Ban the penny.

[Gromit]

Australia and New Zealand have abolished the 1 cent and 2 cent coins. There is a argument for us to follow.

- When the 1 New Penny was introduced in 1971 it was worth something. Now, due to inflation it is worth a fraction of what it was.

- It costs more than 1p to mint it.

- Rounding is more truthful. £2 instead of £1.99.

- The weight and pocket wearage are unnecessary.

[maggiebee]

Can't abolish the penny! I empty my purse every night and all the pennies go into a wee box for Samaritans. Holds about £6 when full. Not much I know, but about 20 of us do it and I can fill mine 4 times a year so it soon mounts up.

[Gromit]

Agreed.

Should the Penny and 2 pence coin be retired?

[Old_Geezer]

No massive axe to grind, but I'd not be keen on being forced to have even prices only. And you wouldn't see £1.99 rounded to £2: you'd get shrinkage and a £1.98 price tag. Suspect it is more change for the sake of it. If it becomes unpopular then fewer would need to be minted anyway.

[ummmm]

Yes....they always end up on my floor.

[Postdog]

There is a reason for the 99p (or 19s 11d as in the old days) and it is still relevant where cash is used. The purpose is to ensure the transaction goes through the till rather than being pocketed by the cashier, which could happen if say something was £5.00 and you just handed over £5.00 and walked away.

[pa___ul3]

maggiebee, think of how much better you'd do with 5p's, much smaller too so more in the jar!

I don't think it'll be long before coppers are obsolete.

[atrollope]

If the coins cost more to make than theyre worth..retire all coins under 10p...a bit further...your logic looks sound Gromit

[maggiebee]

Ah, but then they'll abolish the 5p as too small!

[atrollope]

shrinkage..everything 9p cheaper..Amnesty on coppers and bobs

[anotheoldgit]

Can't do that because the 99p shop would have to change its name because it couldn't give you a 1p change.

[atrollope]

change..coppers and bobs for Shrapnel

[AB Editor]

I'd go with abolishing the 1p myself. Quite like the 2p, could probably do without the 5p as well, it's a bit fiddly.

[anotheoldgit]

Won't be any problems when we are in the Euro.

[albaqwerty]

The first casualty of banning the penny would be the charities.
Think about the number of times you've seen someone in a shop say, just put the change in the can?

The penny is larger than the 5p which I think is weird.

[Kayless]

I don't often quote the MRLP but one of their policies was to have a 99p coin! genius! Until you realise why things are n.99.

[EDDIE51]

Check all your 1 & 2p's, the older ones are Copper alloy (non magnetic) this will soon be worth more than face value as scrap metal. Do not hand Copper ones in if they become obsolete.

[atrollope]

When customers say"Put the spare change in the Charity tin"...in the future,they would have a range between 10-40p....a measure of how charitable they felt at the time.