Penny for your thoughts...

[Jersey mike]

Thousands and thousands of penny blanks on the way to the Philly Mint spilled all over I95 in Deleware today, That section of highway was shut down, apparently every blank needs to be picked up.


http://www.cnbc.com/2016/09/08/truck-crashes-dumps-unstamped-pennies-on-delaware-highway.html

[Jess from VA]

Well I'm not surprised.  The Fed has been throwing money away for years.  Dumping it on the freeway is par for the course. 

(though small change by comparison)

(at least it wasn't millions for studying gay insect sexual patterns)

[Hooter]

The government has been shooting blanks for quite some time now!

[Ramie]

At least they are finally putting money in to roads and bridges.

[Oss]

The govmt spends more than a penny to make a penny
they should just leave the damn blanks where they fell and eliminate pennies altogether

[signart]

The govmt spends more than a penny to make a penny
they should just leave the damn blanks where they fell and eliminate pennies altogether

They could just drill holes in 'em and make washers, then they would be worth a nickel.

[msb]

The govmt spends more than a penny to make a penny
they should just leave the damn blanks where they fell and eliminate pennies altogether

Canada has no more pennies...discontinued in 2013. Cash purchases are rounded to the nearest $0.05 with respect to change given, although the old cent is still considered legal tender.

[CajunRider]

Canada has no more pennies...discontinued in 2013. Cash purchases are rounded to the nearest $0.05 with respect to change given, although the old cent is still considered legal tender.

Out of curiosity, how did the general population handle the change (pun intended  )?

I've always thought that the only reason this hasn't happened in the USA yet is because the gov is fearful of backlash from all of us. 

I know a lot of people who would be upset because the cost of everything would go up by 4 cents (cause you know, everyone would round UP and not split the difference).  Ironically, these are usually the same people who think inflation is a good thing. 

There has been talk about doing away with pennies in the USA before... If there wasn't much backlash in Canada, our gov may eventually try it also. 

[Gryphon Rider]

Canada has no more pennies...discontinued in 2013. Cash purchases are rounded to the nearest $0.05 with respect to change given, although the old cent is still considered legal tender.

Out of curiosity, how did the general population handle the change (pun intended  )?

I've always thought that the only reason this hasn't happened in the USA yet is because the gov is fearful of backlash from all of us. 

I know a lot of people who would be upset because the cost of everything would go up by 4 cents (cause you know, everyone would round UP and not split the difference).  Ironically, these are usually the same people who think inflation is a good thing. 

There has been talk about doing away with pennies in the USA before... If there wasn't much backlash in Canada, our gov may eventually try it also. 

I don't think there was backlash, except against companies that rounded up their sales totals when they should have rounded down.  I think most are grateful not to have to deal with them, and that feeling gets reinforced for me every time I travel to the States.

FYI, the rounding only happens on cash transactions.  Debit, credit, etc. are still to the nearest cent.

[msb]

Canada has no more pennies...discontinued in 2013. Cash purchases are rounded to the nearest $0.05 with respect to change given, although the old cent is still considered legal tender.

Out of curiosity, how did the general population handle the change (pun intended  )?

I've always thought that the only reason this hasn't happened in the USA yet is because the gov is fearful of backlash from all of us. 

I know a lot of people who would be upset because the cost of everything would go up by 4 cents (cause you know, everyone would round UP and not split the difference).  Ironically, these are usually the same people who think inflation is a good thing. 

There has been talk about doing away with pennies in the USA before... If there wasn't much backlash in Canada, our gov may eventually try it also. 

I don't think there was backlash, except against companies that rounded up their sales totals when they should have rounded down.  I think most are grateful not to have to deal with them, and that feeling gets reinforced for me every time I travel to the States.

FYI, the rounding only happens on cash transactions.  Debit, credit, etc. are still to the nearest cent.

Ditto...I would suggest the vast majority of response was and still is, positive. It does seem strange now when in the US, getting pennies back in change.

When our daughters were still at home we always had "change jars" where we would put all pocket change we accumulated, then would crack them open when going on holidays so they could have some spending money. Was a real pain going through all those pennies.

[CajunRider]

FYI, the rounding only happens on cash transactions.  Debit, credit, etc. are still to the nearest cent.

That's pretty cool... makes for minimal impact, especially in the modern world of credit/debit everything. 

Thanks for the info!   

When our daughters were still at home we always had "change jars" where we would put all pocket change we accumulated, then would crack them open when going on holidays so they could have some spending money. Was a real pain going through all those pennies.

My parents filled a 5 gallon jug with pennies... took about 3 years to do. 

When they dumped it out and cashed it in, they had something like $50...

[art]

The govmt spends more than a penny to make a penny
they should just leave the damn blanks where they fell and eliminate pennies altogether

They could just drill holes in 'em and make washers, then they would be worth a nickel.

Your right but in Washington no one could think of that,they are too busy spending dollars.

[Firefighter]

Canada has no more pennies...discontinued in 2013. Cash purchases are rounded to the nearest $0.05 with respect to change given,



Who gets the rounded nearest nickle? Merchant or Government?

[msb]

Canada has no more pennies...discontinued in 2013. Cash purchases are rounded to the nearest $0.05 with respect to change given,



Who gets the rounded nearest nickle? Merchant or Government?

Merchant. Like G.R. stated, rounding only applies to cash purchases, and merchants should also round Down if it's .01 or .02. In the 3 years since this has taken place I've haven't spoken to one person who's not glad to be rid of those pennies. The days are long gone when you could get anything of value for a penny, like 3 jaw-breakers or a double bubble gum 

[Gryphon Rider]

There's something perversely satisfying to have the total come to something that ends in ._2 or ._7, paying two cents less than the total, and the cashier being fine with it.  

[Jersey mike]

I don't know why we still need to mint pennies. Their use isn't very big, I leave most of my pennies in the penny holder at most places. I have to believe we should have enough pennies in circulation to go on for many years, though I'm no expert.