

Whitehouse.gov petition to eliminate the penny - martingordon
https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions/!/petition/eliminate-penny/m0yjLbC9

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aw3c2
Please no political activism on HN. There is not much interesting on the
linked site so I assume this was submitted as call for participation.

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GiraffeNecktie
Why stop at the penny? Isn't it about time we rid ourselves of all these
filthy, wretched little buttons? Let's leave the 19th century behind us and
begin gradually phasing out the whole anachronistic lot: pennies, nickels,
quarters and (in Canada) loonies and toonies.

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user24
You have to have a lowest common denomination coin. Otherwise when I give $1
to the 99c store, what will they give me in change?

Or is the idea that every single business in the entire USA will change their
pricing structures to multiples of 5? Good luck with that!

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orcadk
Lots and lots of countries don't have that, and it's no problem. The smallest
coin we have in Denmark is the 0.5 Kroner one, worth roughly 10 cents. If you
have to pay 1.24 Kroner, you pay 1 and if you have to pay 0.75 Kroner, you pay
1. You win some and you loose some - evens out in the long run.

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user24
> You win some and you lose some - evens out in the long run.

I believe you that it works, but I'm totally shocked at this... surely
everyone just starts rounding up to .75? It will add up! You've literally
blown my mind with this; how do people carry on like this? It's like you've
just told me up is down and down is up, I just do not comprehend at all how
people can use this system?

Seriously, I know that sounds sarcastic but it's just thrown my brain.

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jfruh
Don't know about Denmark, but I believe in some countries with a similar
situation by law they have to round to the nearest multiple of the smallest
denomination coin, so it evens out.

Of course, if you pay via credit card or bank card other electronic means, as
more and more people do even for small amounts, you pay the exact price.

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aspratley
It works in Finland, the lowest coin value is 5 cents. If you pay by cash the
price is rounded up or down. They've also got rid of cheques.

