Stuporman

The subject of the mint no longer minting cents came up on another (non-numismatic) board I frequent. Someone asked if they stop making the cent will it still be legal tender, if not why, and if so how long will it circulate before we stop seeing it in commerce.

Here is the thread I am talking about:
http://realcent.forumco.com/topic~TOPIC_ID~204.asp

Is the information in the original post in this thread correct? (odd denominations, the trade dollar, etc.?)

I never really thought about it, somehow I assumed if they stopped making the cent they would give a timeframe to cash them all in and that would be that. I wonder though.

Also, what would stopping minting the cent mean to lincoln cent collection, do you think?

JBK

In theory they could demonitize it if they actually passed the law and included that provision, but history does not support that. Look as recebtky as the Golden Dollar - the old SBA is causing problems since it gets delivered out by the banks mixed with the Sacky dollars, but they refuse to make any move to recall them.

Besides....if the Government recalls coins, they have to cough up the $$$ to pay for them, and they don't want to do that. IF they cme back, they would of course cash them in, but they would rather let YOU keep them and let them keep their value.

Vlad

just ****e. up with inflation. otherwise you are right I guess noone will suggest that 1928 dollar is the same thing as 2006 one?

cladking

Hopefully they would redeem them and turn them in for proper disposal. These are toxic and returning them to the treasury is no more expensive than to continue using them. In any case it is highly improbable that they'd be demonetized. They'll not be seen in circulation almost immediately because it takes a steady stream of these flowing into commerce since there is a steady stream flowing into landfills. It wouldn't be surprising if some people try to dump their hordes by spending them so don't be surprised if you see some "NO PENNIES" signs.

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predcarn

In 1873 The US Trade dollar was given legal tender status, but then the US
revoked the legal tender status in 1876. It was evidently returned to legal
tender status in 1965, but was moot at the time due to the collector value.
I seem to remember another exception, but can't think of it at the moment.

Conder101

They would have to pass specific legislation to remove the legal tender status of the cent. Just discontinuing would not do so. And the chance that they would remove the legal tender status is not likely because there would be no advantge to be gained in doing so. If they discontinued them most all of them would disapper from circulation within four years and they wouldn't have to worry about them.

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justafarmer

The ironic thing about discontinueing the cent is - it would put more more demand and increase the production of the nickel. Currently the metal content alone for the US nickel stands at over 6.2 cents. I wouldn't be surprised if the overall loss for striking 1 five cent piece is greater than striking 5 one cent pieces.

cladking

You might being thinking of the default on various Mississippi bonds in the 1838.

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fiftypee

South Africa got rid of its 1 and 2 cent coins, but they are still legal tender.

I know of other countries that have gotten rid of their equivalent 1 cent coins, and have demonitized them, but I believe the banks also gave them a specified time period for redemption before becoming useless.

I expect that if the 1 cent coin is eliminated they will remain legal tender. I expect most people though if they have a huge stash of these coins to just bring them into a bank or some Coinstar counting machine.

If the 1 cent coin did get eliminated, I think the charities could really get in on the act and go for "penny" drives and collect all those jars of pennies people have in their homes and garages.

Just some thoughts!

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jackeen

When a piece of base metal gets defined as a dollar, the government makes a profit.

When a dollar gets defined as a piece of base metal, the government takes a loss.

Do the math.

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bqcoins

well with the price of copper being as it is redifinging the piece as base metal would actually net them a profit on the pre-82 cents

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Just Carl

I wish someone would spend as much time to get rid of those stupid baby sized dollars. I find myself gettingthem in change for a quarter and spending them as a quarter also. Now if the cent, nickel, 2 cent piece and 3 cent peice are all still good, what about all those old tax token coins? Still fun seeing how many people don't know what a half dollar or a 2 dollar bill is.

Cloudsweeper99

Dollar coins will never be popular unless they make them larger, or add a tiny amount of silver to them for psychological effect.

My wild guess prediction is that after the 2009 Lincoln cent is issued, the cent will be discontinued, it will be replaced by a new nickel the same size and composition as the current cent, and the current nickel will also be discontinued.

fiftypee

hello folks!

I have always gotten the impression too that many people from the US see their dollar as being very "significant" and worth something.

Being that the US dollar has been used all over the world, perhaps the US mint has to create a dollar that has the "psychological" affect of making the public that think that it holds the same significance that the dollar bill has generated in the world.

From what I have heard over the years these things seem to make people not like a dollar coin.
1. Similarity in size and design to the US quarter.
2. Having it look like something made of copper.
3. Too heavy to carry (i.e. those IKE dollars).

What if the US made a bi-metallic coin? It would easily distinquishable, and it would have elements of "silver like" quality if they used cupronickel for the outer rim, and in the center portion they could do a copper or aluminum bronze compositon.

I don't know the answer, but this is just ANOTHER suggestion.

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zapdbf

Well vendors have complained about the dollar coin in the fact they don’t have a pocket for it in the cash drawer. Maybe they will start putting dollar coins in this pocket if the penny evaporates. Possibly a boost for the dollar coin ?