Good bye to Messrs. Lincoln and Jefferson?

[tallman]

Are you as tired of the penny as I am?

Wouldn't life be much easier if all prices ended in .00 or .05?

It costs more to make a penny than it's worth. (.017)

Sounds good.

But, costs more to make a nickel (.075) than it is worth.

So, what's the solution?

All prices end in .00 or .25/50/75?

 

With tax, you'd still get funky numbers.

 

Time for a cashless society?

 

I don't know, but my daughter rolled $165 in change yesterday, money we dump out at the end of the day.

Some years I've rolled over $1500 in change.

 

Should we remove tax collecting from the merchant and issue a tax card that is billed to us everymonth?

The card is swiped w/each cash transaction.

No pay the bill?

Your tax card is cancelled and you can't purchase until paid in full.

Still no pay?

Sheriff picks up your stuff and sells it.

 

I'm tired of jingling and leaning in the direction of my heaviest pocket filled w/change.

 

Time for a change, in change.

[motoguy128]

I use our debit card whenever possible. It's tied to one of thise high interest (6%?) checking accounts. We have to use it at least 12 times per month... but we usually get there in less than a week. I've gone weeks at a time wihtout a single dollar or coin on me.

 

I'm ready for a cashless & checkless society, but most of the population isn't. What annoys me is that ratailers complain about the fees associated with using credit cards, but I don't hink many think abotu how much they pay to have cash delivered, handled, counted, etc. I think it would be fair to round up cash transactions to the nearest $0.10 or 0.25 as mentioned.

 

If it was acceptable to round up fractions of a penny 100 years ago, why is it so terrible to round to $0.10 now?

 

Check this out http://www.coinnews.net/tools/cpi-inflation-calculator/

 

So a penny in 1913 is worth $0.22 now. Maybe also add a $2 and $5 coin to replace the loss of the penny and nickle.

[Geezer]

I'm tired of jingling and leaning in the direction of my heaviest pocket filled w/change.

 

 

Be glad that you don't live in Canada where 1 and 2 dollar denominations are also coins. If you aren't very careful you can end up carrying a load...of change.

[smiller]

I'm ready for a cashless & checkless society

I remember reading a science fiction story about a future cashless society where the government had complete control of the citizenry by virtue of its ability to completely cut off an individual's ability to earn or spend money. An interesting thought.

 

[Jerry Johnston]

Go back to the gold standard?

[tallman]

I'm tired of jingling and leaning in the direction of my heaviest pocket filled w/change.

 

 

Be glad that you don't live in Canada where 1 and 2 dollar denominations are also coins. If you aren't very careful you can end up carrying a load...of change.

 

Actually, one of my best investments has been in Canandian currency.

I have a bunch from when the exchange was 63/100 .

 

It's not the metal/alloy I have a problem with per se, it's the need to keep exchange based on the 100 cents per dollar where yu actually have to have cents, or is that sense?

 

The govt. can cut us off from our $$$ now.

Don't get in a confrontation w/the IRS.

[sgendler]

answer is to kill off the penny and make nickels similar to the penny, so that it is cheaper to make.

[sgendler]

I still remember when the UK had a half penny coin. How dumb is that. Not quite as dumb as having a monetary system that wasn't decimal, I suppose.

[Boffin]

I still remember when the UK had a half penny coin. How dumb is that. Not quite as dumb as having a monetary system that wasn't decimal, I suppose.

 

The pre-decimal system was great. The pound had 240 pence, just look at the factors of 240:

120, 80, 60, 48, 40, 30, 20, 16, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2.

Now factorise 100:

50, 25, 20, 10, 5, 4, 2.

 

The shilling has 12 pence:

Factors. 6, 4, 3, 2

 

The pound had 20 shillings,

10, 5, 4, 2

 

It may have been harder (for foreigners) to add up, but from a fiscal management perspective it was much more flexible.

