Australia did away with the 1¢ and 2¢ coin many years ago rounding up or down to the nearest 5¢.
I saw a TV program on 'the penny' which intimated it cost 1.7¢ to make and could go no cheaper.
But the push to eliminate it is opposed by 67% of the American population for varying reasons, mainly economic.
Our experience was there were no dire repercussions when our 1¢ disappeared from circulation.
Now we find out that our 5¢ is costing 7¢ to produce.
What does 5¢ buy these days?
Apparently half a slice of devon (baloney), one third of a cocktail frankfurt, two red grapes or almonds or blueberries or cashews or Twisties and one twelfth of a Freddo frog.
So while there are no plans to get rid of it I guess they will continue to be generally thrown into the back of a draw or stashed away in a bottle somewhere.
While the coins remain legal tender, there are restrictions around how they can be used. Section 16 of our Currency Act states that merchants are only required to accept up to $5 worth of any combination of silver coins, after that, it is no longer legal tender. Good luck handing over 100 5¢ coins at any business these days.
By the way, the US Mint reports that a nickel costs 8¢ to make.
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