents had like half a dozen coffee cans full of coins, 99% pennies. Hell there are a pile of them in my center console in my car right now that will most likely never get spent.
byJSG ( 82708 ) writes:
A country that actually has pennies (not cents) still has them. Ours have a tiny piece of thrice blessed unicorn horn baked into each one.
We're weird.
bylarwe ( 858929 ) writes:
I grew up in Australia. Australia went from pounds/shillings/pence to dollars and cents in 1966 (Valentine's Day, specifically https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com] - my mother told me about this song and sang it to me). Australia retired its 1c and 2c coins in 1990~92 (it's a bit fuzzy). When I left Australia in 1999, in tidying up I found a box of pennies and ha'pennies from the pre-decimal era and a bigger box of 1c and 2c coins. These things stick around forever and will never be rare.
byBert64 ( 520050 ) writes:
Or just calculate taxes in advance and display the full price including taxes on the shelf. You can easily adjust the price of the item so that once tax is added it comes out to a round figure.
Most countries do this, so the price you see is what you actually pay.
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byObliviousGnat ( 6346278 ) writes:
Vending machines also do this. In fact, they do it so well that you don't even realize you're paying taxes on your purchase.
byKoreantoast ( 527520 ) writes:
Problem is no merchant wants to be the first (and possibly only) one that integrates taxes, giving the perception that their prices are higher than their competitors. Even if they put in fine print that prices include taxes, people can't easily compare prices on the fly against competitors who don't (or straight up miss the fine print and just dismiss them as more expensive). I think your latter suggestion, that they make weird prices that round perfectly, is the more likely route unless a government entity
byswillden ( 191260 ) writes:
Yeah, it would probably take legislation forcing all of them to post and advertise prices including taxes. If everyone had to do it no retailer would be disadvantaged by being the first.
That said, I think it's a bad idea, unless retailers also have to itemize out the taxes on receipts so that consumers can see how much tax they're paying, which typically doesn't happen in Europe, as far as I've noticed (other than VAT, which is often itemized out on some purchases so that foreigners can get a VAT rebate)
byJoe_Dragon ( 2206452 ) writes:
gas prices have all taxes in them!
byPleaseThink ( 8207110 ) writes:
Not everyone pays the same tax. Sometimes nonprofit organizations, charities, and churches are tax-exempt. I'm sure there's other cases too.
byaardvarkjoe ( 156801 ) writes:
...you realize that pennies don't solve that "problem," right? We already have to round the final total for virtually all purchases after calculating the tax.
byJimWise ( 1804930 ) writes:
Do you really think that taxes currently magically make all final transactions come out to an even penny? It is just that cash registers, spreadsheets, etc dealing with such transactions are just set to round to the nearest cent. What is the tax on a $9.99 purchase using your example of an 8.75% tax rate? My calculator gives me a tax of $0.874125. That certainly does not look like an even penny value to me!
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byunrtst ( 777550 ) writes:
One reason I can think of is that different states and municipalities impose different rates of sales tax at the register. Multiplying a retail price by 8.75% may not always produce an even, round number.
That's already the case, even with the penny.
$9.99 * 0.0875 = $0.874125
Total cost is then: $10.864125
Can't make that change precisely using today's currency. Closest you can get is $10.86.
Get rid of the penny and that becomes $10.85 (or $10.90 if the rounding is evil). But I don't think they're actually getting rid of that denomination in the system. Paying with a credit card would likely still be $10.86.
IMO, one of the problems here is the quarter. If we got rid of the penny, nickle, and quarter, but keep the dime and 50c piece, then we simply removed a decimal place ($10.50, $10.60, $10.70, $10.80, ..). It'd be difficult to get rid of the nickle without getting rid of the dime as well, since those make change for the quarter, but I don't want to jump all the way to a quarter and then be stuck with such an odd denomination.
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byPascoea ( 968200 ) writes:
Get rid of the penny and that becomes $10.85 (or $10.90 if the rounding is evil).