 

Andy

[tallman]

answer is to kill off the penny and make nickels similar to the penny, so that it is cheaper to make.

 

That's a good idea.

[Gary in Aus]

I'm not sure exactly when but we replaced our $1 and $2 notes with coins years ago, we have also removed 1 and 2 cent pieces years ago as well . We also have 5 ,10 ,20, 50 and 100 dollar notes in scaled sizing with the $5 being the smallest and the $100 being the largest ,they also differ in colour so it is easy to identify the notes , unlike the US notes which are sometimes difficult for international visitors to distinguish .

 

I am still sure I gave the doorman at the Warwick in New York a $100 tip when I only intended to give a $10 {he had unloaded and carried about 6 large bags} He was very friendly for the rest of that stay and on a later visit he remembered me!!

 

We currently have "silver"5,10,20 and 50 cent coins as well as the "gold" $1 and $2 coins but the 5 and 10 cent coins should be removed .

 

My youngest who is 17 when confronted with "silver" coins recoils in horror that she should even have to carry these coins ,we rarely use 5 and 10 cent coins anymore and they now make up most of the money box donations or accumulate in storage compartments in the car.

 

To make things interesting our $1 coin is similar to the NZ $2 coin and their $1 is similar to our $2 and you may find a NZ$2 being given in change as a Aus$1.

 

In dealing with your tax why not include tax in price and round up to nearest 10 or 20 cents .{ It used to drive my kids crazy while on holidays in the US they would purchase postcards from the 99 cent rack and then would have to find an extra 7 or so cents at the counter after tax was included , they are used to the advertised price being the final price as tax is always included in our pricing}

 

With the way the US dollar is going against some other countries you may not need coins at all , I remember when our dollar was floated and the international markets started at US 50 cents for our dollar ,it is now around the US 96 to 98 cents to our dollar which gives us good buying power overseas .

 

I have around 190,000 frequent flyer points that I have to use before Feb2009 which will get two of us to Mumbai or Shanghai or Japan or US west coast. Mumbai and Shanghai look like winners at the moment ,just trying to find out the cricket situation in Mumbai for some 20/20. Our dollar buys a lot more there than most other places

[tallman]

To add to the problem, a special (that I didn't watch) last night stated that in the US we put 14 million coins into vending machines every hour.

That's coins, not dollars.

I'm so ready for a universal ID/credit card.

Swipe and pay.

 

Anyone steals your identity, ship them over to the other thread.

http://bmwsporttouring.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=366589&fpart=1

Anyone defrauds the system.

25 to life.

[Bob Palin]

Darn, Andy beat me to it. The old l-s-d monetary system was far superior to a 'decimal' system.

 

The answer to the change problem is to spend it! I have a tin next to the telephone where I throw all my change, if I'm going somewhere where I might spend cash I take a suitable selection of coins out to make up change for a buck. There's also no reason why you can't pay small amounts bigger than a buck with mostly quarters.

[Gregori]

While retiring the penny and going to a nickel (or even dime) as the smallest currency increment has some appeal, it's not likely to happen in our lifetimes.

The 'value' of a penny (or nickel) goes far beyond it's currency value. It has functional value as a tool of commerce.

Aside from that - the cost of converting EVERY cash register and accounting system to accommodate the change (pun intended) and the cost in lost time, and efforts to educating people about the new system would be astronomical. (Look at all the attempts to get the US on the freakin' Metric system!)

 

Rounding off works fine, really. Back when I was single, EVERY transaction in my checking account was put in my register rounded to the nearest dollar. I "balanced" it a few times a year by checking that the current balance and register balance were approximately the same. I quickly reviewed the monthly statements for obvious errors, and never made an adjustment. When I got married, that system drove my wife absolutely nuts, and I closed that account when we combined finances. After at least ten years of doing it my way, the register and closing balance were within two dollars of even. (I don't recall which way.)

