No Cents No Pennies

Coin Info

• The 1 cent piece costs more than a cent to make. 1.25 cents in metal alone, 1.5 cents if you add in labour and distribution costs.
• Its value is negligible in any financial transaction.
• We lose cents, throw them away, accumulate them in jars.
• The coin rolling takes more time than the coins are worth, costs for coin holders for cents make this pastime dubious.
  
• Despite the fact that they buy very little, the Canadian Mint produced 678 million of them last year. . . . John Palmer, an associate professor of economics at the University of Western Ontario, says people who defend pennies are practising poor economics and being overly sentimental.
  -- Alberta Report / Western Report, August 15, 1994
  
• Marketing and Research Counselors of Canada Inc. asked Canadians about the penny during May and June 1993. About 41 per cent of Canadians surveyed wouldn't care if the penny was scrapped and 10 per cent toss them in the trash. The study also found another 37 per cent would miss the copper if it disappeared.
  
• An American study on the use of the penny found that it increased the amount of time store clerks must spend with customers by approximately three seconds each. "Add up every transaction that takes place across North America," says Prof. Palmer, "even if you only multiply that time by the minimum wage, it adds to up to millions of dollars of time wasted."
  -- Alberta Report / Western Report, August 15, 1994
  
• Liberal MP Bob Kaplan wants to get rid of coppers altogether. Earlier this spring [1993], Kaplan introduced private bill C-422 in the House of Commons that would abolish the one-cent piece in Canada. "It's become more trouble than it's worth," said Kaplan. "It's inevitable that it will disappear."
  . . .
  New Zealand and Australia have already eliminated the penny in their countries. The penny takes more to make than it's really worth. It costs the mint a nickel to make four pennies, resulting in millions of dollars in losses, Kaplan said.
  -- The Gazette (Montreal) May 30, 1993
  
• Businesses also face bigger costs because pennies are a nuisance and can slow transactions and increase administrative work. But the proposal wouldn't end $1.99 sale prices or gasoline for 55.3 cents a litre.
  Merchants could still list prices in cents and fractions of cents, but the final amount paid would be rounded off to the nearest five cents, Kaplan said. Private member's bills rarely become law [it didn't] and without a new law, any final decision on the penny is up to the finance department.
  The department's policy is to supply pennies to the Canadian market as long as businesses and consumers demand them. [So stop demanding them]
  ``The only reason we continue to make them is that there continues to be a demand for them,'' said Murray Church, spokesperson for the Royal Canadian Mint.
  -- The Toronto Star April 23, 1993

What are we to do with the penny?
Stop asking for them. Stop accepting them. Stop giving them. Stop making them!

1) Won't we get ripped off by a few cents each time we buy something? (e.g. 3.98 will become $4.00 because there are no pennies)

2) Won't merchants set their prices so that they gain 2 cents each time? Like 1.98, 3.93, every thing will end in 8 or 3.

3) What if there is no tax? Then everything will end in .98 1.98, 2.98 we will get ripped off again.

4) How do I make this work?

5) Why not just use those "give a penny, take a penny" bins?

6) What if I want my two cents?

7) Don't they owe me that change?

1) Won't we get ripped off by a few cents each time we buy something? (e.g. 3.98 will become $4.00 because there are no pennies)

Solution: Round final purchased price (up or down) to the nearest 5 cents. This is a difference of +/- 2 cents on any transaction. Overall the difference will be zero. Gain 2 cents here, lose 2 there. It all balances out.
To illustrate:

.01 becomes .00 (- 1 cent less)
.02 becomes .00 (- 2 cents less)
.03 becomes .05 (+ 2 cents more)
.04 becomes .05 (+ 1 cent more)
.05 no pennies, it's a nickel .05

.06 becomes .05 (- 1 cent less)
.07 becomes .05 (- 2 cents less)
.08 becomes .10 (+ 2 cents more)
.09 becomes .10 (+ 1 cent more)
.10 no pennies, it's a dime .10

Coin Trivia: penny, nickel, dime, quarter are American coin names. Canadian coins are the one cent piece, 5 cent piece . . . the loonie, you get the idea.

This won't happen, taxes will change the numbers. 1.98 + 15% tax = 2.28 (2.30), OK poor example. Lets try 3.93 +15% = 4.52 (4.50) OK that's better. The point is that the numbers will vary with different tax rates and different prices. It balances out in the end.
[I am told that in Austarlia some merchants list their prices with the rounding down shown.]

If you buy more than one item 2 x.1.98 = 3.96 (3.95) the end result changes again, possibly in your favour. So the price adjusting will not occur, since it defeats itself.

Once this thing takes off it will be easy. Merchants would post a sign on their storefront or at the cash "No Cents" it would say. I would encourage everyone to patronize such stores. We will actively encourage all store keepers to follow this lead. Its Simple. its Cheaper, its Better. "No Cents, Makes Sense"

Consumers can participate by refusing cents, or just put them in the "give a penny, take a penny" bins.

Because there is still the overhead of having pennies in the register and making change, and most people forget to give a penny. Getting rid of pennies would save the Govt. money, business money. Everyone wins when everyone knows how it works.

There will always be people who cling to the past and cents are from the past (change is as well, but that's another campaign). There used to be a half cent (when you could actually buy something with it) and hogsheads were a common unit of measurement. I feel it is time to put the penny to rest.

Merchants are not required by law to give you change (any change) but they do so because it is good store policy.

Furthermore, merchants can refuse payment if you use more than 25 cents. You cannot pay for a 5$ purchase with cents. They can lawfully refuse it (the bad PR is another issue) And payments of more than $10 in coin (5, 10, 25, 50 cent pieces) can also be refused. Just some more coin trivia for you.

You may have to forgo up to 4 cents per transaction to get this thing started. Just refuse to take any cents they give you. Leave them on the counter if you have to. I have neither given nor accepted ANY cents since November 1995.

So start now, remember to say "No Cents, please" or "No Pennies for me, thanks"

That's my $0.05 worth

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