CENT Vs. HALF: Which one should be eliminated, and which one should remain?

Okay, this is a topic to ask what coin denomination is more justified to circulate between pennies and halves.

First, lets look at the lowly cent:

They can't buy much if anything. They cost more than a cent to produce, costing tax payers and wasting money. They usually get thrown in the garbage, placed in a sock drawer, piggie bank or change jar and taken out of circulation, causing the need to mint more. We could round all final transactions to the nearest nickel if cents were eliminated. Cents are now made of copper plated zinc, and many of these Zincolns seem to deterriorate and rot away. You often find cents on the ground because a lot of people do not bend over to pick them up (I do though :devil: )

Now, lets look at halves:

They are slightly larger than the $1 coin. They are not currently accepted buy many vending machines, but neither are cents. Fifty cents can actually buy something. Halves would cut down on the ammount of quarters needing to be minted yearly if halves circulated on a regular basis, despite using about as much metal as two quarters. Halves are actually made of a more expensive and more durable metal than the cent, and halves do not cost fifty cents or more than fifty cents to produce. You do not see too many halves left on the ground, like you do with cents.

The winner here for me, is the half, hands down! Lets eliminate that bothersome cent, and clear the way for both the half, and the dollar coin. :hail:

 

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The cent should be dropped. Halves can, and might well, return to circulation as a useful coin. The cent has no use and never will again.

Keep the half dollar coin.

 

Are you referring to US coins? If yes, the penny (oops, the 1 cent coin) should be phased out in my opinion. The half dollar is fine as a denomination but too big for everyday use ...

Christian

 

Both should go.

Then redesign the nickel (smaller) so that, like the cent, it doesn't cost more to make than its face value.

With the half gone, redesign the dollar coins (larger but not Morgan-sized) so that they aren't quarter-sized.
Also at the same time get rid of the paper dollar and bring the $2 bill into circulation.

Finally, use the half size (in silver) for commemorative coins.
It would give more space than the quarter for (hopefully) better artistic expression.

For the business establishments that would mean no change in their cash registers.
No cents leaves room for the dollar coins.
No $1 bills leaves room for the $2 bills.

Yes, the US would have to adopt nickel breakage, but the rest of the world hasn't collapsed economically by adopting that policy.
It was used in Australia & New Zealand when I was there in 1994 (16+ years ago).

 

I agree! I want my sales tax raised from 6% to 10% to make it easier to calculate... ;P

 

I agree that the cent needs to go, and the half is obsolete due to people not wishing to carry such large coins. If we were going to do it, though, we should adopt Canada's model and just go straight to one and two dollar coins, with the smallest bill being a $5. Most change drawers would have room for $1 and $2 dollar coins if the cent were dropped, since most have an extra space for weirdo items like halves, dollar coins, etc now. Its like a bandaid, better to just make the adjustments all at once.

 

Seems we sort of agree.
I'd skip the $2 coins until people get used to a $1 coin.
Phase them in about 10 years later.
The average American doesn't like changes to what they're comfortable with which is why the cent is so hard to get rid of.
Plus they also think getting rid of the cent is a "big business" plot to rip them off.
They don't care if costs the Gov't an extra $150 million a year over face to produce them.
Oh, but they DO want to reduce Gov't spending so we can balance the budget.
The nickel is in the same boat.

 

Make cents out of something cheaper like aluminum. Get rid of the nickel. Keep the half but make it smaller.

 

Why round to the nearest five cents when it also costs nearly ten cents to make a nickel? If the cent goes, I think we lose the nickel, then we'll see how many are content rounding to the nearest ten cents. BTW, mint budgets don't come from tax dollars, so their loss isn't yours.
Guy

 

They make it up with the seniorage from the other coins so they arn't losing money. In fact I thought the Fed bought the coins at face from the mint to distribute.

 

Our sales tax is 7.75%. Do you suppose you could send me your spare quarter-cents...?

 

(1) Lose the cent.
(2) Change the nickel to a cheaper composition -- nickel plated steel or something of the sort. We can't get rid of it for a lot of reasons.
(3) Keep the half but make it much smaller, possibly making it of the same material that dollar coins are made of.
(4) Lose the dollar bill.
(5) Lose the two dollar bill, not that anybody would notice.
(6) Add a two dollar coin.

 

I think that's the way we're going.

Reintroducing aluminum 2 and 3 cent coins might also be worthwhile for phasing out the penny but still leaving a way to make odd change. Or, maybe just the 3.

 

I suspect they might do copper plated steel rather than copper plated aluminum because the steel cent would be fairly close to the weight of the current cent. Aluminum is also more expensive than steel, and I don't expect them to realize that the expense is countered by the fact that you can make two and a half times as many cents out of a pound of aluminum than you can from pound of steel.

 

why add a coin to replace an unused denomination? no one (outside of collectors) use it, so why would adding a $2 coin be any different? i'm all in favor of getting rid of the $1 and $2 bills and using $1 coins, but a $2 coin would be a waste.

 

Dont be begging for spare change with only 7.75% sales tax. Where I live, it's almost 10%.


I think that the cent should be gone, change the nickel composition, make the half a bit smaller, and lose the dollar bill.

 

I believe people would use the $2 bill for a while after the $1 bill goes, as public opinion polls have shown that more than 70% of people surveyed said they would simply turn to the $2 bill if there were no $1 bill. After they are used to the $2 denomination in bill form, you scrap it for a $2 coin, and then, the $2 coin will catch on because people would rather carry less coins if possible.

 

The mint just needs to sit down with our elected officials and give it to them straight. The cent and nickel are both costing them money to make, and the dollar coin can save the treasury a lot of money if it completely replaces (not competes with) the dollar bill. When they finally quit the dollar bill, then we'll see if the two dollar bill circulates, or it should get the axe also. The half is making the mint money, as it sells to collectors for a significant premium. I like the denomination, but some design changes might not be a bad thing.

 

The $2 bills should not get the ax even if it does not circulate, as the government makes money off those, too. Remember all of those special colorized and yearly $2 bill programs they do. Not to mention my personal favorite, the 32 subject sheets of $2 bills.