Still Waters Posted April 23, 2012 #1 Share Posted April 23, 2012 As a unit of currency it may not be worth much, but do we really want to bid it farewell? We’ve long since seen the demise of the farthing and the much-loved 12-sided threepenny bit, but now there’s a campaign to consign the penny to history, too.No matter that there are more than 11 billion in circulation, a growing number of Britons think we can do without one of the oldest coins in our history. Canada has already ditched its cent (known as a penny) — following similar moves in Australia and New Zealand to abolish their low-denomination coins. The Canadian finance minister said: ‘The penny is a currency without any currency. Financial institutions face increasing costs for handling, storing and transporting pennies. Over time, the penny’s burden to the economy has grown relative to its value as a means of payment.’ Read more... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eldorado Posted April 23, 2012 #2 Share Posted April 23, 2012 No. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trancelikestate Posted April 23, 2012 #3 Share Posted April 23, 2012 yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insaniac Posted April 23, 2012 #4 Share Posted April 23, 2012 Probably not, although these days it seems useless. You can't buy anything for one pence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DieChecker Posted April 24, 2012 #5 Share Posted April 24, 2012 What are they going to do if someone comes in with cash and is owed a penny back? I guess they will have to establish another law that all prices have to be divisible by 5, or 10. Or that things are only sellable in pounds. Or maybe they'll write off the odd pennys? HA! HA HA HA! Like that is going to happen. I guess that means I vote No. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLastLazyGun Posted April 24, 2012 #6 Share Posted April 24, 2012 (edited) You can't buy anything for one pence. That's because there's no such thing as "one pence". That would be like saying "one mice." The word "pence" is plural, not singular. It is plural for "penny." The plural for "penny", when the penny you are talking about is the actual currency which we have in Britain, 100 of which make up a pound, rather than just the name of the smallest unit of coin, is "pence." The plural of "penny" when the penny you are talking about is not the unit of currency but just the name of the smallest-valued coin, is "pennies", such as in America, where the one cent coin is named "a penny" and two one cent coins are "two pennies." So, in Britain, we have the one penny coin (take a look at your 1p coin and it says "one penny" on it, not "one pence"), not the one pence coin. So our coins are: 1 penny 2 pence 5 pence 10 pence 20 pence 50 pence 100 pence (£1) 200 pence (£2) "Pence" being the plural of "penny" is just the same as "mice" being the plural of "mouse". 1 mouse and two mice. 1 penny and 100 pence. Edited April 24, 2012 by TheLastLazyGun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insaniac Posted April 24, 2012 #7 Share Posted April 24, 2012 Snip. You really felt a need to tell me that? One penny is what people refer to as one pence, but yeah, you're right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
questionmark Posted April 24, 2012 #8 Share Posted April 24, 2012 To translate a German saying ( a little awkwardly): Who does not honor the penny does not have a value for the pound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Fluffs Posted April 24, 2012 #9 Share Posted April 24, 2012 (edited) No. EDIT - If pennies went, my life savings would be gone. Edited April 24, 2012 by King Fluffs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corp Posted April 24, 2012 #10 Share Posted April 24, 2012 Well we're getting rid of it because it cost 1.5 cents to make a penny. So in all we were losing money by making money. In theory this should result in savings. See what happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
questionmark Posted April 24, 2012 #11 Share Posted April 24, 2012 Well we're getting rid of it because it cost 1.5 cents to make a penny. So in all we were losing money by making money. In theory this should result in savings. See what happens. How many times does a penny change hands in its lifetime? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+and-then Posted April 24, 2012 #12 Share Posted April 24, 2012 How many times does a penny change hands in its lifetime? It's a very interesting question. A while back someone started an online search for a specific one dollar (US) bill. It was called "where's George?". People who found themselves with this one note were to login to the sight and say where they had it before they spent it. Not sure what the record was for where it traveled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kryso Posted April 24, 2012 #13 Share Posted April 24, 2012 A saying pops to mind, "look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves." I remember my nan saying it a lot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taun Posted April 24, 2012 #14 Share Posted April 24, 2012 Perhaps the question should be "What material should the penny be made of to be economically worthwhile?