Is the UK really thinking about abolishing 1p & 2p coins?, Or did the Italian news report I just heard just report old news? Options

[Parsifal]

I'd much rather that £1 and 50p notes were brought back, and made of polymerised-plastic (and the same for £5 too).

There were 50p notes once? I know there were 10/- notes once before decimal. Didn't know about the 50p notes (same amount though).

I hate £1 coins - they cause no end of trouble, they just bounce straight out of your hand. Like what happened in the chemists last week, or on the bus countless times...

I've never liked the £1 coin because it doesn't look like a coin that is worth much relative to the others. Quite boring really. The €1 coin by comparison looks like it's worth something (ironically less than £1).

The Treasury keeps wanting to get rid of the $1 bill and replace it with a $1 coin, but its attempts have failed because the public doesn't like the $1 coin. I personally don't like all of those wilted $1 bills that are in ciruculation and would prefer the $1 coin as long as they bring back the $2 bill at the same time. Otherwise I'll have too many $1 coins boring holes in my pockets. $1 "silver dollars" were once standard. But a few decades ago the Treasury tried to bring the $1 coin back (with the intention of getting rid of the dollar bill) and put this Susan B. Anthony dollar coin in circulation which needed close examination to distinguish it from a George Washington 25 cent piece (SBA and GW look much alike ). That was a disaster. People kept using SBA dollars as quarters by accident. Then they came out with the "golden" dollar which was a much better idea, but the public still didn't like it.

[jumbler]

I'd much rather that £1 and 50p notes were brought back, and made of polymerised-plastic (and the same for £5 too).

There were 50p notes once? I know there were 10/- notes once before decimal. Didn't know about the 50p notes (same amount though).

I meant the 10s note, yes. Which the 50p coin replaced. There were 50p notes on the Isle of Man until the late 80s, though.

I hate £1 coins - they cause no end of trouble, they just bounce straight out of your hand. Like what happened in the chemists last week, or on the bus countless times...

I've never liked the £1 coin because it doesn't look like a coin that is worth much relative to the others. Quite boring really. The €1 coin by comparison looks like it's worth something (ironically less than £1).

The Treasury keeps wanting to get rid of the $1 bill and replace it with a $1 coin, but its attempts have failed because the public doesn't like the $1 coin. I personally don't like all of those wilted $1 bills that are in ciruculation and would prefer the $1 coin as long as they bring back the $2 bill at the same time. Otherwise I'll have too many $1 coins boring holes in my pockets. $1 "silver dollars" were once standard. But a few decades ago the Treasury tried to bring the $1 coin back (with the intention of getting rid of the dollar bill) and put this Susan B. Anthony dollar coin in circulation which needed close examination to distinguish it from a George Washington 25 cent piece (SBA and GW look much alike ). That was a disaster. People kept using SBA dollars as quarters by accident. Then they came out with the "golden" dollar which was a much better idea, but the public still didn't like it.

I'd much rather have £1 notes back. When I'm in the Lake District you see them a lot - often because American tourists have brought them from Scotland. And it was really useful to have in Jersey - could buy things like a coffee or a bus ticket with one.

[mikeyboy214]

Jumbler.
I don't queue in the building society.
I use them to pay in the self checkout at the supermarket.

I have a charity box at home and throw my small denomination coins (1p,2p,5p,10p) in there. 20p and 50p go in my Tardis money box, so I only carry around £1 and £2 coins!

[deegee178]

I'd much rather that £1 and 50p notes were brought back, and made of polymerised-plastic (and the same for £5 too).

There were 50p notes once? I know there were 10/- notes once before decimal. Didn't know about the 50p notes (same amount though).

I meant the 10s note, yes. Which the 50p coin replaced. There were 50p notes on the Isle of Man until the late 80s, though.

I hate £1 coins - they cause no end of trouble, they just bounce straight out of your hand. Like what happened in the chemists last week, or on the bus countless times...

I've never liked the £1 coin because it doesn't look like a coin that is worth much relative to the others. Quite boring really. The €1 coin by comparison looks like it's worth something (ironically less than £1).

The Treasury keeps wanting to get rid of the $1 bill and replace it with a $1 coin, but its attempts have failed because the public doesn't like the $1 coin. I personally don't like all of those wilted $1 bills that are in ciruculation and would prefer the $1 coin as long as they bring back the $2 bill at the same time. Otherwise I'll have too many $1 coins boring holes in my pockets. $1 "silver dollars" were once standard. But a few decades ago the Treasury tried to bring the $1 coin back (with the intention of getting rid of the dollar bill) and put this Susan B. Anthony dollar coin in circulation which needed close examination to distinguish it from a George Washington 25 cent piece (SBA and GW look much alike ). That was a disaster. People kept using SBA dollars as quarters by accident. Then they came out with the "golden" dollar which was a much better idea, but the public still didn't like it.

I'd much rather have £1 notes back. When I'm in the Lake District you see them a lot - often because American tourists have brought them from Scotland. And it was really useful to have in Jersey - could buy things like a coffee or a bus ticket with one.

I read an article a year or two back that said that by law the US Treasury produces billions of dollars worth of $1 coins that just sit in storage as the public don't like them. Notes are expensive as they don't last as long as a coin so end up being a false economy to produce.

