And? That’s true of most coins. It’s probably true of the bills as well.
Comment on America Must Free Itself from the Tyranny of the Penny
Pissman2020@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Canada stopped minting pennies ages ago because the metals used to make a penny were worth more than the penny itself
reddig33@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
nova_ad_vitum@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
It’s probably true of the bills as well.
Just FYI you can look up stuff like this at no cost. It’s not even close to being true. A Canadian polymer banknote costs about 20 cents to manufacture and the smallest denomination is $5. Coins cost a few cents to make (even $2 ones). It’s just the penny that lost so much of its value over time that it costs more to make than its worth.
reddig33@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Looks like you’re right about bills. That surprised me in the US though — they use some special h h emp-based paper, and they weave in anti counterfeit strips etc etc. but they claim it only costs six cents or so per note.
In the US it costs more to make a five cent piece than it is worth. I don’t hear people complaining about getting rid of nickels though.
captainlezbian@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
As an American I’m down to even go as low as removing dimes and switching $1, $2, and $5 to coins. That puts us at similar currency value for the coin-bill swap as the yen and when I used it it felt about right
nova_ad_vitum@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
Other countries will start removing 5 cent coins in a few decades too (I’m guessing 30-50 years) . It’s only natural when low but positive inflation is targeted by every modern economy.
mindbleach@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Is that where the value comes from?
No, seriously. When you spend a penny - it’s gone. Right? So it’s wasteful to mint a penny that costs more than one cent.