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spud the mackem Posted April 24, 2012 #15 Share Posted April 24, 2012 BIN it,It was ok before decimal coinage,but those who remember them days will remember goods being £3-19-11d or any amount with 11d on the end,because shops thought they could con folk into believing that the above was cheaper than £4-00.Then we went Decimal so things became £3-99p instead of £4-00,not forgetting that 1p equalled 2 and 1/2d.. Imagine buying a car for £8999-99p, does that look cheaper than £9000-00,and dont forget your change sir...You can also BIN the 5p for me as they are a damned nuisance,gone are the days when you could get into the Movies for a "Tanner"...5p today buys you 1/3rd of a fag,but you can always give the bank a headache when you take your savings jar in with £20-00's worth ha ha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flibbertigibbet Posted April 24, 2012 #16 Share Posted April 24, 2012 Perhaps the question should be "What material should the penny be made of to be economically worthwhile?" Chocolate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spud the mackem Posted April 24, 2012 #17 Share Posted April 24, 2012 If you gave a Tramp a penny these days for a cup of tea,like we used to,you would probably get smashed in the Gob,or knifed for being insulting...BIN it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Still Waters Posted April 24, 2012 Author #18 Share Posted April 24, 2012 BIN it,It was ok before decimal coinage,but those who remember them days will remember goods being £3-19-11d or any amount with 11d on the end,because shops thought they could con folk into believing that the above was cheaper than £4-00. I used to buy stockings at £2-11d a pair These 1p coins are fiddly wee things, I keep some in my purse but don't seem to need them often. The rest I keep at home. The old 1d coins had more uses, like the slot machines, one arm bandits etc....and not forgetting 'spending a penny' The good old days lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eldorado Posted April 24, 2012 #19 Share Posted April 24, 2012 BIN it,It was ok before decimal coinage,but those who remember them days will remember goods being £3-19-11d or any amount with 11d on the end,because shops thought they could con folk into believing that the above was cheaper than £4-00.Then we went Decimal so things became £3-99p instead of £4-00,not forgetting that 1p equalled 2 and 1/2d.. Imagine buying a car for £8999-99p, does that look cheaper than £9000-00,and dont forget your change sir...You can also BIN the 5p for me as they are a damned nuisance,gone are the days when you could get into the Movies for a "Tanner"...5p today buys you 1/3rd of a fag,but you can always give the bank a headache when you take your savings jar in with £20-00's worth ha ha Remember 5p buys a wee Caramac bar? 25p now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oppono Astos Posted April 24, 2012 #20 Share Posted April 24, 2012 Didn't we have the same discussion/argument when abolishing the half-penny? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DieChecker Posted April 25, 2012 #21 Share Posted April 25, 2012 Perhaps the question should be "What material should the penny be made of to be economically worthwhile?" Both iron and aluminum cost about 1/4 the cost of copper, per pound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arbenol Posted April 25, 2012 #22 Share Posted April 25, 2012 What are they going to do if someone comes in with cash and is owed a penny back? I guess they will have to establish another law that all prices have to be divisible by 5, or 10. Or that things are only sellable in pounds. Or maybe they'll write off the odd pennys? HA! HA HA HA! Like that is going to happen. I guess that means I vote No. We've got nothing less than ten cents here. They use something called 'Swedish Rounding' and round up or down to the nearest ten cents. I rarely use cash now. I use a card that instantly takes the correct amount (not rounded) out of my account. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+and-then Posted April 25, 2012 #23 Share Posted April 25, 2012 I used to buy stockings at £2-11d a pair These 1p coins are fiddly wee things, I keep some in my purse but don't seem to need them often. The rest I keep at home. The old 1d coins had more uses, like the slot machines, one arm bandits etc....and not forgetting 'spending a penny' The good old days lol. Was there a time when people in England actually had to pay a penny to use the "loo" in public? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Englishgent Posted April 25, 2012 #24 Share Posted April 25, 2012 (edited) As the new penny is nothing like the old penny I dont really mind losing it. The original penny is long gone anyway. The only problem I can see is this :- Most items being sold in the UK are one penny below the round pound. £13.99 for something which should be £14.00. This is for purely psychological reasons, the thinking being that somebody sees an item for £13.99 is more likely to pay for it than if they see £14.00. What will they do if the penny is no longer available as change. Reduce it to £13.95? Probably lol. edit.....I say bring back the old cartwheel penny. You really knew you had some money in your pocket in those days Edited April 25, 2012 by Englishgent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLastLazyGun Posted April 25, 2012 #25 Share Posted April 25, 2012 You really felt a need to tell me that? One penny is what people refer to as one pence, but yeah, you're right. People shouldn't call it one pence. It's wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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