No more new pennies

[Jim]

The Stewart's Shop where I made a cash purchase last night had a small sign by the registers saying that if they run out of pennies and you don't have exact change, don't worry, because they'll just round your total down to the next nickel.  Why this is so hard for some other places to figure out?

[Scott5114]

I think that will happen, about other things.  But I see this as taking on a life of its own.  Mindless news stories all over the country.  Big companies, which should know better, declaring a non-existent shortage, "grass roots" self-appointeds with ideas, old men shouting at clouds, people upset that the foot 'tamp addicted might have to "pay" two whole cents more half of the time, long discussions of taxes. 

I don't know anyone who is addicted to foot tamps and I don't know anyone who would get upset on their behalf either.

[Ted$8roadFan]

If pennies just stopped being made but businesses hare having difficulty making change, does this mean that people are hoarding them?

[kalvado]

If pennies just stopped being made but businesses hare having difficulty making change, does this mean that people are hoarding them?

When was the last time you bothered to reach into your pocket for a penny at the register?
People don't consider small change as money that can be used for payment and just offload into the jar. So instead of 10s of cashier - customer -cashier rounds, the loop is mostly bank -cashier - customer - jar h (few years ) - bank.
I feel that $1 bill can go back and forth multiple times before hitting the bank, and that is the healthy circulation mode for small currency.

[1995hoo]

If pennies just stopped being made but businesses hare having difficulty making change, does this mean that people are hoarding them?

I'm not sure "hoarding" is really the right word insofar as it arguably suggests a conscious intent to save pennies. No doubt there are some people who do just that. But I'd suggest that "ignoring them" might be a more accurate description (which I think is consistent with kalvado's response to your comment, too). I saw an article in the Washington Post the other day in which a US Mint official was talking about a penny's practical value in terms of worker wages. He had an explanation for why a penny might be worth, at most, one second's work, and he theorized that it makes little economic sense to take two or three seconds to bend over to pick one up off the sidewalk or to dig in your pocket to find one.

I'll pick up a penny from the ground as long as it's not a busy area where I'll be in the way or I'll risk getting my fingers stepped on. The main reason I'll pick them up, though, is because sometimes they turn out to be something different or interesting, such as a foreign coin that looks like a penny. Or one time I picked up what turned out to be an older Canadian penny bearing the image of King George VI. If I pick up what turns out to be a standard US penny, it gets tossed into the change jar on the kitchen counter and eventually dumped into the Coinstar machine to purchase a gift card (usually Amazon) to avoid the transaction fee.

[kphoger]

I'm not sure "hoarding" is really the right word insofar as it arguably suggests a conscious intent to save pennies. No doubt there are some people who do just that. But I'd suggest that "ignoring them" might be a more accurate description

Yep.  We have two jars in our house to toss loose change into:  one for pennies and the other for everything else.  It's always in the back of my mind that, if we're ever broke and really need to scrape, I can cash in that second jar and get a decent number of dollars out of it.  But not the penny jar.  Cashing in a jar of pennies yields a depressingly low number of dollars, to the point that it's hardly even worth it.

[kalvado]

I'm not sure "hoarding" is really the right word insofar as it arguably suggests a conscious intent to save pennies. No doubt there are some people who do just that. But I'd suggest that "ignoring them" might be a more accurate description

Yep.  We have two jars in our house to toss loose change into:  one for pennies and the other for everything else.  It's always in the back of my mind that, if we're ever broke and really need to scrape, I can cash in that second jar and get a decent number of dollars out of it.  But not the penny jar.  Cashing in a jar of pennies yields a depressingly low number of dollars, to the point that it's hardly even worth it.

Once upon a time I was forced to cash my cup of pennies ( largest Arby's cup, 30 oz maybe?) into a coinstar for an yield of $13.46 (including a few dimes that sneaked into it). I still remember standing there for what seemed to be 15-20 minutes..   
Another major coin cleanup some 10 years later yielded nice $130, mostly from quarters.. 

[Scott5114]

I saw an article in the Washington Post the other day in which a US Mint official was talking about a penny's practical value in terms of worker wages. He had an explanation for why a penny might be worth, at most, one second's work, and he theorized that it makes little economic sense to take two or three seconds to bend over to pick one up off the sidewalk or to dig in your pocket to find one.

On the other hand, if a penny takes one second to pick up, you are making $36/hour. If it takes two seconds to pick up, you are making $18/hour. I wouldn't want to work a full time job for only $18/hour but it would be a nice little side gig.

