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eppur_se_muova

(41,929 posts)

20. A cent coin is not a commodity, it's a token, like a certificate. It's worth what it is by fiat, not by cost.

Thu Mar 12, 2026, 03:52 PM

Mar 12

Maybe it takes 3.7 cents to make, but it can be used over and over for years before it wears out, participating in many dollars worth of transactions. Discontinuing it because of material costs is a bit short-sighted.

Over the years, the US, and the Colonies before that, have phased out the half-cent, the quarter-cent (aka farthing), the half-farthing, and the quarter-farthing, because they no longer made sense. The cent will eventually go too, but there's no rush. It is part of the basis of our money system, not just our coinage. It seems to me it would have been smarter to issue a 2-cent coin, probably in the same diameter, but thinner, and a different color (at least slightly). Thinner would mean less cost to make. Banks might dislike having to modify their coin sorters, but most people wouldn't be affected. Retail stores would just toss a small box in the pennies bin, and put either the new coins or the old ones in that, until the changeover (no pun intended) ran its course. And rounding to the nearest 2 cents would be less of a problem than rounding to 5 cents.

It's still not too late, either ..... having a shortage of cents might make it easier.

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State lawmakers rush to set rounding rules for when there are no pennies [View all] BumRushDaShow Mar 12 OP

When I do pay cash I tell the clerk to keep the pennies. twodogsbarking Mar 12 #1

Pricing Timewas Mar 12 #2

A nickle costs 13.8 cents each Historic NY Mar 12 #4

That's true! I looked it up. 70sEraVet Mar 12 #13

Depends on how you define cost as the money spent is money that also flows into the economy. cstanleytech Mar 12 #18

But they last decades and get spent countless times. The cost is also offset by how cheap it is to print a 20 buck bill Blues Heron Mar 13 #28

Really? Timewas Mar 12 #24

Fractionalize currency has been around since somebody decided sea shells were a problem Historic NY Mar 13 #25

I wondered about that also - how do you make the taxes always end in a nickel? rurallib Mar 12 #6

You would have to revalue the currency with nubucks or some such Blues Heron Mar 13 #30

Because of our regressive sales taxes IbogaProject Mar 12 #11

My 2 cents Historic NY Mar 12 #3

It seems like they were always rounding up and keeping the extra. mackdaddy Mar 12 #5

Can we round it up to a nickel and give that extra to the billionaire class? rurallib Mar 12 #7

It honestly would not surprise me if they try doing something like that. cstanleytech Mar 12 #19

My local McDonald's has adopted nearest nickel for cash transactions. hay rick Mar 12 #8

I find it more than pathetic that we need a law to clarify rounding up or down in the marketplace zeusdogmom Mar 12 #9

30 Years ago I could buy small resses PB cups for 3 cents. Today if I droped 3 cents no one would pick it up. Jacson6 Mar 12 #10

Yes, but 30 years ago a gum ball cost 2 cents . . . Journeyman Mar 12 #12

WOT????!!! Jacson6 Mar 12 #16

And then a dime. And then a dollar... Torchlight Mar 12 #22

Our monetary system should be based on something of a tangible value 70sEraVet Mar 12 #14

Did you look closely at the cents that would be rounded up or down? slightlv Mar 12 #15

Canada Maninacan Mar 12 #17

A cent coin is not a commodity, it's a token, like a certificate. It's worth what it is by fiat, not by cost. eppur_se_muova Mar 12 #20

Next up...that $19.95 thingamabob will be rounded up to 3825-87867 Mar 12 #21

Stores are rounding down, not up Deminpenn Mar 12 #23

At our store yesterday (NJ), a customer was on the verge of a meltdown no_hypocrisy Mar 13 #26

I've done that before. It's fun in Walmart bucolic_frolic Mar 13 #29

All this nonsense could be avoided if they would only bucolic_frolic Mar 13 #27