I'll bet you a nickel which way the rounding will go.
byomnichad ( 1198475 ) writes:
If the total with tax on a dollar is $1.0875 now, they charge you $1.09 at the register. What difference does it really make if it becomes $1.10? You are overestimating the value of 1 penny and the few seconds of labor it takes to generate a wage of a penny.
byfahrbot-bot ( 874524 ) writes:
One reason I can think of is that different states and municipalities impose different rates of sales tax at the register. Multiplying a retail price by 8.75% may not always produce an even, round number.
The Treasury and trade/retail groups are looking at guidelines and/or legislation for a national standard on transaction rounding. The latter to protect themselves from potential state lawsuits from rounding short-changes (last paragraph below).
US Mint to strike last penny as Trump’s phaseout rattles retailers [politico.com]
The Treasury Department is considering issuing guidance to help businesses navigate the transition, including how to round cash transactions and handle payments without one-cent coins, according to people familiar with the plans.
But trade groups representing retailers, grocers, restaurants and gas stations are urging Congress to pass legislation establishing a national standard for rounding cash transactions to the nearest nickel.
Without such a policy, businesses are worried about potential class-action lawsuits under state consumer protection laws that could argue rounding shortchanges customers. Industry groups say a federal standard would create consistency and protect businesses from legal risk.
byYrWrstNtmr ( 564987 ) writes:
US military in Europe did away with pennies in 1980. The only place you could use a penny was the Post Office.
Nary a problem.
Round up or down to the nearest .05 or .0. It averages out over time.
byPCM2 ( 4486 ) writes:
Welllll, a bunch of countries use VAT, where you pay whatever is on the label. In the US, what you pay for a product will depend on where you buy it, despite it having the same price on the tag..
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bytest321 ( 8891681 ) writes:
I think it's not connected to being VAT or Sales Tax. The difference is that the law in many or most countries requires the displayed price to be final. Each seller is responsible to update the sticker or the shelf label such that all local taxes are included. If the tax somehow changes by district, then you update the sticker in each district, or you choose one common price and eat the tax difference.
In my place a hamburger menu is advertised 10 €; if I request it to-go then necessary-goods VAT 6% app
byJSG ( 82708 ) writes:
In the UK (flirted with EU, in and out and shake it all about within my lifetime!) we have similar rules.
The price on the ticket is what you pay at the till, with regards taxation etc. A receipt must provide a full breakdown if requested and will generally do so anyway.
The price on the ticket is called "an invitation to treat". That is a legal term related to forming a contract. You accept the invitation by toddling up to the checkout and offering to buy the item at the price stated on the ticket/label.
byJ. L. Tympanum ( 39265 ) writes:
But without nickles and dimes, how would we get nickle-and-dimed?
bynightflameauto ( 6607976 ) writes:
But without nickles and dimes, how would we get nickle-and-dimed?
Inflation dictates that nickel and diming is now dollar and five dollaring.
bydskoll ( 99328 ) writes:
We'd be drawn-and-quartered instead.
byTwistedGreen ( 80055 ) writes:
"Bend over and I'll show ya" -Clark W. Griswold
byomnichad ( 1198475 ) writes:
Certainly not at the five and dime store.
byfahrbot-bot ( 874524 ) writes:
But without nickles and dimes, how would we get nickle-and-dimed?
All transactions will be done using $Trumpcoin -- two birds, one scam - I mean, stone - and all that. :-)
bybjdevil66 ( 583941 ) writes:
The small penny came up in the mid-1850s, along with the elimination of the half-penny. (Both the large penny and half penny were coppers larger than today's penny.)
The nickel production costs are at least partially because of the harder metal (nickel). The U.S. Mint could consider a new "half dime" - the "deem", in coin parlance - and cut production costs again? It'd make more logical since again to have a 5 cent coin be smaller than the 10 cent dime, anyways - though their so damn small that some people w
byWaffle Iron ( 339739 ) writes:
So back then, prices were incremented by more than today's quarter.