[JayhawkCO]

Reminds me of the anecdote that if Bill Gates saw a $100 bill on the ground, he would actually lose money to take the time to pick it up (obviously assuming that somehow he would cease making regular income during that time).

[kphoger]

On the other hand, if a penny takes one second to pick up, you are making $36/hour. If it takes two seconds to pick up, you are making $18/hour. I wouldn't want to work a full time job for only $18/hour but it would be a nice little side gig.

I've always worked full-time, and I only cracked $18/hour in the last year or two.  I do work in an underpaid industry, though.

[Rothman]

On the other hand, if a penny takes one second to pick up, you are making $36/hour. If it takes two seconds to pick up, you are making $18/hour. I wouldn't want to work a full time job for only $18/hour but it would be a nice little side gig.

I've always worked full-time, and I only cracked $18/hour in the last year or two.  I do work in an underpaid industry, though.

The trick is how long "always" has been.

[kalvado]

If I remember correctly, NYC subway cops ticketed someone for littering when they spilled a few coins. Picking up those might be more profitable...

[SSOWorld]

Kwik Trip has stopped doing pennies a month or two ago.

They're probably the first. Nope, Kroger's and Home Depot did too. News about the penny shortage crisis. OH MYYY!!.

Kwik-ie Trippy rounds up and gives you the nickel. Their loss. Trying to get people to use plastic - then soon after start tacking on convenience fees (only because USA allows up-charges to cover for the "loyalty programs" that you can't find anywhere else.

[kphoger]

Kroger's

Kroger's what?

[vtk]

That's just part of the Midwest accent

[NWI_Irish96]

Kroger's

Kroger's what?

The S in Jewel is actually a Z

[hbelkins]

Why do so many people say "Kroger's" and "Meijer's" but no one says "Walmart's" or "Target's?"

[NWI_Irish96]

Why do so many people say "Kroger's" and "Meijer's" but no one says "Walmart's" or "Target's?"

Oh they very much do in some areas.

[JayhawkCO]

Why do so many people say "Kroger's" and "Meijer's" but no one says "Walmart's" or "Target's?"

I think it's a 'name' thing. I know Walmart is named after the Waltons, but the eithers being explicitly last names lends itself to making it possessive. Add the fact that there are other "last name" grocery stores that do add the 's', e.g. Albertson's, Randalls, Shaw's, Bakers, Fry's, etc., and you end up with Kroger's.

[kphoger]

Why do so many people say "Kroger's" and "Meijer's" but no one says "Walmart's" or "Target's?"

I think it's a 'name' thing. I know Walmart is named after the Waltons, but the eithers being explicitly last names lends itself to making it possessive. Add the fact that there are other "last name" grocery stores that do add the 's', e.g. Albertson's, Randalls, Shaw's, Bakers, Fry's, etc., and you end up with Kroger's.

Jewel isn't named after anyone, yet people still say Jewel's.  They don't, however, say Osco's.

Technically, Hy-Vee is named after Hyde and Vredenburg, but whatever.

Why do so many people say ... "Meijer's"

Once upon a time . . .

[Scott5114]

I think it's a 'name' thing. I know Walmart is named after the Waltons, but the eithers being explicitly last names lends itself to making it possessive. Add the fact that there are other "last name" grocery stores that do add the 's', e.g. Albertson's, Randalls, Shaw's, Bakers, Fry's, etc., and you end up with Kroger's.

Except, weirdly, Albertsons doesn't have an apostrophe. They are simply telling you there is more than one Albertson.

Jewel isn't named after anyone, yet people still say Jewel's.  They don't, however, say Osco's.

My grandma used to have to go to an "Osco's" in Kansas City sometimes.

[kphoger]

Jewel isn't named after anyone, yet people still say Jewel's.  They don't, however, say Osco's.

My grandma used to have to go to an "Osco's" in Kansas City sometimes.

I stand corrected.
https://kchistory.org/image/osco-drugstore-0

Then again, I once knew a guy whose grandmother said "General Dollar".

[hbelkins]

Then again, I once knew a guy whose grandmother said "General Dollar".

My dad did as well. And that was when Dollar General was still headquartered in Kentucky and wasn't as widespread as it is now.

[vtk]

One of my friends has an aunt who adds 's to basically every store name, except she also says Walgreen.

[Scott5114]

One of my friends has an aunt who adds 's to basically every store name, except she also says Walgreen.

That makes me think she knows darn well what she's doing.