Still picking up pennies

We asked the other day about the future (or not), of pennies, and why the United States still mints them.

One reader reminded us that “both Australia and New Zealand eliminated pennies more than 16 years ago.” Not just Canada, then.

This from Barb Deschapelles: “What about the 9/10th of a cent that gas stations still charge? They haven’t rounded up the tenth of a penny posted prices because people perceive the price to be the whole number rather than the actual, even though they round up the final total to a payable amount. ( Does anyone ever check to see if they ever round down when they should be?) When we eliminate pennies, the gas stations, and almost every one else, will consistently round up but not down. Checking on that will cost money, perhaps more than the current losses from minting pennies. Does paying a few cents more matter? To some people it probably does. Why not mint the pennies from a less expensive metal?”

Good questions. You? Email rrollins@coxohio.com.

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