Why does the Mint keep producing pennies

[DaveG38]

I've just got my first 2010 coin from change, and its a 1p (as usual). Why on earth are the Mint producing pennies - I chuck all mine into bank bags and change them all at the bank as soon as possible. I've got no use for all these excess 'coppers' and I suspect many others do the same as me, yet the mint still keeps on making 'em!

Rant over.

[argentumandcoins]

We need them for the biggest con in sales, if something is £99.99 it isn't £100 so you are more inclined to buy it. If we had no 1p coins it would have to be £99.98 and that doesn't have the same ring to it. Oh, and 2p coins are useless as well, so it would have to be £99.95 and that sounds even worse!! Come to think of it 5p is useless and 10p and 20p come to that.

It won't matter soon anyway as according to the press we are heading into a cheque free, cash free, plastic economy

[DaveG38]

We need them for the biggest con in sales, if something is £99.99 it isn't £100 so you are more inclined to buy it. If we had no 1p coins it would have to be £99.98 and that doesn't have the same ring to it. Oh, and 2p coins are useless as well, so it would have to be £99.95 and that sounds even worse!! Come to think of it 5p is useless and 10p and 20p come to that.

It won't matter soon anyway as according to the press we are heading into a cheque free, cash free, plastic economy

I don't disagree, but are there enough £x.99 sales each day/week/month/year to justify the sheer quantity of 1ps in circulation? And the production of yet more!!

[argentumandcoins]

We need them for the biggest con in sales, if something is £99.99 it isn't £100 so you are more inclined to buy it. If we had no 1p coins it would have to be £99.98 and that doesn't have the same ring to it. Oh, and 2p coins are useless as well, so it would have to be £99.95 and that sounds even worse!! Come to think of it 5p is useless and 10p and 20p come to that.

It won't matter soon anyway as according to the press we are heading into a cheque free, cash free, plastic economy

I don't disagree, but are there enough £x.99 sales each day/week/month/year to justify the sheer quantity of 1ps in circulation? And the production of yet more!!

We have to consider all of the jobs that would be lost if the humble Penny was removed from circulation/production.

The Penny man/men at the Royal Mint, the driver who delivered the metals for that quantity each year, the mechanic who worked on the drivers vehicle, the garage owner where the driver filled up every week and bought his pies/fags/paper/sweets etc etc etc hundreds, thousands of jobs even, all because we don't like £99.99 sales with a penny change! Do what I do and stick it in the Air Ambulance box, although I think they just keep them all in a massive bottle for a year before sending them back to the banks again

[DaveG38]

We need them for the biggest con in sales, if something is £99.99 it isn't £100 so you are more inclined to buy it. If we had no 1p coins it would have to be £99.98 and that doesn't have the same ring to it. Oh, and 2p coins are useless as well, so it would have to be £99.95 and that sounds even worse!! Come to think of it 5p is useless and 10p and 20p come to that.

It won't matter soon anyway as according to the press we are heading into a cheque free, cash free, plastic economy

I don't disagree, but are there enough £x.99 sales each day/week/month/year to justify the sheer quantity of 1ps in circulation? And the production of yet more!!

We have to consider all of the jobs that would be lost if the humble Penny was removed from circulation/production.

The Penny man/men at the Royal Mint, the driver who delivered the metals for that quantity each year, the mechanic who worked on the drivers vehicle, the garage owner where the driver filled up every week and bought his pies/fags/paper/sweets etc etc etc hundreds, thousands of jobs even, all because we don't like £99.99 sales with a penny change! Do what I do and stick it in the Air Ambulance box, although I think they just keep them all in a massive bottle for a year before sending them back to the banks again

You forgot to include all us coin collectors as well!!

[argentumandcoins]

We need them for the biggest con in sales, if something is £99.99 it isn't £100 so you are more inclined to buy it. If we had no 1p coins it would have to be £99.98 and that doesn't have the same ring to it. Oh, and 2p coins are useless as well, so it would have to be £99.95 and that sounds even worse!! Come to think of it 5p is useless and 10p and 20p come to that.

It won't matter soon anyway as according to the press we are heading into a cheque free, cash free, plastic economy

I don't disagree, but are there enough £x.99 sales each day/week/month/year to justify the sheer quantity of 1ps in circulation? And the production of yet more!!

