this post was submitted on 12 Nov 2025
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[–] testfactor@lemmy.world 56 points 1 day ago (2 children)

The dime is currently worth less than the halfpenny was when it stopped being minted because it wasn't useful to do so anymore.

This is wildly overdue, and honestly, probably not far enough.

[–] Skullgrid@lemmy.world 4 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

Thanks CGP Grey. You keep moving them goalposts.

Just like how the federal minimum wage needs to be over 22 dollars, not just Fif-Teen bucks an hour

[–] testfactor@lemmy.world 10 points 17 hours ago (1 children)
[–] Skullgrid@lemmy.world 7 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

CGP Grey is a youtuber who made a video years ago about stopping printing the penny. when trump announced ending printing the penny, he made basically the same video about stopping printing the nickel, and the dime.

Due to Inflation.

The same reason that Bernie sanders pushed for a $15/h minimum wage, which should itself be inflated from its 2016 amount to 22 bucks an hour.

While I think both of you are making reasonable arguments, I wanted to make fun of the situation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58SrtQNt4YE < kill nickels
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5UT04p5f7U < Kill pennies

[–] testfactor@lemmy.world 1 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

Sure, I mean, I'm also all for raising the minimum wage, as it's wildly stagnated against inflation. You can be for that and for getting rid of the penny?

Idk, I just don't understand how I'm "moving the goalposts"? Or perhaps I've just misunderstood the point of your comment.

I actually have seen that CGP Grey video before though, and it's only gotten more relevant as time has gone on, lol. It doesn't make it bad policy just because Trump is the one doing it.

[–] Skullgrid@lemmy.world 3 points 8 hours ago

Idk, I just don’t understand how I’m “moving the goalposts”? Or perhaps I’ve just misunderstood the point of your comment.

CGP Grey made the video for "get rid of the penny". When they got rid of the penny, he made the video "get rid of the nickel, and the dime." When the original goal as getting rid of the penny, once that was achieved, he moved the goalposts to get rid of the nickel.

Your statement is in line with CGP Grey's (correct) viewpoint.

Pointing this out in a facetious manner is meant to be humorous.

[–] SatansMaggotyCumFart@piefed.world 2 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Isn't a halfpenny worth half a penny so a dime is worth twenty times more?

[–] testfactor@lemmy.world 14 points 23 hours ago (2 children)

One dollar in 1950 had far more buying power than one dollar does now. Something that cost a dollar in 1950 would cost nearly $14 in 2026.

The halfpenny, when discontinued, could purchase roughly as much as 12¢ could today.

At that time, it was decided that a halfpenny wasn't necessary, as transactions were of a high enough value that made tracking the numbers to the half-penny needless, and that you could just round to the nearest penny.

The equivalent today would be rounding to either the nearest dime or quarter, eliminating the need for smaller denomination coins.

[–] BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today -2 points 9 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago) (1 children)

Please, this is MAGA America, of course it's a scam. Your post is exactly why we should keep the penny.

There are many, many very wealthy people and corporations out there, and they keep track of every single fucking penny they touch, and they go to War if a single penny is missing. As an example, here you are figuring out the purchasing power of some anachronistic currency that hasn't been used in 200 years to justify it.

Those same people are now telling us that we, the working people, don't need to keep track of every one of OUR pennies, because we don't have enough of them to worry about. Don't worry, all their cash registers will do the calculations for you, and it will always be fair. We'll never round UP the numbers so you always end up paying a few cents more for EVERYTHING. It won't make a difference to you and your few pennies, but they will add up, and make the rich even richer by taking your pennies directly out of your pocket, a penny at a time. What are you complaining about? It's just a penny.

But it's my penny, and I want it, and before you call me a cheapskate, I'll remind the world that those calling me a cheapskate are the ones trying to take MY penny away. If it's important enough for them to take it from me, then it's important enough to defend it from them. I'm not giving these Jackals one inch.

Of course, the way around it is to use your debit card for everything, and your purchases will be calculated to the penny. And they will also be able to track every item you purchase, and where you are at any given moment, and every place you've been.

[–] testfactor@lemmy.world 3 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

So should we bring back the halfpenny? Cause right now they're scamming you out of all those fractional pennies you could be saving, and that really adds up. They're up charging you 0.5¢ all the time, and robbing those halfpennies right out of your pocket!!!

But if you're not for bringing back tracking transactions down to the fractional cent, what makes it different to your mind? Why is that ridiculous, but rounding to the nearest 5¢ is way out of bounds?

[–] BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today -3 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

Typical bonehead take.

Yeah, that's what I was getting at - we should bring back the Halfpenney. Good job getting the point, Brainiac.

[–] testfactor@lemmy.world 5 points 8 hours ago

I wasn't saying I thought that was your actual position. I was saying that your actual position made as much sense as that.

There's no difference in kind between rounding to the nearest penny or rounding to the nearest nickel. It's the exact same thing, and the question is just "where do you draw the line"?

So should the line never change no matter what? Regardless of any real life implications the line is drawn exactly where it was meant to be by God at the beginning of time and it is devoid of context or reason?

If we had massive deflation to the point where tracking to the fractional cent made sense, I would argue that it might be worth printing halfpennies again. But we don't. And the idea that companies are going to be robbing you of pennies is no more or less reasonable than the idea that they are robbing you of fractional pennies.

Hell, there's a real chance it'll go the other way in a lot of cases, as stores will start marking things as $X.95 instead of $X.99. Someone else did the math based on what economists projected the cost to consumers would be, and it came out to 2¢ per person per year. Not exactly a staggering number.

The fact of the matter is that we have to occasionally re-figure at what granularity it's worth tracking our fractions of a dollar to. Inflation will always be inflating, and in a few hundred years when a loaf of bread is $250 the idea that we would track fractional dollars will seem as antiquated as the halfpenny does now.

[–] Xaphanos@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago

I assume testfactor means in economic value / purchasing power.