How many times, have you seen a 1p discarded onto the floor, or on the pavement?
Many people drop their one pence into a charity box, or say, ‘Forget it’, when offered in their change.
Others, put it in their purse, or pocket it with the thought, ‘Every penny counts’, or ‘Look after your pennies and your pounds will look after themselves!
So l ask, would it it be better to introduce a 99p coin to alleviate all these dilemmas concerning your one pence change!!
Oh, no, no, no.
Those 1ps mount up in my little savings box.
Then, when I buy something advertised at £1.99 I pay with a £1 coin and a bag of 99 pennies.
I remembered this from a vert long tine ago. Customers would pay an item in cash usually in round money. Often the item was x.99p. The cashier then had to open the till for the 1p. Otherwise the cashier could just pocketed the cash hence the 1p was to circumvent that.
The original idea of 99p or 49p pricing dates back to the old “ker-ching” cash registers because it forced the cashier to open it to give back change in the days when it would have been a farthing or a hafpenny, to prove to the shop owner the money had been put in the register and not in someone’s pocket.
It’s redundant where cashless payments are concerned, but still valid where cash changes hands because the till drawer has to be opened to register the payment, then the till is counted at the end of the shift/day to make sure it tallies with recorded sales.
Our smallest coin is 5c (the old 6d) and my kids just discard 5c and 10c coins either by throwing them away or putting them in the change jar on the shop’s counter. Totals are rounded up or down - everybody buys $xx.02 worth of petrol if paying cash, for example.
I am amazed that the UK kept the 1p and 2p coins (the half pence coin was a sure sign that they had stuffed up metrication) can you buy anything with them?
Most transactions are card anyway so having small denominations of coins is a moot point anyway.
I cant remember the last time I’ve used metal money. Credit card, google pay and notes have been our MO. Think the only coins we’ve used for ages have been from an old tin which we use to give tips to take away drivers. Apart from supermarket trolleys, of course.
Here in the states, we mark an item 14.99 so it doesn’t look like $15. So silly when advertising. This was years ago when papers did so much advertising in print. Those days are gone, no one thinks it’s a bargain today. We are beginning to round up to dollars. A penny years ago was worth more than today.
I was once told by an ex-policeman that things were deliberately priced at 99p - or variants there of - for a good reason. Cashiers have to open the till, which registers the sale - and means they have to give change - so less chance for dishonest ones to cheat and simply pocket those £1 coins.!
I hate receiving coppers in my change. WH Smith seem to be the worst, on their self service till. It will dispense a load of 2p coins where a 10p would suffice, I often empty all change from my purse and bag, and put them in tins and jars. Then after a long time I can bank bag them up and pay into my account over the counter.