We have to consider all of the jobs that would be lost if the humble Penny was removed from circulation/production.

The Penny man/men at the Royal Mint, the driver who delivered the metals for that quantity each year, the mechanic who worked on the drivers vehicle, the garage owner where the driver filled up every week and bought his pies/fags/paper/sweets etc etc etc hundreds, thousands of jobs even, all because we don't like £99.99 sales with a penny change! Do what I do and stick it in the Air Ambulance box, although I think they just keep them all in a massive bottle for a year before sending them back to the banks again

You forgot to include all us coin collectors as well!!

OOPS, sorry! I don't collect decimal coins because my wife would put them all in a bank bag and swap them for a pair of "to die for shoes" to go with the other zillion pairs that all cost £.99, giving me a penny back for my penny jar!!!!!!!

[davidrj]

All my 1p,2p & 5p go in the charity box on the sideboard, every little helps for lots of worthy causes

[Peckris]

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Edited July 14, 2010 by Peckris

[1949threepence]

I've just got my first 2010 coin from change, and its a 1p (as usual). Why on earth are the Mint producing pennies - I chuck all mine into bank bags and change them all at the bank as soon as possible. I've got no use for all these excess 'coppers' and I suspect many others do the same as me, yet the mint still keeps on making 'em!

Rant over.

You would think there was a sufficient number already in circulation to justify at least a much lower mintage some years, or for none at all to be minted. After all, no old style pennies were minted between 1954 and 1960 inc. You can effectively count 1950 to 1953 in that as well.

So I'm sure we could get away without 1p's for a few years. Conversely we need ATM's that dispense nice new fiver pound notes. Along with the £2 coin, probably the most useful currency available, and not enough of them.

We need them for the biggest con in sales, if something is £99.99 it isn't £100 so you are more inclined to buy it. If we had no 1p coins it would have to be £99.98 and that doesn't have the same ring to it. Oh, and 2p coins are useless as well, so it would have to be £99.95 and that sounds even worse!! Come to think of it 5p is useless and 10p and 20p come to that.

It won't matter soon anyway as according to the press we are heading into a cheque free, cash free, plastic economy

That's not a good thought ~ we'll be bloody traceable wherever we go, and there'll be nothing to collect

[Peckris]

Forget the pound, a mere johnny-come-lately at only 200 years old - if we lost the penny (in some form or other) we'd lose a coin with nearly 2,000 years of history. The d in £sd stands for denarius, a Roman silver coin uncannily similar in size to the present penny. Perhaps they should revalue the £ and make the penny a worthwhile denomination!

[scott]

they could replace them with 99p coins

problem is, there are so many pennys they are not even worth collecting

[Peckris]

they could replace them with 99p coins

problem is, there are so many pennys they are not even worth collecting

I say, dump the pound! Replace it with the penny sterling! Make the subdivisions cents, so the 10p becomes 10c, 50p = 50c etc

[davidrj]

from Wikipedia:-

Finnish businesses and banks have employed a method known as "Swedish rounding" when tallying sums. Due in large part to the inefficiency of producing and accepting the 1 cent and 2 cent coins, Finland has opted to remove these coins from general circulation in order to offset the cost involved in accepting them.

While individual prices are still shown and summed up with € 0.01 precision, the total sum is then rounded to the nearest € 0.05 when paying with cash. Sums ending in € 0.01, € 0.02, € 0.06 and € 0.07 are rounded down to the nearest 5 cents; sums ending in € 0.03, € 0.04, € 0.08 and € 0.09 are rounded up to the nearest 5 cents.

The 1 cent and 2 cent coins are legal tender and are still minted for collector sets as required by the EMU agreement.

*************

So maybe the 1p's days are numbered. I agree with Peckris the penny has a far longer history than the pound, maybe we should rename the pound as a "New Penny" as the French did with the franc, don't tell UKIP though

[scott]

of course the pennys days are numbered, inflation will see it off like it saw off the farthing and halfpennys

[davidrj]

Forget the pound, a mere johnny-come-lately at only 200 years old - if we lost the penny (in some form or other) we'd lose a coin with nearly 2,000 years of history. The d in £sd stands for denarius, a Roman silver coin uncannily similar in size to the present penny. Perhaps they should revalue the £ and make the penny a worthwhile denomination!

to Offa's standard?

