Have you heard ?

Let's just make US coins as boring and lame as possible!!111

1) Use computers to generate designs which have low details and low relief
2) Use bland stainless steel composition
3) Rename Nickel to 5 cent piece.

:thumb:

 

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This is just the inevitable result of the Fed policy that some level of positive inflation is right and proper and any kind of price stability, or God forbid deflation, is dealt with by the swift application of the printing press. Not the first time our currency has been debased and it won't be the last.

 

#1 and #3 on your list have already happened

 

I know #1 is happening, but #3 is happening?

 

The powers that be don't think it is politically expedient to be the ones who stop minting pennies. You better believe there will be a huge public uproar if the cent is discontinued, will cries of oppressing the poor and causing inflation.
Better to blow a few hundred million dollars rather than risk not getting re-elected.

 

On any Jefferson nickel it says "Five Cents" on the reverse (I believe the Buffalo nickel has that too)

 

Well it's almost always said 5 cents on it, but it's still deemed a nickel by the U.S. government

 

CNN Video:

http://www.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_bn1#/video/us/2012/02/15/tsr-jones-cheaper-change.cnn

Thanks---Steve

 

even the liberty nickel says "five cents," except for some of the 1883 ones that left it off. "nickel" is a nickname, not the official name of the coin. kinda like "penny" for the 1 cent coin.

 

If they change the composition of the cent again, will it be legal to melt down the copper cents?
I think I read that if they change a coins composition 2x its legal?

 

If the physical penny is eliminated the virtual penny will not disappear.

Yes, if you pay in cash, your purchase will be rounded to the nearest nickel.

If you pay by check, you can still write it for $25.99 and only $25.99 will be
deducted from your account. No rounding here.

If you pay with a card, you will still be charged $25.99 with no rounding.

The elimination of the one cent coin only effects cash transactions.
The one cent denomination does not go away in electronic transactions.

 

Compressed salt to get two birds with one stone.

1. Eliminate high production material costs

2. Eliminate money laundering!

 

Maybe I am missing something here but what does rounding up and down to the nearest 5 cents have to do with the sales tax rate? You're not suggesting that the sales tax rates will also be rounded off to the nearest 5 percent are you?

 

Umm...an entire generation has already been raised with a penny that is no longer made of copper. Two generations have been raised without dimes and quarters being made from silver... I wasn't around during the transition in the 60s but I suspect it was far more "dramatic" than what changing the composition of the cent (for the 2nd time) and nickel will be. Also, it can be expected that the old composition cents and nickels will continue circulating for a good portion of the rest of this century so I'm sure your future grandchildren will still be raised with nickels made from nickel, they just wont be new. lol.

 

let's say you purchase a candy bar for $1 (yes, i know prices vary store to store, state to state, etc., but for this example go with it). you buy the candy bar, priced at $1 (no longer 99¢ because the cent is eliminated). sales tax is 6%, making your total $1.06. what going broke form of government in the USA will round it down to $1.05? none. it will be rounded up to $1.10. sales tax is now 10%. given that many cities, and several states, are near bankrupt, do you really think they would round down???

 

The real story missed here is they are having to make this move because the $ has been devalued so much, that they can no longer use copper, zinc, & nickel in coin production. Coinage is an alternative currency to paper and they have to make absolutely sure the metal value doesn't exceed the face value on the coin. 29% of the total money supply was created in just the last 4 years and they show no signs they plan to stop the printing. Else no more $T deficits.

A generation ago they removed copper from the penny. A couple of generations ago they removed silver for the same reason and gave the same excuse. It's been so long since gold was used that most of the current generation has difficulties in believing that gold was ever used for circulating coins.

It doesn't really matter what the next choice will be because in time, it will become too expensive too.

 

We are rounded our sums since euro came because we don't use 1 and 2 cent coins here. There are some €0,99 prices here and if you pay with cash it is then €1. When you pay with card, it is only €0,99. We round to NEAREST €0,05, so 50% goes down and 50% goes up. You lose nothing in the long run.

