Remove 1p and 2p coins?

Many people use cash. Prick.

As snobby as this is going to come across, I don't tend to handle or deal in coins these days so the removal of the 0.5p coins was a matter of supreme indifference to me.

Are you saying you use cards or notes?

Doesn't the copper wear off? I often see the raised picture/wording rubbed away, and it's still copper coloured.

Changing the 10p coins to steel was a nuisance, they're thicker.

Are you intent on waffling until I forget what it was I originally asked?

I've never seen one worn to the extent that the steel shows.

Chris

Probably because cash handling is a significant cost to businesses.

people who queue up at the "quick" counter at lunchtime to pay for one sandwich

tim

A lot off the product that they buy is end of line and bankrupt stock.

It is branded product at a knockdown price. The sort of stuff that is sold on market stalls (if you have such a market - my ""trendy" town does not).

And that gets people into the store to fill up their basket with all of the other stuff that sells for a pound (or less) anyway.

They also have special sizes made for them, to fit into their price point. I wanted some WD40, but didn't want to pay the 3.29 (or whatever) for a standard tin from [insert name of your favourite DIY store]. The small can for 99p in the [guess where] was exactly what I wanted. I didn't care one hoot that it was more expensive per ml (if indeed it was) (or that I could have paid only 2.49 for the standard tin in Screwfix - or wherever)

tim

Er, was it Poundland?

doesn't lead to quite the same level of rounding, does it?

(I understand that 2p now may be worth less than the ha'penny then, but its psychological impact is greater)

tim

It's not exactly an order of magnitude away.

Remove 1/2p, minimum 1p remains = 2x difference. Remove 2p, minimum 5p remains = 2.5x difference.

B'sides, the Irish trials on rounding will - as other countries have - only apply to cash transactions. Card transactions will still be to 1p, so you can still buy 3 x 4.99 bottles of wine for £14.97, rather than having them rounded down to £14.95 for cash.

But, as the 1/2p abolition proved, Rip-Off Britain rounded *up* not *down*.

To quote: "The Treasury's delay in ending the halfpenny arose from fears th at if the coin was abolished, retailers would raise prices to the nearest p enny, which would in turn contribute to inflation. By 1984, the government had got to a point where it believed so few transactions would be affected, there would be no measurable impact.

When it came down to it, Bank of England figures show inflation rose by 0.5 % in January 1985".

0.5% on the RPI solely due to the abolition of a coin and the greedy nature of British traders.

Facts can be SO inconvenient, can't they?

Go and find a website listing monthly RPI over that period. There are several. Then figure out the %age increase for each month.

The increase in RPI for January 1985 was lower than that for February, March or April 1985, and no different to most other months around that period.