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The US Mint lost $69M making pennies last year

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Re: The US Mint lost $69M making pennies last year

#111

Post by macintux »

extralego wrote: post #77
tetromino_ wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That only works if you're lucky enough to not regularly need a pocket full of coins to e.g. use the washers in the next-door laundromat.

I wonder where these people live where they don’t experience homeless people begging for their change daily. I have absolutely no question about what to do with my extra change. This might top the list of most arrogant and out-of-touch HN comment threads I’ve seen.

I feel guilty giving change to the homeless because even for them the weight and inconvenience has to be a burden.

I used to give quarters, years ago; now I'll only give bills unless I don't have any.

Re: The US Mint lost $69M making pennies last year

#113

Post by xyzzyz »

rileymat2 wrote: post #64
will_brown wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s actually the people who use credit/debit cards to make purchases who raise the prices on all goods/services for people who pay cash. The average merchant pays 2.3-3.5% per swipe, as a result prices are increased across the board and passed on to consumers, no matter if they pay with card or cash.

Is this true? Cash management has a definite cost, but it is just an assumed cost of doing business.

My friend, who owns a very cash heavy retail business, tells me that he pays the company that regularly picks up cash much, much less than what the credit card processors charge.

Re: The US Mint lost $69M making pennies last year

#114

Post by montecarl »

lb1lf wrote: post #100
cbm-vic-20 wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Non-cash transactions would still be commonly made in $0.01 increments. $53.47, for example. The difference is, if you wanted to purchase a dozen things that total $53.47 at a store, if you use cash, you'd end up paying $53.45 or $53.50, depending on the store's policy. Many may end up rounding down, what a deal! Or they'll choose to be greedy and trade in that goodwill for three measly cents.

Surely there must be a law outlining how rounding of sums will be done, rather than leaving it to the store owner's discretion? (Here in Norway, we've gotten rid of the 5, 10, 25 and 50 øre (cents, if you like) coins since I was a kid; the smallest denominations coin now in use is the 1 krone. Stores round like any mathematically inclined would -.01-.49 sums are rounded down, .50-.99 sums rounded up.

Seems like this is handled differently in different countries: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cash_rounding

Re: The US Mint lost $69M making pennies last year

#115

Post by SnowingXIV »

TylerE wrote: post #94
rbritton wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Coins seem largely used anymore for tax. How common would any coin smaller than a quarter be without a percentage-based sales tax? Virtually every price is close to either the $.50 or the $.00 mark -- it's the tax that creates the need for more combinations of change.

Vending machines would be problematic. Most soda machines are charging $0.60 or $0.65 these days. Rounding to either $0.50 or $0.75 would be annoying. That said, I think it'd be totally reasonable to eliminate all coins other than the nickel and quarter. (If I really had my way, I'd also eliminate dollar bills (replacing with a dollar coin that doesn't suck, replace with some more valuable and small.... like dime-siz…

I was with you until you wanted to eliminate cash in favor of more coins. How is someone supposed to carry those in their wallet? Many use thin wallets or money clips for card/ID/cash. Plus if I'm leaving someone a tip, I'm sure they'd hate to have their pockets jingling while they serve food or valet. Cash is also a lot easier to count, flip through, harder to lose.

Re: The US Mint lost $69M making pennies last year

#116

Post by nkrisc »

TylerE wrote: post #94
rbritton wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Coins seem largely used anymore for tax. How common would any coin smaller than a quarter be without a percentage-based sales tax? Virtually every price is close to either the $.50 or the $.00 mark -- it's the tax that creates the need for more combinations of change.

Vending machines would be problematic. Most soda machines are charging $0.60 or $0.65 these days. Rounding to either $0.50 or $0.75 would be annoying. That said, I think it'd be totally reasonable to eliminate all coins other than the nickel and quarter. (If I really had my way, I'd also eliminate dollar bills (replacing with a dollar coin that doesn't suck, replace with some more valuable and small.... like dime-siz…

I'd be happy with only going down as far as quarter dollars. There's a convenience store in the lobby of my building and the guy prices everything rounded to the nearest quarter. It makes everything faster and easier.

Re: The US Mint lost $69M making pennies last year

#117

Post by xyzzyz »

macintux wrote: post #108
djrogers wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem with all prices being shown inclusive of tax is that the amount of the tax becomes forgotten over time. By having tax added and called out on the receipt at the register, everyone is reminded many times per day how much sales tax they're paying.

Additionally, sales tax is sometimes not required, either because the product or the reason for purchase is exempt. Computers can deal with the latter, signage can't.

Signage in Europe deals with this just fine.

Re: The US Mint lost $69M making pennies last year

#118

Post by mikestew »

extralego wrote: post #77
tetromino_ wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That only works if you're lucky enough to not regularly need a pocket full of coins to e.g. use the washers in the next-door laundromat.

I wonder where these people live where they don’t experience homeless people begging for their change daily. I have absolutely no question about what to do with my extra change. This might top the list of most arrogant and out-of-touch HN comment threads I’ve seen.

wonder where these people live where they don’t experience homeless people begging for their change daily.

Not SF, Seattle, or NYC? Here in the Eastside suburbs (Redmond/Bellevue), I'd have to make the drive to downtown Seattle to deposit my change.

Re: The US Mint lost $69M making pennies last year

#120

Post by mindslight »

sndean wrote: post #72
tomjakubowski wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What can you buy at a shop with just a nickel? I don't think I've purchased any item at a shop for less than ten cents in my thirty years; and it's rare to see anything that costs less than a quarter.

There's a mom and pop hardware store around here (Washington DC) that has random washers, nuts, etc. that only cost a nickel each. Not that I've ever gone in and tried to only buy a single washer. I'm guessing the old guy might just smile and say "it's free."

If you need a single washer and have a nickel, pick up your drill.
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