People need to consider: Rounding to a nickle isn't going to be greater than 2 cents more inaccurate than rounding to pennies. Let's say you live in a backwater state, and still only make $7.25 per hour. Each transaction could potentially cost you at most 10 seconds of extra wages. However, transactions randomly round up and down, so the average error gets reduced by the square root of the number of transactions you make. Statistically speaking, you'll gain or lose only a couple of seconds of your time per
bysmooth wombat ( 796938 ) writes:
That only works for one item at most. Savvy shoppers would strategically buy combinations of items that always round down.
There is no such thing. Stores will adjust their prices to make sure they always round up.
This is inflation as prices will rise.
byWaffle Iron ( 339739 ) writes:
Show me the how you can create a system where the price totals of all possible combinations of inventory selections result in only (3 or 4) mod 5.
byYrWrstNtmr ( 564987 ) writes:
And buying more than one item negates that store tactic.
This is a long solved problem. Round the final bill up or down to the nearest 5 or 0.
byFirethorn ( 177587 ) writes:
A good point, but thinking on the marginal transactional costs to process a sale of additional items after one, people deliberately buying two items to 'stick it' to the business and get maybe 5 cents off their purchase is actually benefitting the business, and the customer spending more time figuring out the exact cost before checking out than the five cents are worth.
Basically, I figure that the business could outright discount every item after the first by 5 cents, and still profit more per item when peo
byFirethorn ( 177587 ) writes:
I doubt that, especially with varying sales taxes screwing with things.
The draw to price everything in .99 is too high. Or even .95 or .97.
byreanjr ( 588767 ) writes:
That would not solve anything. Do you think we are just minting pennies willy nilly, for no reason? We mint them based on demand. If you produce fewer, you'll just run out of pennies a bit later than if you just stop minting them altogether.
The lifecycle of a penny is essentially a one-way trip from the Mint, to the bank, to local retailers, to consumers, to the bottoms of drawers and bowls to be forgotten. They pass through the economy, but they don't circulate.
This has been a long time coming. Europe has
byGilgaron ( 575091 ) writes:
But why? Ever see gas pumps where they have things out to a tenth of a cent? We don't make those either, it just isn't worth the time to pay attention to; like Mexico could presumably mint cents of pesos but there's no reason to.
byThumpBzztZoom ( 6976422 ) writes:
Mexico has a half peso coin, worth about 2 cents. Nearly every store just ignores it and rounds to the nearest peso, approx 5 cents. If Mexico can do it with little issue, it's kind of embarrassing that the "great" US is having such a problem with it, or even that it's an argument at all.
Get rid of the nickle and dime, too. Round to the nearest quarter and be done with it.
bybugs2squash ( 1132591 ) writes:
Yes but who buys exactly one gallon ? Unless you're filling the can for a lawnmower most people will buy several gallons to fill a car.
byUnknowingFool ( 672806 ) writes:
There would be a larger cost savings to replace the $1 bill with a coin. The government has tried multiple times to do that but it did not take.
byObliviousGnat ( 6346278 ) writes:
The US government hasn't ever tried to replace the $1 bill with a coin, only to add a $1 coin into circulation alongside the $1 bill.
Stop printing the $1 bill and I guarantee you that the $1 coin will take off.
byTronNerd82 ( 9588972 ) writes:
Because now, the Penny Plunderer is soon to be out of a job :(
bydrfuchs ( 599179 ) writes:
For those who don't remember, the plan to stop minting pennies in the 1960s got canned when the John Bircher Society came out claiming it was Communist influence, somehow.
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bydrfuchs ( 599179 ) writes:
(Yeah, it's the John Birch Society; I failed to completely correct from "Birchers" as they were informally known.)
byDrethon ( 1445051 ) writes:
For those who don't remember, the plan to stop minting pennies in the 1960s got canned when the John Bircher Society came out claiming it was Communist influence, somehow.
I support removing the penny, but I also think I would support being able to watch the fireworks if someone could make a popular video linking to this claim to say Trump removing the penny is Communist... sorry, end of a long day.
bysconeu ( 64226 ) writes:
if someone could make a popular video linking to this claim to say Trump removing the penny is Communist..