 

Actually his budget proposal included language to allow the mint to research for material to make such a change. The same legislation he signed last year and the same authority they have always had. They still have to have Congressional approval to actually make any changes to the coins. (The final report on proposed new alloys is supposed to be ready at the end of 2012. They will probably spend 2013 debating them so I don't see any real changes until 2014.)

Yes but cost more than one cent to make not not including the cost of materials.

Or down.

Why? Since the rounding would occur AFTER the sales tax is applied prices could still end in .99 After all we don't have mil coins but gasoline is still priced in mils.

Why? There is no reason why sales tax rates would change. There are areas of the country that have rates such as 8 1/2% or 8 1/4% but we don't have half cents or quarter cent pieces. The taxes are figured and then rounded up or down to the nearest cent. If they eliminate cents prices will be totaled, your 6% tax rate will be applied and the total rounded up or down to the nearest 5 cent. They already do this with your 6% rate except they round up or down to the nearest cent. (And yes sometimes it is rounded DOWN) The tax rate will not change. If a state tries to use this as an excuse to make such a change they are just trying to rip you off.

Then it is a waste of time. The cent currently costs 2.41 cents to produce, .43 cents of that is the cost of materials. So even if the cost of materials was totally free it would still cost 1.98 cents to make each cent. It is IMPOSSIBLE to stop the cent from being a money loser unless you sell advertising space on it.

You can do that for the five cent but you have a new problem, they won't work in current vending machines. Every machine will have to have a new coin mechanism. Or be set to refuse five cent pieces.

If you chack the laws relating to it you will find it is always referred to as a five cent piece.

Not immediately but once the cents disappear from circulation they will probably make it legal again since there will be no reason to try and protect them.

Nope

Nah, we'll leave the candy bar priced at .99 X 1.06 = 1.0498 and round it to $1.05 And right now if you buy something that costs $1.05 with tax it comes to $1.113 They don't round that up to $1.12 do they? No they round it DOWN to $1.11 because they know it will be made up on other amounts where the tax amount ends in .005 or higher which will round up. The same thing will happen to the nearest five cent with rounding both up and down.

 

Actually his budget proposal included language to allow the mint to research for material to make such a change. The same legislation he signed last year and the same authority they have always had. They still have to have Congressional approval to actually make any changes to the coins. (The final report on proposed new alloys is supposed to be ready at the end of 2012. They will probably spend 2013 debating them so I don't see any real changes until 2014.)

Yes but cost more than one cent to make not not including the cost of materials.

Or down.

Why? Since the rounding would occur AFTER the sales tax is applied prices could still end in .99 After all we don't have mil coins but gasoline is still priced in mils.

Why? There is no reason why sales tax rates would change. There are areas of the country that have rates such as 8 1/2% or 8 1/4% but we don't have half cents or quarter cent pieces. The taxes are figured and then rounded up or down to the nearest cent. If they eliminate cents prices will be totaled, your 6% tax rate will be applied and the total rounded up or down to the nearest 5 cent. They already do this with your 6% rate except they round up or down to the nearest cent. (And yes sometimes it is rounded DOWN) The tax rate will not change. If a state tries to use this as an excuse to make such a change they are just trying to rip you off.

Then it is a waste of time. The cent currently costs 2.41 cents to produce, .43 cents of that is the cost of materials. So even if the cost of materials was totally free it would still cost 1.98 cents to make each cent. It is IMPOSSIBLE to stop the cent from being a money loser unless you sell advertising space on it.

You can do that for the five cent but you have a new problem, they won't work in current vending machines. Every machine will have to have a new coin mechanism. Or be set to refuse five cent pieces.

If you chack the laws relating to it you will find it is always referred to as a five cent piece.

Not immediately but once the cents disappear from circulation they will probably make it legal again since there will be no reason to try and protect them.

Nope

Nah, we'll leave the candy bar priced at .99 X 1.06 = 1.0498 and round it to $1.05 And right now if you buy something that costs $1.05 with tax it comes to $1.113 They don't round that up to $1.12 do they? No they round it DOWN to $1.11 because they know it will be made up on other amounts where the tax amount ends in .005 or higher which will round up. The same thing will happen to the nearest five cent with rounding both up and down.

 

I read somewhere they were talking of using steel again and of all things aluminum! Who knows what they'll use.