Coppers - why do we bother?

[Plan C]

I found a 2p coin today in my pocket and I kinda liked the desin on the tails of it + it was all shiny and new. I looked at the date minted on it and it said 2008.

Then it kinda struck me - there must still be people in this country employed to mint coppers. The point of the whole enterprise eludes me; why on earth is our money still being spent on making coppers when there is no feasible justification for their use in everyday trade? Or is there?

Having thought about it for a quick minute I realised that your average copper's most likely fate is rotting away in a copper pot/jar/tin - whatever(even I've got one of those). I genuinely wonder how many millions of pounds are indefinitely withdrawn from circulation, stashed away in people's homes, unlikely to ever be seriously disturbed. How much cash is sitting completely uselessly in my borough alone?

Opinions are unsurprisingly divided but it really p*sses me off when people give reasons like "giving them to kids cos they like it", "charity/beggars" and similar BS. I really would like to know what government's actual explanation is for this one - why do I pay for coppers to be minted when we could easily do without more scrap in our pockets.

[Sphere]

You think a 2p coin is bad? In the US we still mint 1c coins which is about 1/2 a pence. People have written books about getting rid of the US "pennys" as we call them. Their base metals are worth far more than their monetary value.

[Viking Prince]

A short answer is that the coins are simply a part of the process of facilitating the use of the US Dollar as a medium of exchange. You are not literally trading value for a currency with intrinsic value. The currency will then again be a part of a transaction and you will ultimately receive value for value.

The penny was an componant to the transactions to get to the end. Most transactions are through the computer and digits in the ether and not physical pennies, quarters, and paper money. The cost of all transactions is minimized with the existence of the penny in the sense of $0.01 on a transaction balance and not as a physical "copper".

[Mathais]

Well copper has more value than you know for one i trade in about 50 or so pounds of copper the a company and was give a lot of money for it it was over 300.00 dollers. You woould be suprised how much is stolen from companys and everywhere else. I do see your point when it comes to the penny for it has very little copper in it but unitl the value of copper drops i dont think it is going to stop makeing copper coins.

[Pickle_mole]

If you got rid of the Penny/pence imagine how many millions of dollars/pounds would never get to charities. You dont want to starve poor kids do you?

[Ishoss]

If you got rid of the Penny/pence imagine how many millions of dollars/pounds would never get to charities. You dont want to starve poor kids do you?

I don't want their populations to grow, either. But that's another discussion...

Pennies and other such coins sucks hard, they have no use except for nostalgia.

[dwringer]

Haha, yeah, US pennies are worth more than 1 cent just in base metals, I think they're worth like 4 cents after you bother with minting them. People like pennies too much though, for some unfathomable reason.

Perhaps it's related to the reasons that dollar coins are always pulled out of circulation by collectors. That really pisses me off. The only time I've gotten them is whenever new ones are circulated (and I ask at the bank), or out of two specific vending machines that I used to go to that oddly dispensed dollar coins as change.

[Cluny the Scourge]

I refuse to accept copper coins in change from a transaction. If a copper is necessary to make up the difference, I refuse it. They are an irritating and unnecessary contrivance and if I had my way I would enact legislation requiring all sales of any item to be divisions of 5-pence at the utmost. No more freaking "£2.99" for this or that, etc. It's loathsome.

[Markas]

I refuse to accept copper coins in change from a transaction. If a copper is necessary to make up the difference, I refuse it.

I prefer to look distastefully and mutter under my breath. The English way.

[Calamari]

We had a problem with the value of copper in Plymouth. Some people stole plaques off of a war memorial to sell for scrap.

Coppers it seemes are destined for the charity pot, the deepest recesses of the sofa or in my case a a rather pile in the corner of my desk...

[Republic]

If it wasn't for copper coins then the whole psychological pricing theory would go down and prove a difficulty in marketing.

[Denny Crane!]

It is a worthless idea and just another way the government spends our money without asking us if their is actually a logical reason for it. Why would they need logic when they have a gun to our head?

[Viking Prince]

Again -- the reason for the coin today is not the coin itself, but the placeholder in the system. You can elinimate any coin other than the basic unit which is a penny in the USA. Computers are calculating to much smaller sums and business transactions are created digitally. If the base unit is the dollar, then you will get a creaping inflation to the system. Just keep the base unit as a penny. Not a big deal -- I have not used paper curency and coin for months at a time. Plastic works fine even for a fast food meal.

[boofhead]

Australia got rid of her 1c and 2c pieces years ago. Our smallest minted denomination is now 5c. But pricing may still be 96c, 97c, 98c, 99c. All they do is round the total of all purchases to the nearest 5c. So 96/97c = 95c total; 98/99c = $1 total.

Good system really. Except some smart Alecs when it was introduced entered grocery stores and demanded that each 96/97 cent item was rung up individually, and that 98/99 cent items were rung up together until they could be rounded down to 95c.

But this was subsequently banned. Penny pinchers.

[the_mango55]

Everyone knows the saying "A penny saved is a penny earned"

I prefer the saying "A penny saved is worthless"

[Sidmen]

I like to have pennies so that I don't end up with even more useless change. Its the worst feeling when you get done ringing up your groceries and have it come up to $4.01 and you know that your about to get 99 cents instead of a dollar.

[Oklop]

You can send all you pennies to me if they are bothering you, and when I have all the pennies in the world I will melt them and become filthy rich from copper trade.

[Sidmen]

Right before you get thrown in jail for defacing the currency.

[Viking Prince]

Right before you get thrown in jail for defacing the currency.

Melting down is not a crime. Defacing and attempting to thus pass as moeny is. Not inforce though ---- so maybe we should drop the defacing idea.

btw -- for those who feel there is a problem of carrying of coin in your pocket -- you are aware you do not need more than a buck of change (4 pennies, 2 dimes, 3 quarters) -- just use it in your next cash payment and not drop it into the bottomless bin at home.

[Oklop]

But if I do the melting/defacing in another country? Like one that does not have copper pennies? And of course is not member of EU?