You mean getting the government to own the means of production [intc.com] isn't Communist?
bymaladroit ( 71511 ) writes:
It's a variation of "only Nixon can go to China".
If Biden had done this, Fox News et al. would be going crazy.
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byTablizer ( 95088 ) writes:
[60's idea] got canned when the John Bircher Society came out claiming it was Communist influence
They were somewhat right: Donald is a dictator-wannabe who has already stuck his fingers into multiple industries.
But I myself won't miss the penny, nor Donald.
bywilliamyf ( 227051 ) writes:
Nickels also cost more to make than the coin's worth, and the dollar bill deteriorates so fast, that a coin replacing it is the best option.
the 2 dollar bill can take it place in stipers thongs, as the minimum note.
Also, for coin operated vending machine convenience, ramping up minting of half dollar coins would be prudent.
byomnichad ( 1198475 ) writes:
The half dollar coins are inconveniently large. Just get people to use the dollar coins we already have. 4:1 is an OK ratio for the next step up in coinage.
byPascoea ( 968200 ) writes:
The United States spent $1.3 billion to manufacture money in 2017. [gao.gov] If it takes a 0.0001% increase in my tax rate to not have to carry coins around sign me the hell up. Of all the stupid stuff this country pisses away money on, saving some portion of $1.3B rates about on the same level of concern as the dust bunnies under my fridge.
byTorodung ( 31985 ) writes:
The federal budget last year was $1.8 T discretionary. That does not include mandatory items, which brings total spending to $6.8 T. This is worth a few megabytes on a terabyte SSD.
If I did my math right, 0.003% of the federal budget. At two decimal places, it's zero. As in 0.00% of the federal budget.
Big numbers are not big any more. It's a scale comprehension problem of the human brain. Any time anyone talks about how much so many million dollars is saving us, think about your disk drives. This is 56MB on your 6.8TB disk.
If a politician is not talking billions, they're saving us essentially nothing.
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bydskoll ( 99328 ) writes:
Yes, in the big scheme of things, the savings are tiny. But pennies are really annoying and most end up in jars or drawers somewhere rather than circulating anyway. So might as well ditch them and the tiny savings is just a bonus.
byomnichad ( 1198475 ) writes:
Sure as an argument about savings, it only works on the people who think those numbers are big. But if you realize how small those numbers are, a penny is completely worthless and unnecessary.
bygurps_npc ( 621217 ) writes:
I despise the Mercantalist that decided to do this. But this is a good thing. Honestly, I have a jar full of QUARTERS that I do not bother to carry because of how hard it is to spend. No bubble gum machines anymore, even my laundromat takes a credit card.
For those of you thinking "I don't want to be cheated out of any amount of money" when they give you change, I got news for you, with tax, you are constantly being cheated of partial pennies.
I you buy something that sells for 99 cents, you pay tax in mos
bydskoll ( 99328 ) writes:
At least in Canada, non-cash transactions are not rounded. There's no need nor justification to round credit-card transactions.
byMpVpRb ( 1423381 ) writes:
Given the diminishing use of cash, I expect other coins to disappear in the future
byb0s0z0ku ( 752509 ) writes:
Right. Just what we fucking need in a country moving toward authoritarianism. A cashless society where bankstwhores get to approve every transaction and every transaction gets logged.
byTablizer ( 95088 ) writes:
Like Jiiiihna. The upside is it makes commerce more efficient, as vendors don't need to deal with cash and related security.
If there comes a time where a centrally managed economy, population distribution, and perhaps genetic engineering becomes more efficient than ours, we may be SOL.
byb0s0z0ku ( 752509 ) writes:
Right, because the way to deal with an adversary country is to become JUST AS BAD AS THEM. Better to die as free people than "win" by adopting all of the worst aspects of an adversary society.
