Posted on 03/12/2026 2:56:02 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
Months after the last of the United States' 1-cent coins were pressed, some states are beginning to offer their own 2 cents on the penny problem by setting rounding guidance for cash purchases.
President Donald Trump announced early last year an end to penny production, saying it was wasteful. It cost 3.7 cents to make each 1-cent coin in 2024, according to the U.S. Mint. The move led to a shortage of pennies in cash registers last summer, forcing consumers and businesses to confront a penniless future in which making exact change would be difficult.
The Treasury Department has said it will continue circulating the roughly 114 billion pennies that exist for "as long as possible." Pennies must still be accepted as payment.
One solution to the penny problem is rounding to the nearest nickel, using a practice called symmetrical rounding. If the final price, after taxes, ends in one, two, six or seven cents, payment in cash rounds down. For example, $1.91 or $1.92 becomes $1.90. If the price ends in three, four, eight or nine, cash payment rounds up. For $1.98 or $1.99, the consumer pays $2.
A bill introduced last year in Congress and passed out of the House financial services committee would apply symmetrical rounding across the country. U.S. Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., said in an email that the federal law is important to prevent a "confusing patchwork of state policies."
The bill hasn't been voted on in the House and would still need to move through the U.S. Senate before reaching [PRESIDENT] Trump's desk.
(Excerpt) Read more at channel3000.com ...
That looks like George Washington with moobs.
From the article:
“The Treasury says ceasing penny production will save $56 million annually...”
I’d rather have that, though congress will find a way to p*ss it away, anyhow! Grrr!
Also:
“...but rounding could increase demand for nickels. The 5-cent coins also are costly to make, reaching nearly 14 cents each in 2024, according to the Mint.”
WHO has been running that place all these DECADES? No wonder America is BROKER than BROKE! Double Grrr!
she probably didn’t understand why you gave the extra 4 cents... and probably couldn’t figure out what change to give.
“A penny for a spool of thread,
a penny for a needle -
That’s where the money goes,
POP! goes the weasel.”
I came from a time when pennies were a real medium of exchange. I still stoop to pick up “road-kill” pennies. Just so much pocket ballast.
The sales tax charts could make for rounding.
So are they going to do the “rounding” to credit card purchases? (No need to do that). I think merchants will adjust prices so that the “rounding” goes in their favor (w/tax)...with 100’s of millions in transactions could be be worth a lot of extra money to retailers. (And a lot of money out of the pocket of consumers).
I think you make an interesting point. I'm not sure if it's sharp or dull, but it's a point.
If they did a Sidney Sweeney coin like that I’d be a hoarder of millions of coins.
That is an absolutely pathetic performance!
“How about they just get rid of TAXES on our purchases? Guess that never crossed their minds... *Rolleyes*”
Of course that works also.
Let’s acknowledge the result of inflation, or rather debasement of the currency. The dime is now worth less than what a cent was. We need the nickel because of the quarter. Ditch both the nickel and the quarter. Mint 10¢, 50¢, $1, and $5 coins. Discontinue the $1 and $5 notes.
What’s wrong with normal rounding? Hell of a lot simpler than that convoluted crap.
Better yet, just make the damn pennies. Since when does anything the federal government does have to be in the black?
$50 or $60 million? At the federal level that’s the equivalent of a few pennies in my monthly budget. It’s insulting that the feds piss away hundreds of billions and then inconvenience the entire country to a ridiculous degree to “save” a paltry few million worthless dollars.
If they want to do something we will actually like they could outlaw the BS 9/10s of a penny on gasoline prices.
Let the members of congress cover their own sexual harrassment lawsuit payouts. That could well cover it.
Our most popular convenience/gas stores in Wisconsin, Kwik Trip, is already doing the rounding thing.
So far, so good. I’m in there at least once a week for gas or the ATM. They always have good prices on milk and butter. ;)
Maybe we could put the Biblical “widow’s mite” back in circulation. I think the are some combination of bronze, but any cheap metal could be used. Cheap to make would be the rule.
Rounding up, even though small is just inflationary.
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