A quick thought on coinage

[thegoldenapple]

I've seen in various places in the past complaints about the penny and how it should be done away with but I find, overall, the penny to still be pretty useful in a pragmatic sense and in maintaining a more specific pricing for things as well as handling what comes up in tax. However, one coin that I've found completely pointless as I go on has been the dime. What use is it? It seems like if ever there were a coin that could be discontinued and would probably help and save us in the minting process, it'd be dimes from a pragmatic standpoint. You'd see an increase in use of the nickel but not so drastic as to need to do anything like double production.

I'd say could also do with reducing the size but the need to refit all those coin-op machines would most likely destroy the savings....maybe....

[PayOrPlay]

The nickel is also expensive to make, while the dime makes money.

Cost to Make Penny and Nickel Rises, Annual Loss Reaches $116.7 Million | Coin Update

The cost for the United States Mint to produce and distribute the cent and nickel rose to their highest levels, and are now more than double the respective face values. For the fiscal year ending September 30, 2011, the unit cost for the cent was 2.41 cents and the cost for the nickel was 11.18 cents.

****

Although the cent and nickel have generated significant losses in recent years, the positive seigniorage generated by higher denomination circulating coins has offset the losses. For the 2011 fiscal year, production of the dime, quarter dollar, and $1 coin for circulation generated seigniorage of $488.8 million.

Collecting Problems: U.S. Mint Faces a Coin Cost Dilemma - DailyFinance

In 2009, the U.S. Mint issued 3.2 billion pennies, worth $32.2 million. With manufacturing costs pegged at 1.6 cents apiece, the Federal government lost $19.8 million on the deal. In the same year, it also shipped 207 million nickels, at a loss of $2.2 million. By comparison, the Mint made $15 million off its sales of dimes, $132 million off its sales of quarters and a whopping $318.7 million off its sales of dollar coins.

See also Snopes.com's take on this, which contends that the penny-cost problem is a bit overblown:

snopes.com: Penny Manufacture Cost

[DaveXA]

Why not do away with currency altogether? What are the downsides?

[BuffaloSaint]

I use cash about once a month and change never, When I do have change it goes into a bucket at my house.

[NCSaint]

(19.8)
(2.2)
15
132
318.7

Still up $440M. Overall seems $20M as cost of doing business isn't too bad to keep the penny and nickel around. I like having them around.

[Denzien]

I just wish prices for goods all included tax already.

[daMixter]

This is where we need to go.

Coins Could Replace Dollar Bills, Save US $5.6 Billion - ABC News

I was living in England when they scrapped the pound note. People were up in arms, saying they won't accept it. Government went ahead with it anyways. People griped(for a relatively short period of time), then accepted it. Now they probably never even think about it.

Also, when I was living there(14 years total)- we had no US pennies. Every purchase made in dollars on the base was either rounded up or down. Over the years you basically break even. Probably wouldn't work over here, though. I've seen far too many cashiers that have a hard time figuring change with pennies, never mind without.

[IntenseSaint]

Originally Posted by daMixter

This is where we need to go.

Coins Could Replace Dollar Bills, Save US $5.6 Billion - ABC News

I was living in England when they scrapped the pound note. People were up in arms, saying they won't accept it. Government went ahead with it anyways. People griped(for a relatively short period of time), then accepted it. Now they probably never even think about it.

Also, when I was living there(14 years total)- we had no US pennies. Every purchase made in dollars on the base was either rounded up or down. Over the years you basically break even. Probably wouldn't work over here, though. I've seen far too many cashiers that have a hard time figuring change with pennies, never mind without.

Does anyone think about the poor strippers?

[BuffaloSaint]

Originally Posted by IntenseSaint

Does anyone think about the poor strippers?

It's more fun giving it with a loonie in Canada.

[thegoldenapple]

Originally Posted by PayOrPlay

The nickel is also expensive to make, while the dime makes money.





See also Snopes.com's take on this, which contends that the penny-cost problem is a bit overblown:

snopes.com: Penny Manufacture Cost

Sounds like maybe the best thing would be to reassign value to the dime as .05 and do away with the nickel.

[Denzien]

Originally Posted by IntenseSaint

Does anyone think about the poor strippers?

I think they just did; strippers would be getting a minimum of a fiver!