Also, we could crash China's economy tomorrow if we wanted to ... they're already teetering on the brink. A 20% reduction in demand from the US and Europe due to a recession will hurt them more than it hurts us.
byrossdee ( 243626 ) writes:
As I understand it, the only thing they are doing is to stop the production of cents, not the use of them.If people want to coninue using them, they should return those jars of change to hte bank once in a while.
Some people collect coins (I think the technical term is numismatics)
What about charities? There used to be Sally-Annies in Santa suits at the entrances of malls and supermarkets.
byorgangtool ( 966989 ) writes:
It estimates the decision to end production will save about $56 million a year
There have probably been farts that cost the government more than that.
Officials have argued that the rise of electronic transactions is making the penny, which first went into production in 1793, increasingly moot. The Treasury Department estimates that about 300 billion of the coins will remain in circulation, "far exceeding the amount needed for commerce."
Then why not decrease production without killing it off altogether? $5
byWaffleMonster ( 969671 ) writes:
Getting rid of the penny saves $56 million dollars a year and costs shoppers $6 million dollars a year. 50 million dollar savings means everyone saves a dime and a nickle each year.
Suspect when you factor in friction such as updating systems and handling upset customers that 50 million dollars would look like a rounding error.
Might as well mint coins according to an optimal golomb ruler with a length around 100. That way you would only need any two coins to express any amount under a dollar. If there is
byusedtobestine ( 7476084 ) writes:
The way small businesses I've worked have handled it for the last 20+ years is to have a discounts for $0.01 to $0.04 and if the price didn't fall on a $0.05 increment, just apply the proper discount.
I'm pretty sure every store today will simply increase every price by $0.04 and then apply the same single 1-4 cent cash discount at the end.
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byedi_guy ( 2225738 ) writes:
In the US gas isn't $2.99 / gallon it is actually $2.99 and 9/10s of a cent per gallon.
Can we get rid of this 100 year old artifact too?
(and I'm not just talking about the president bazinga! )
byJoe_Dragon ( 2206452 ) writes:
Traditional rounding practices may violate consumer protection rules, including cash discrimination statutes, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) regulations, credit card surcharging restrictions and wage-payment requirements, unless retailers apply compliant rounding methods such as rounding all cash and SNAP transactions down.
byskam240 ( 789197 ) writes:
Why? Bills are cheaper to make than coins. They also aren't a pain in the ass to carry as they easily fit in my wallet.
byYuppieScum ( 1096 ) writes:
...$1 bills only last 5 years, whereas coins last decades. So, coins are a more cost-effective solution than $1 bills over their respective lifespans.
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byskam240 ( 789197 ) writes:
Good point. Coins are still a pain in the ass though.
byYuppieScum ( 1096 ) writes:
Then don't put them in your prison purse...
bynightflameauto ( 6607976 ) writes:
...$1 bills only last 5 years, whereas coins last decades. So, coins are a more cost-effective solution than $1 bills over their respective lifespans.
But you can't snort cocaine out of a hooker's ass with a coin. At least, not without some other rather expensive tools involved.
byYuppieScum ( 1096 ) writes:
What kind of cheapskate doesn't at least use a $20 for that?
bynightflameauto ( 6607976 ) writes:
What kind of cheapskate doesn't at least use a $20 for that?
One that didn't have time to stop by the bank?
byFly Swatter ( 30498 ) writes:
When people just start leaving dollar bills in their drawers and not bothering to pick one up off the floor, it may be time just like the penny is now. But not until then. I hope it's not in my lifetime.
bymaladroit ( 71511 ) writes:
Looks like current dollar bills are still cheaper than current dollar coins, even when the lifespan is taken into account:
https://www.gao.gov/products/g... [gao.gov]
The report also notes that people that handle lots of cash, like armored car companies, would see an increase in costs.
byYuppieScum ( 1096 ) writes:
The €1 coin costs about twice as much to produce as a $1 bill relative to face value, and will last perhaps 20 times longer in circulation. If the US Mint can't produce a cost-effective $1 coin, perhaps that's the issue that needs addressing.
bymaladroit ( 71511 ) writes:
The report in the link covers that and more.
