Some thoughts why our coins are worthless and why change is needed now.

Quick!  Right now, reach into your pocket.  How much money in coins did you pull out?

I’m betting that unless you were on your way to Aldi’s, the chance that you pulled out anything other than your keys or lint was about zero.

There are some driving factors for this.  First and foremost, coins aren’t really needed anymore because nearly everything that was coin-driven is now either obsolete or an electronic transaction.  Unless you were ordering up a mob hit, when was the last time you used a pay phone? Hell, when was the last time you SAW a pay phone?  Gone are the days when you would always have a quarter in your pocket to call home in case you were stuck somewhere.

The other factor, however, is buying power.  Our traditional cash register drawer coins of a penny, nickel, dime, and quarter don’t really have any value.  In a world where the Dollar Store’s lowest priced items is $1.25, why would anyone ever bother with carrying around change?

Let’s jump back to 1975 for a moment.  Back in those days, a quarter represented real buying power to a kid.  25 cents meant a GOOD candy bar.  10 cents meant something chintzy like Good ‘n Plenties.  5 cents meant scraping by with Necco Wafers.

In 2024, to have the same spending power of a 1975 quarter, you’d need to spend $1.43.  Don’t believe me?  Google “Snickers bar price” and you’ll get $1.39 at Target.

If we round up just a little, it looks like the inflation rate from 1975 to now was 800% (i.e., x8), which means that any particular coin is now worth 1/8 what it used to be.  So:

A penny is worthless.

A nickel is worthless.

A dime is roughly equivalent to a penny.

A quarter is actually worth less than a nickel (3.125 1975 cents)

….leaving us with a coin that is too big and no longer minted: a 50 cent piece is now worth a little over a nickel (6.285 1997 cents).

And, our dollar coins are really worth about HALF of a 1975 quarter).

I’d think the smart thing to do would be to retire the penny and the nickel…and possibly the dime as well.  Round all prices up or down to the nearest 25 cents (the math will be a wash).  Decommission dollar bills and start minting dollar and two dollar coins.

If you’re wondering why I’m even thinking about this, it’s because my condo building has coin operated washers and dryers.  COIN OPERATED, just like its 1975 around here!  So a washer load is 4 quarters, and the dryer is 15 minutes for a quarter.  There are no change machines around here or way to buy back your coins (I have my own theories about which of my age 55+ neighbors are skimming from the till), so my options are stand in the lotto line at Publix, who will only issue me one roll of quarters after standing there in a queue of retirees who have to play the numbers of all of their grandkids’ birthdays, or go to my bank.  Get this – the last time I did this at my bank branch, the teller (human!!!  I was shocked!!!) asked me if I wanted more rolls after I asked for two.  Curious, I asked, “Well, how many more do you have?”  The reply: One.  So…not to make too fine a point here…but I cleaned out my local bank branch of ALL their quarters when I walked off with 3 rolls.  I even asked, “Hey – won’t this leave you with none?”  The answer: “That’s okay, sir – no one uses these anymore.”