240 pence to 1lb Sterling silver

at £12 per oz, 1d would be approx 80p

[FosseWay]

I think I'm right in saying that the penny is the only decimal coin that has been minted in quantity for circulation every year since 1971, apart from 1972 when no circulation coins were minted at all. The reason we need so many new ones is precisely because they all end up in jars etc. While several people have commented that they put pennies in charity boxes or wait till they've got 100 and take them to the bank, I suspect this is not normal behaviour for the population at large, who will accumulate them in various places and probably not turn them out till they move house.

On 'Swedish rounding': this is not uncommon. When I lived in Italy (pre-euro) what you paid at the checkout was rounded to the nearest 50 lire, although supermarket shelf prices were quoted to the nearest 5 lire. 10 lire coins did exist, but the only time I ever got some was when I went to the bank for my wages and for some arcane reason of bureaucracy had to draw it in two separate bits from two different counters. The division of the bits was such that I got five brand new BU 10 lire coins dated 1995! I believe the French used a similar idea to round to the nearest 5 centimes before the euro, as well.

[1949threepence]

Forget the pound, a mere johnny-come-lately at only 200 years old - if we lost the penny (in some form or other) we'd lose a coin with nearly 2,000 years of history. The d in £sd stands for denarius, a Roman silver coin uncannily similar in size to the present penny. Perhaps they should revalue the £ and make the penny a worthwhile denomination!

to Offa's standard?

240 pence to 1lb Sterling silver

at £12 per oz, 1d would be approx 80p

That's an interesting thought, David.

I must admit I've often pondered what would happen if we did revise the pound's value ~ perhaps so that a current £10 became the new £1 ~ that would take us back to about 1972 in terms of inflation. Or roughly to when the "new penny" started.

Edited July 15, 2010 by 1949threepence

[scott]

then the halfpenny would have to return surly

[andyscouse]

I think I'm right in saying that the penny is the only decimal coin that has been minted in quantity for circulation every year since 1971, apart from 1972 when no circulation coins were minted at all.

Fosse,

You're correct. The £1 was on its way to being minted for circulation every year but then none were produced in 1998/9. Mind you, since 2000, all denominations have been produced every year.

One other interesting fact is that the only years prior to 2000 that all denominations were minted for circulation were 1977, 1979, 1980, 1992 and 1997.

[davidrj]

then the halfpenny would have to return surly

[Peckris]

then the halfpenny would have to return surly

Perhaps its grumpiness was why it was phased out?

I don't see why UKIP should be upset about rebranding the pound as a penny - they are great traditionalists and there is a lot more tradition in the penny! (I use the term "great" advisedly )

scott - the 'one penny decimal' may be doomed, but I was speaking of the denomination name, which I'm sure should live on, even in the commercial mindset of the Mint.

[Tony Clayton]

I think I'm right in saying that the penny is the only decimal coin that has been minted in quantity for circulation every year since 1971, apart from 1972 when no circulation coins were minted at all.

Fosse,

You're correct. The £1 was on its way to being minted for circulation every year but then none were produced in 1998/9. Mind you, since 2000, all denominations have been produced every year.

The reason for that is very simple. The two pound coin had been introduced in 1998, so demand for pound coins eased off. This is similar to the growth in popularity of the old 12-sided 3d which caused a reduction in demand for the penny in the early 1940's and from 1949 to 1960, and also for the drop in demand for the 50p after the introduction of the pound coin..

[Peckris]

I think I'm right in saying that the penny is the only decimal coin that has been minted in quantity for circulation every year since 1971, apart from 1972 when no circulation coins were minted at all.

Fosse,

You're correct. The £1 was on its way to being minted for circulation every year but then none were produced in 1998/9. Mind you, since 2000, all denominations have been produced every year.

The reason for that is very simple. The two pound coin had been introduced in 1998, so demand for pound coins eased off. This is similar to the growth in popularity of the old 12-sided 3d which caused a reduction in demand for the penny in the early 1940's and from 1949 to 1960, and also for the drop in demand for the 50p after the introduction of the pound coin..

Not to mention the total disappearance of halfcrowns for 25 years after the Victorians introduced the florin (though I suspect that may have been the tail wagging the dog).

[Hello17]

£99.99 is only because shops have to pay tax for everty pound they value the prduct and they get .99 at the end to max profits