Some quick points from the report:
- The median lifespan of bills is now longer due to changes in how the federal reserve handles and sorts currency.
- Printing $1 and $2 bills has gotten much cheaper.
- Changing the metallic composition of coins could save some money, but would require congressional approval, and is complicated by the need to maintain compatibility with vending machines.
- In their estimation, discontinuing dollar bills could cost up to $2.6 billion
byTorodung ( 31985 ) writes:
Exactly. It's not just the cost of production, it's the cost of transportation/POS management/convenience/etc. TCO.
Anyone telling you that it's a bargain is only looking at the numbers... poorly. Poorly because it doesn't save enough money to bother in the first place when we had a $6.8 T budget in 2024. Kilobytes or megabytes on a multiple terabyte drive aren't worth the bother.
byClickOnThis ( 137803 ) writes:
Exactly. It's not just the cost of production, it's the cost of transportation/POS management/convenience/etc. TCO.
You still need to transport and manage coins in smaller denominations. I'm not saying there isn't a measurable increase in costs for transportation, etc. It's just that such costs are already there, and likely would increase only nominally.
I'd argue these issues could be mitigated by offering coins in larger denominations, such as $2 or even $5. You'd need to handle fewer $1 coins. Also, you can make the coins lighter, e.g. by employing aluminum-magnesium alloys.
Consider also that eliminating pennies result
byjenningsthecat ( 1525947 ) writes:
Looks like current dollar bills are still cheaper than current dollar coins, even when the lifespan is taken into account:
Here in Canada our bills are plastic, so they last even longer. Sadly, our smallest bill is a fiver - we're stuck with coins for $1 and $2 denominations. I'd much rather have bills.
byFirethorn ( 177587 ) writes:
A lot of studies of paper vs plastic bills are looking at paper bills using scrap cotton and linen fibers and still having wood pulp.
US bills use the premium stuff and are 0% wood pulp. As a result, our paper money lasts as long on average as the plastic bills.
The math changes when one considers that we don't have to import our fibers into the country and can thus get the good stuff for less than other countries pay for scrap.
byTorodung ( 31985 ) writes:
I mentioned the scale comprehension problem in its own thread. In a $1.8T discretionary budget (2024), you're talking about saving 1/16th of a peanut by going to coins. It's not even whole peanuts, guy, and 1/16th is charitable; it's far less than that.
$1 bills are fine as they are. We have much bigger fish to fry. You probably want to save at least $10 billion (0.556% of the discretionary federal budget) before it's even worth bothering.
There's no sense making everyone retool and reprice for such meager sa
byClickOnThis ( 137803 ) writes:
Why? Bills are cheaper to make than coins. They also aren't a pain in the ass to carry as they easily fit in my wallet.
Yes, cheaper to make. But coins win out when you consider their lifetimes.
Canada realized this decades ago, and switched to $1 and $2 coins. Other countries (such as the UK) also have switched their unit bills to coins.
The USA is an odd hold-out. US dollar coins exist of course, and are even accepted by most vendors, but dollar bills have been tenacious.
byThumpBzztZoom ( 6976422 ) writes:
Why? Bills are cheaper to make than coins. They also aren't a pain in the ass to carry as they easily fit in my wallet.
Yes, cheaper to make. But coins win out when you consider their lifetimes.
Canada realized this decades ago, and switched to $1 and $2 coins. Other countries (such as the UK) also have switched their unit bills to coins.
The USA is an odd hold-out. US dollar coins exist of course, and are even accepted by most vendors, but dollar bills have been tenacious.
