Random Ponderings...

[zephyrrs]

I was thinking about the cost of a penny while driving into work today and couldn't help but wonder -- why don't they just convert to more paper? Make a 1/2 dollar and 1/4 dollar paper bill that is smaller in size than the regular dollar?

I'm just asking....

Comments

[mhalachaiswords]

Up here in Canadia, we have $1 and $2 coins and have for years (I'm still old enough to remember $1 bills, and then when the loonies ($1) was introduced, how $2 bills suddenly got real popular. Then we got twoonies (thus named because Canadians are not inventive with the nomeclature)). Most of the reasoning we got from the Mint was that coins are far more durable -- the bills lasted about a year, while coins usually last upwards of 20. There was some grumbling but Canadians are a laid-back lot and bought the arguments and carried on.

Related joke from back when they introduced the twoonie: What do you call the Canadian twoonie? The American Dollar Bill (due to currency valuation at the time)

That said, there's a separate argument around the country (not really accepted by most) to do away with the penny and "round" stuff to the nickel -- perhaps unsurprisingly, this has not gained ground with Joe Q Public.

Nix the Cent

[zephyrrs]

I actually brought back loonies and twoonies for the kids from visit up there (when I got to meet ya) because I thought they were so very cool. And, they've increased in value. Which would be cool for me if it meant that the rest of my money wasn't decreasing in value ;-(.

Anyhow, there is a huge movement in the US to nix the penny because it is very cost prohibitive to produce. I know I have whole jars of them at home. I think its now 2.5 cents to produce a penny. Crazy.

I also heard a news story over the weekend on PRI that manhole cover stealing is the new inner city theft rage. Apparently, which two people and a crowbar its easy to hijack a cover and get away in under 2 minutes. And, the ROI in scrap metal is $50-$75 depending on the metal composite.

Needless to say, it is costing cities loads in terms of accidents and replacements. There is discussion of switching to fiberglass composite for replacements.

[boutondor]

There's a West Wing episode that had B/C-plot about the uselessness of the penny -- Sam was convinced. I, for one, would have liked to have seen the penny gone in either Canada or the US when I was living in either country.

[zephyrrs]

I remember that -- wasn't that the "block of cheese" ep? The same one about how most maps are wrong. West Wing in its hey day. ;-)

Answer

[xer0sum]

The money you save in the cost of 1 unit is usually made up for in the replacement cost. Coins have a lifespan of 30+ years, paper has a lifespan that is significantly shorter. So it costs less to make, but you have to replace it 4-5 times over the lifespan of a coin.

Re: Answer

[zephyrrs]

By that logic, we should also eliminate the dollar bill and use the Susan B. ....which they do at the NJ Transit ticket machines. If you pay by cash, you get change via Susan B's.

PS -- it was good to see you on sat even if it was ever so briefly. ;-)