BFD. Imagine the profits on quarters though...nevermind hundred dollar bills.
The US Mint lost $69M making pennies last year
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Re: The US Mint lost $69M making pennies last year
#152I throw all pennies and nickels away or leave them with the cashier. I don't pay with cash all that often so it adds up to a few dollars a year. One wonders how much retailers spend paying people to fetch pennies and nickels as change, or waiting for people to dig out the right number from their pocket or purse. I am sure it is an order of magnitude larger than $69 million. Obama's only objection to removing the penn…
Dude, I'll take free money all day long. Pennies and nickels spend just like anything else.
At least you could give them to a homeless person or some children to buy some candy with or something.
You don't understand something very basic about life.
Waste not, want not.
Someday you may remember your actions if you ever end up broke and homeless.
Re: The US Mint lost $69M making pennies last year
#153How about we forget the insane idea we need to divide the dollar into 100 parts and back it off to 10 making the dime the new penny and getting rid of the whole 1 and 5 cent steps. So, it gets rid of of the penny, nickel, and quarter. We could save a lot of money just by converting the 1 and 5 bills to coins.
There have been dollar coins in America forever and still are. The general public refuses to use them, or just collects them and they never circulate.
Re: The US Mint lost $69M making pennies last year
#154Personally, I'd like to get rid of all coins, and introduce a $0.25 note and call it a day. Round all cash payments up to the next quarter and no more metal money.
Egypt has a 0.25 Egyptian Pound note. The last time I was there it was only worth about US$0.06.
Re: The US Mint lost $69M making pennies last year
#155The point of the mint is making money, not making money.
Yeah, the headline seems dumb. If the mint creates a $100 bill for $1.50, did they make $98.50? No. The purpose of the mint is to maintain the US currency. It's a cost center, not a profit center.
Yes they did make $98.50, and it is profit. The job of the Mint (and the Bureau of Engraving & Printing) is to use the monopoly of seignorage to make money out of thin air. As much as there is demand for coins and bills, they will sell into the market. The job of maintaining (the value of) the US currency is in the hands of the Federal Reserve.
Re: The US Mint lost $69M making pennies last year
#156Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
I don't think you are accounting for the inevitable trip to the emergency room.
Or galvanic corrosion.
Re: The US Mint lost $69M making pennies last year
#157Earlier quoted context omitted.
FWIW, the Euro is coins from €0.01 to €2, then paper from €5 to €500. I find dollar bills even more annoying than pennies.
Dollar bills take up almost no space, and are easier to handle than coins. Aside from durability, why would you switch?
If I'm going to use cash, I'd rather keep loose change in the pocket and keep my wallet as thin as possible. $1 bills have a tendency of taking volume in my wallet.
Re: The US Mint lost $69M making pennies last year
#158So get rid of them. At one point in my life, a long time ago, things could be purchased for a penny. That time has long passed. Now pennies are used just to make the math work out. Round everything up a nickel ($0.05) and call it a day. Or look at it another way: inflation has made the nickel from my youth into today's penny.
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Re: The US Mint lost $69M making pennies last year
#159Earlier quoted context omitted.
I was with you until you wanted to eliminate cash in favor of more coins. How is someone supposed to carry those in their wallet? Many use thin wallets or money clips for card/ID/cash. Plus if I'm leaving someone a tip, I'm sure they'd hate to have their pockets jingling while they serve food or valet. Cash is also a lot easier to count, flip through, harder to lose.
The entire EU eurozone manages to do it. There's a 1 Euro note, but I've never seen it and as far as I know nobody uses it. Using 1 and 2 euro coins works great. I personaly just keep them in my pocket. I don't think jingling is a real problem. Same goes for the UK and the pound. Nobody uses 1 pound notes.
Worth noting: the lack of tip culture in the EU as per the previous poster's example. A waiter being tipped 1$ coins each night would add up quickly.