When you consider their lifetime, coins are multiple times more of a pain in the ass than bills. They get mixed with keys in pockets , are heavier, and are harder to sort and store. They are different sizes and make lumps in pockets. You only places to tuck them on a stripper will get you thrown out of the club. There are remarkably few drugs you can do with a coin. And most people just dump all their coins in a bin rather than put them in their pocket the next day, pretty much the same problem with pennies
byJoe_Dragon ( 2206452 ) writes:
don't see a lot of dollar coin slots maybe vending but not all vending is setup for dollar coins.
byClickOnThis ( 137803 ) writes:
I meant human vendors, but point taken.
byRobinH ( 124750 ) writes:
Coins last much longer in circulation than bills.
byObliviousGnat ( 6346278 ) writes:
Bills are cheaper to make than coins. They also aren't a pain in the ass to carry as they easily fit in my wallet.
So you'd rather have 25 cent bills? 1 cent bills also? Please tell me you're joking.
byunrtst ( 777550 ) writes:
Why? Bills are cheaper to make than coins. They also aren't a pain in the ass to carry as they easily fit in my wallet.
Bills are only cheaper to make initially[^1]. However, they have MUCH shorter lifespans[^2]. Switching to dollar coins could lead to billions in savings over a few decades.
Totally agree on the wallet though. I wouldn't be surprised if the long term cost from pants pockets wearing out would offset the longevity of the coin! LOL
[^1] Dollar bill is about $0.032 - $0.054 each to produce. Dollar coin is about $0.10 - $0.15 to produce.
[^2] ~6.6 years for a bill, and 30 years for a coin
byPascoea ( 968200 ) writes:
Assuming your numbers are accurate, a coin lasts 4.5x longer than a bill, but also costs 3.125x more. Sure, it's cheaper for the lifecycle, but it's not like THAT much different. (.0033 $/year for a coin, and .0048 for a bill.) Not to mention the lifecycle of each. For me, 99% of the time, a dollar coin goes from the store, to my pocket, to my change jar, then back to the bank in a couple years. (Just like every other coin) The dwell time for a dollar bill in my wallet is measured in days. Assuming a
bymaladroit ( 71511 ) writes:
Some more numbers:
https://www.gao.gov/products/g... [gao.gov]
Their conclusion is that forcing a change to the dollar coin could cost the government about $2.6 billion over thirty years.
byComboman ( 895500 ) writes:
Strippers don't like it when you put coins in their g-string. Too cold and they fall out too easily.
byPascoea ( 968200 ) writes:
The last establishment I accidentally wandered into wouldn't give you change in singles. $2 bills only.
byjenningsthecat ( 1525947 ) writes:
Now get the $1, $2 and $5 bills out of circulation and force the use of coins.
Canadian here. First off, congrats on getting rid of the copper, (or, in later years, copper-and-aluminum) pocket scourge. We got rid of them a dozen-or-so years ago and haven't missed them. They used to weigh down pockets, get tossed in drawers, and be the subject of binges wherein they were gathered in rolls and given to the bank in exchange for practical currency. Trust me - you won't miss them.
Second, fight to your dying breath to NOT have 1-dollar and 2-dollar coins. Aside from the fact that they're good in parking ticket machines, they're mostly inconvenient. They're large and heavy, so it doesn't take long for them to weigh your pockets down to the point where your belt starts to slip. For women - and some men I suppose - the weight in a purse adds up quickly. I hated our one-dollar coin when it was introduced, and I hated the two-dollar coin twice as much. They're a pain, usually a minor one but sometimes also a literal one. Don't go there.
OTOH, our plastic bills are mostly great. They take a "set" from being folded in a billfold; but their longevity, extreme resistance to tearing, and ability to withstand laundering unscathed more than make up for that. Also, I imagine that they retain less cocaine residue... ;-]
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byburtosis ( 1124179 ) writes:
... it could grow in value now that they aren't making them anymore.
This just makes cents.
byFly Swatter ( 30498 ) writes:
Volume estimation is hard for some people, isn't it?
byunrtst ( 777550 ) writes:
I still have a gallon jar of pennies somewhere from before Canada eliminated them 10+ years ago. I'd guess about half of them are actually copper (vs zinc or steel), and the whole jar must be worth several dollars!
If true, might be worth closer to $45!
11.9lb * $3.85 = $45.82, and you'd still have 1/4 gallon of non-copper pennies.
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