Future Of 1p And 2p Coins Questioned By Treasury - BBC News

[6Foot2]

Link: Future of 1p and 2p coins questioned by Treasury - BBC News

 

The Treasury could be paving the way for the end of 1p and 2p coins as it seeks views on the future of cash.

 

It is inviting comments on the mix of coins in circulation as consumers move to non-cash payments such as contactless and digital spending.

 

Ministers say there are no current plans to scrap them.

 

But the consultation hints at the growing cost of handling these coins. It also questions the validity of the £50 note...

[synaesthesia]

But what will the best machines in the arcades run on?

[6Foot2]

But what will the best machines in the arcades run on?

 

As 5p will be too small the attention for this will switch to the 10p piece.

 

[Katy]

As 5p will be too small the attention for this will switch to the 10p piece.

 

 

But don't worry, by the time this happens 10p will be only worth 2p so "it's just the same"!

[6Foot2]

But don't worry, by the time this happens 10p will be only worth 2p so "it's just the same"!

Which reminds me, my pension will allow me to buy a loaf of bread a year (if I'm lucky)

 

[spacebar]

But what will the best machines in the arcades run on?

 

The arcades will keep the coins just for this purpose. Alternately create tokens that the existing machines will accept. Surely cheaper to use collect a load of old coins.

 

I think it is a good idea. The coins are so old also.

[SpuffMonkey]

At last - should've been done years ago!

[Ketlane]

The evidence seems to be that cash is an endangered species: Why Sweden is close to becoming a cashless economy - BBC News

Just a few of us on here remember the demise of the halfpenny (for the youngsters, they were 480 to the £)

[6Foot2]

...Just a few of us on here remember the demise of the halfpenny (for the youngsters, they were 480 to the £)

Some could also remember the Farthing (960 to the old pound)

 

[Syman_a]

cant remember the last time i "reused" small change (under 50p). As soon as i get home it goes into a pot. Even more so, now that i have started using cashless payments.

 

Charities will have a fair bit to say. I would guess that a good amount of their collection tins consist of small denomination coins.

Edited March 14, 2018 by Syman_a

[DJ-1701]

Just a few of us on here remember the demise of the halfpenny (for the youngsters, they were 480 to the £)

 

I would point out that the halfpenny did survive to decimalisation for over 10 years. Obviously during that time it was 200 to the £.

[DJ-1701]

Some could also remember the Farthing (960 to the old pound)

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]48077[/ATTACH]

 

Here is another design...

 

[6Foot2]

Here is another design...

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]48079[/ATTACH]

Penny farthing.

 

[Katy]

Penny farthing.

 

If you put a 1p next to a farthing, is the size difference similar to that of the wheels on the penny farthing?

[unixman_again]

Penny farthing.

 

Ahem - actually it's an ordinary.

[witch]

I think they said on the radio this morning that 60% of 2 and 1p coins are only used once and then put in piggybanks, drawers etc. Seems a huge number to me.

 

Other countries have got rid of them - Canada for one

[6Foot2]

If you put a 1p next to a farthing, is the size difference similar to that of the wheels on the penny farthing?

That's the idea, but the actual scale isn't quite right:

 

 

[Katy]

I think they said on the radio this morning that 60% of 2 and 1p coins are only used once and then put in piggybanks, drawers etc. Seems a huge number to me.

 

Other countries have got rid of them - Canada for one

 

It also said somewhere that 1 in 12 are thrown in the bin.

 

I just save mine up then chuck them in one of those coin machines at the supermarket, occasionally if I've not emptied them all out of my purse I'll use correct change for paying for something ending in 9. Suppose they will have to change all the 99p prices to 95p now (or push them up to the next pound but then psychologically they're "a pound more").

[elsiegee40]

I would point out that the halfpenny did survive to decimalisation for over 10 years. Obviously during that time it was 200 to the £.

 

The halfpenny 1/2d stopped being legal tender in 1969.

 

Decimalisation was in 1971 (15th February - day after my birthday which is why I remember) and a new tiny halfpenny 1/2p was introduced.

 

Sadly, I am old enough to remember both.

[Fazza]

The arcades will keep the coins just for this purpose. Alternately create tokens that the existing machines will accept. Surely cheaper to use collect a load of old coins.

 

I think it is a good idea. The coins are so old also.

 

Other countries have gotten rid of the equivalent coins years ago. We're so behind the times when it comes to currency, we're very, very late to the game when it comes to polymer notes for example, other countries have been using them for years, they last so much longer saving no end of money by doing so.

 

When we finally get rid of 1p and 2p coins, retailers wont suddenly all put the prices up (or down even) they will stay the same so when you pay using a card it will make no odds. If you choose to pay by cash then it will most likely get rounded up to a maximum of 4p at the most (as we'll still have 5p coins). In New Zealand if you pay by cash (and therefore it gets rounded up) a lot of shops tend to have some sweets at the till so you take a couple of them instead of the 4 cents change you would have previously gotten.

 

I believe that 1c and 2c coins were removed from circulation in New Zealand in 1992 but they are still legal tender, meaning banks will still accept them. This would be the way forward for the UK to prevent the Amusement Arcades at the Seaside from either closing down or swapping out all the 2p coins in the machines to 10p coins!

[enbiggen]

Given that the majority of the time I pay electronically rather than use cash, I would rather be able to buy things more cheaply than being rounded up to the nearest 5p.

[CAM]

I still use cash as the store only accepts card with minimum payments, the social club is the same but gives change up to the minimum payment, the pizza van doesn't take card and the football club in town doesn't accept card inside the ground. The train station ticket machine also tends to go down which means putting coins in the permit to travel machine which should be a relic from British Rail days by now. Also buses still don't take contactless payments in Crawley. And there is no cash machine in the village!

[FishCustard]

I just save mine up then chuck them in one of those coin machines at the supermarket, occasionally if I've not emptied them all out of my purse I'll use correct change for paying for something ending in 9. Suppose they will have to change all the 99p prices to 95p now (or push them up to the next pound but then psychologically they're "a pound more").

 

I tend to put them in the self-service checkouts, and then pay whatever the remaining balance is by card, thus getting no change back.

 

As for the prices, they'll just push them up to round-pounds. People will moan and scream for a while, then just get on with it. Discounts will probably become £X.95 or £X.90.

 

I think it's a good idea - the Mint wastes money minting the things, and they don't really serve much purpose these days.

[Ketlane]

The elderly and ancient on here will remember the same kind of discussion when the 1/2p coin was abolished (and longer back the 1/2d and, as DaveP says, the 1/4d). At those remote times there was no electronic payment!

[DJ-1701]

I tend to put them in the self-service checkouts, and then pay whatever the remaining balance is by card, thus getting no change back.

 

This ^^^^

 

As for the prices, they'll just push them up to round-pounds. People will moan and scream for a while, then just get on with it. Discounts will probably become £X.95 or £X.90.

 

I think it's a good idea - the Mint wastes money minting the things, and they don't really serve much purpose these days.

 

Actually... they are more used as a manipulation technique... £9.99 doesn't look as bad as £10 to someone in a rush.