 

Personally - I'd love to see an all digital 'cash' system. Swipe to get charged, swipe to get paid. Then eMail me the receipt. (Or text it, and it can be viewed INSTANTLY to verify the charge is correct before even leaving the store.)

Why won't it work now? The cost, security, and privacy issues need to be adequately resolved before it has a chance of widespread acceptance.

The fees that the banks currently charge for credit (and even debit) cards are a little out of line. Some of the fees are 'risk' distribution, but a lot of it is just profiteering.

Risk factors - it's pretty easy to make fraudulent charges on a credit card. I've been loaned cards NUMEROUS times by various people when buying something for them, and can only recall one time where it was challenged/questioned by the clerk. (Who DID allow me charge on it with my explanation, but DIDN'T record the information from my ID?!) Any of those times I could have presented a stolen card, and there would have been practically no way to link it back to me. How about the charge at the pump? The last time I filled my truck it was over $150, and NOBODY checked my ID, nor did the pump even ask for my ZIP code. Self-checkout (esp. "big-box" retailers) is becoming popular, and the same thing applies there. A biometric (thumbprint) reader isn't infallible, but would be a good step in the right direction.

And finally - a lot of folks have (reasonable) concerns about privacy. Who's going to keep the records of what you've purchased, and where you've been? Who's going to be allowed to access those records?

 

As far as the pennies and nickels are concerned - I expect that they're here to stay for a while...

For now - the few times I spend cash, generally the change ends up in the 'tip' jar, or goes to Jerry's kids. (Whatever charity jar is on the counter.) If one of those repositories isn't handy, or I'm not on the bike, it ends up in the ashtray in the car, where it accumulates and rots until the car is sold...

[Boffin]

I too would love to go to a cashless society - then it would match my bank balance

 

Seriously, I can see a lot of positives as well as the negatives. Some people would not however, be able to cope with that system There are people who cannot do the math, there are people who cannot remember what they did this morning. Those type of people are in grave danger of running out of "funds" before they run out of month.

 

As to you point on privacy

 

And finally - a lot of folks have (reasonable) concerns about privacy. Who's going to keep the records of what you've purchased, and where you've been? Who's going to be allowed to access those records?

 

If you pay by credit or debit card, the stores probably already do keep the records.

 

In the UK we also have on-line grocery shopping - my mum uses it. Log on, select your items or open your stored grocery list, pick a delivery slot (2-hour window) and pay by card. At the appointed time a van pulls up and the driver brings your groceries to your doos - in my mum's case, to her kitchen.

 

The stores love it, target advertising and even targeted specials.

 

Andy

[Gary in Aus]

I remember the 14th of February 1966 very well . It was the day we changed from lsd to decimal currency.

 

As a 10 year old my major concern was that the shilling of 12 pence became the 10 cent piece of 10 cents . Shopkeepers would use a sixpence piece as a 5 cent piece replacement and the penny was replaced by the 1 cent piece.

 

If you fronted at the shop to buy a 1 cent or 1 penny lolly , if you had a sixpenny piece they would always call it a 5 cent piece and you would only be given 5 lollies. If you had a shilling they would call it a 10 cent piece and you would only get 10 lollies.

 

However if you turned up with pennies and bought your lollies one at a time you would get 12 lollies for a shillings worth of pennies {12}.

 

We would only get into town on Fridays {weekly cattle sales} and the only chance to get to the shop to buy lollies so we would spend the rest of the week "negotiating" changing sixpences and shillings into one penny coins with our farm workers ,parents and anyone who would exchange our silver for copper.

 

As I think back we must have driven Mrs Glast the shopowner crazy with a constant stream of children buying lollies one penny at a time . You could buy two musksticks for a penny so 12 pennies ensured enough sugary lollies to make you sick in the car on the way back to the farm.

 

The fear of "losing" that two pennies in the shilling changeover may have been one of the motivators for my later attitudes towards some government activities.