[Jonnycondom]

But what's gonna happen when we buy something that costs 1.99 with a 2 quid coin?

Where does that penny go?

HEAD EXPLODE

[gun_747]

Well legally paying for any good in which you use more than 20p worth of 2p coins is not legal tender

[AndyJ]

Don't they do rounding in New Zealand?

[paddyirl]

Yeah the price is rounded.

Although personally I think countries should just ban the sale of any good that isn't a denomination of 10, no more 499 bullshit when selling a sofa, making it appear a good deal, would fuck DFS up no end.

[gun_747]

Paddygirl we should ban stores from advertising sales for more than 90 days per year, that would really fuck up DFS's year long sale

[GS Maniac]

Living in NZ I love the fact the smallest denomination in a ten cent, no useless 1s and 2s.

As a Kiwi on my OE i really don't understand why the Euro, Brits, and USA need small coins. My first visit was to the USA and I couldn't understand their money. Annoying that they don't print a value on the coin, just called them dimes, etc. So I always ended up paying for everything with $20 bills and left with a heap of change.

It is so much simpler at home In NZ! $4.99 becomes $5 and $4.94 becomes $4.90. I can't wait to use my own money again.

[dixie]

But what's gonna happen when we buy something that costs 1.99 with a 2 quid coin?

Where does that penny go?

HEAD EXPLODE

They'd have to get rid of things costing .99

I'm guessing without 1p and 2p coins they'd have to price things at .95 so they can give change

[gun_747]

It's the psychology of pricing at £0.99 - try and make us believe that it's cheaper and actually research shows that it does work - people will buy a product at £1.99 rather than at £2.00

[fruitylicious]

But do people really opt for the 1.99 product because they perceive it as cheaper? Perhaps people actually like saving up those pennies?

I know for a fact my sister would would rather buy 10 items from the 99p store and save herself 10p rather than paying for the same 10 items at a pound store! But then she is rather cheap.

[Parsifal]

It is so much simpler at home In NZ! $4.99 becomes $5 and $4.94 becomes $4.90. I can't wait to use my own money again.

And how often do you see something priced at $4.94 (= $4.90) rather than $4.95 (= $5.00).

I'm guessing without 1p and 2p coins they'd have to price things at .95 so they can give change

Or maybe £1?

That was the complaint in eurozone countries when they changed to the euro. People said that prices increased.

[Roger Mellie]

But do people really opt for the 1.99 product because they perceive it as cheaper? Perhaps people actually like saving up those pennies?

I think the idea is, that when people see £2.99 or £3.00, they (sub)-consciously process the £2 bit and £3 bit, so the former sounds cheaper-- even though they are only a penny apart in reality!

I don't know how you Brits manage with all those coins

When I first went on holiday in the USA, I said the same about US currency-- that is all your bank notes looking the same bar the number of $ To be fair, I think any currency that is unfamiliar to you, will seem unmanageable

Luckily each of our coins are distinctive, in that we have different textures, size and shapes-- and there are only eight coins in circulation (Bank of England coinage anyway). I just wish they'd do something about the 5p piece though, which I feel is too small.
...
I think anybody who is suggesting the UK should join, or should have joined the Euro, would be rightly shot down (if you knew you would be shot down, have you consider why that is-- and admit you were wrong about something?). Although that would be difficult for our proposer here, since he's in his 'bunker' cut off from the reality (like all good Icarus-esque Europhiles). Perhaps he think for himself and apply some rationalism, rather than voraciously consuming the BBC propoganda output.

Bearing in mind the disaster that was the ERM for the UK-- it was wise that the UK didn't join the Euro-- even Gordon Brown and Ed Balls could see joining the Eurozone was a bad idea (divergent economies, with no single economic policy or tax base)! And given the imminent collapse of the Euro (something Mr Patten's EU-funded BBC is keen to play down)-- I'd say that view is vindicated.

In 1891, Gladstone said: “The Finance of the country is intimately associated with the liberties of the Country. It is a powerful leverage by which English Liberty has been gradually aquired … it lies at the root of English Liberty and if the House of Commons can by any possibility lose the power of the grants of public money, depend upon it your liberty will be worth very little". His words remain true still to this day.

But then again if we had joined the Euro, we'd be enjoying an nice handout from the IMF, instead of giving it £10bln

This post has been edited by Roger Mellie: Jan 20 2013, 18:58

[smalltown]

<pedant> The coin you were thinking of was a heptagon not a pentagon. </pedant>

[deegee178]

But what's gonna happen when we buy something that costs 1.99 with a 2 quid coin?

Where does that penny go?

HEAD EXPLODE

They'd have to get rid of things costing .99

I'm guessing without 1p and 2p coins they'd have to price things at .95 so they can give change

There is a logic to that but you can't get away from .99 values because items that need weighing e.g apples are unlikely to come out at .95 etc. So you just round up or down - simples!

[John84]

This is all too much for me, I'd just end up shopping at Everything's £1. I mean yeah the brands are knock off, but you don't have to deal with this decimal stuff. And Coka Cola is probably just as good as the regular stuff

[Kev]

20p and 50p go in my Tardis money box

So you can have money in the future?

[jumbler]

20p and 50p go in my Tardis money box

So you can have money in the future?

Put it this way, it will be money on 'roids. 40 years ago, you could buy The Times for just 10p. It's 10 times as much now...