• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

Are businesses required to take pennies?

Page 3 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.
Originally posted by: pontifex
Originally posted by: NFS4
Originally posted by: BobDaMenkey
Go to a bank first you jerk.
Click to expand...

Why, it's legal tender.
Click to expand...

so you as a cashier at a fast food would sit there and count out 100 pennies?
Click to expand...

Fast Food hasn't been Fast Food...EVER.

Shouldn't take more than 30 seconds to count out 106 pennies. (I'd visualize 5 pennies each and sort them 21 times).
 
Originally posted by: Marlin1975
Originally posted by: StevenYoo
lots of people out there want to abolish the penny.

the actual copper in a penny is now worth more than the penny itself, u know.
Click to expand...

STOP POSTING!!!

I hate it when people love to claim something as truth yet have no real knowledge (like this person and the OP)

Pennies are mostly zinc not copper. Been that way for many many years. They have very little copper and the copper in a penny is NOT worth more then a penny.


And as someone already posted...

""There is, however, no Federal law mandating that a person or organization must accept currency or coins as for payment for goods and/or services."

That's it. All this means is that the Federal Reserve System must honor U.S. currency and coins, not necessarily anyone else. "
Click to expand...

You're only half right about this. It's true they're made of 97.5% zinc and 2.5% of copper but with rising zinc costs, the penny is worth only about .75 cents.

WSJ Article
 
Originally posted by: doze
Originally posted by: BigJ
Originally posted by: doze
Coins are not legal tender, only cash is
Click to expand...

Bzzzzt!!!! Wrong.
Click to expand...

Coins are not considered currency and only currently is considered legal tender

http://www.treasury.gov/education/faq/currency/denominations.shtml

Show me a coin that says "this note is legal tender for all debts public and private"
Click to expand...

Bzzzzt!!!! Wrong Again!

Ever hear of the Coinage Act of 1965.

From the Treasury website itself:
http://www.ustreas.gov/education/faq/currency/legal-tender.shtml

Coinage Act of 1965, specifically Section 31 U.S.C. 5103, entitled "Legal tender," which states: "United States coins and currency (including Federal reserve notes and circulating notes of Federal reserve banks and national banks) are legal tender for all debts, public charges, taxes, and dues."
Click to expand...

Johnny, show him his lovely parting gift!
 
I found this interesting:

Why did the Treasury Department remove the $2 bill from circulation?

We receive many letters asking why the $2 bill is no longer in circulation. Contrary to the impression of many people, the Treasury Department did not stop circulating the $2 bill. On September 12, 1996, Robert E. Rubin, the 70th Secretary of the Treasury, was presented with a new series $2 bill. The Series 1995 notes were printed at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing's (BEP) Western Currency Facility and bear the seal of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.

The $2 bill remains one of our circulating currency denominations. According to BEP statistics, 590,720,000 Series 1976 $2 bills were printed and as of February 28, 1999, there was $1,166,091,458 worth of $2 bills in circulation worldwide.

The key for successfully circulating the two-dollar bill is for retailers to use them just like any other denomination in their daily operations. In addition, most commercial banks will readily supply their retail customers with these bills if their customers request them in sufficient volume to justify stocking them in their vaults. However, neither the Treasury Department nor the Federal Reserve System can force the distribution or use of any denomination of currency on banks, businesses or individuals.
Click to expand...
 
No they're not required to take them.

Yes a penny costs more than a penny to produce (by a large margin, because the cost of zinc has gone up significantly)

Yes we should abolish the penny, but a lot of people are stupid.

The nickel costs about 7 cents to make as well.
 
Originally posted by: Rumpltzer
Originally posted by: WobbleWobble
In Canada, there's a law for the maximum number of coins a store is require to accept. I don't remember the numbers off the top of my head, they're in one of my law books at home. But I'm pretty sure in Canada that legally they don't need to accept 100 pennies to pay for $1.
Click to expand...
In Canada they're not allowed to add caffeine to sodas.

We don't want to be like Canada.
Click to expand...

EXACTLY what I was thinking.
 
Originally posted by: Rob9874
I found this interesting:

Why did the Treasury Department remove the $2 bill from circulation?

We receive many letters asking why the $2 bill is no longer in circulation. Contrary to the impression of many people, the Treasury Department did not stop circulating the $2 bill. On September 12, 1996, Robert E. Rubin, the 70th Secretary of the Treasury, was presented with a new series $2 bill. The Series 1995 notes were printed at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing's (BEP) Western Currency Facility and bear the seal of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.

The $2 bill remains one of our circulating currency denominations. According to BEP statistics, 590,720,000 Series 1976 $2 bills were printed and as of February 28, 1999, there was $1,166,091,458 worth of $2 bills in circulation worldwide.

The key for successfully circulating the two-dollar bill is for retailers to use them just like any other denomination in their daily operations. In addition, most commercial banks will readily supply their retail customers with these bills if their customers request them in sufficient volume to justify stocking them in their vaults. However, neither the Treasury Department nor the Federal Reserve System can force the distribution or use of any denomination of currency on banks, businesses or individuals.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

The key for successfully circulating the $2 bill (and the $1 coins that the treasury loves so much because they last 20 times longer than a $1 bill) is abolishing the $1 bill.
 
Originally posted by: mugs
No they're not required to take them.

Yes a penny costs more than a penny to produce (by a large margin, because the cost of zinc has gone up significantly)

Yes we should abolish the penny, but a lot of people are stupid.

The nickel costs about 7 cents to make as well.
Click to expand...

If they abolish the pennies...... how will the government be able to collect finger print & DNA ? :Q 😕 😉

Cheers,
Aquaman
 
Originally posted by: Unheard
Yes, by federal law they are required to take it.
Click to expand...
Wrong. They don't have to take any coin or currency if they don't want to. If a business sells a product for $20 bucks and decides they will only take $20 bills in exchange for it, they can do that. If they decide they don't want their clerks counting up stacks of pennies, they can do that too.
 
Originally posted by: smack Down
They are only required to accept legal tender if you already have a dedt. For example buying gas if you already pumped your gas they can't refuse to accept your pennies because they extend credit to you and you have a dedt.
Click to expand...

maybe you should learn how to spell the fvcking word....it's not that hard.
 
at the beginning of the day i stick about 25 pennies in my A$$, and spend them throughout the day, that way at the end of the day i can say haha all those people have pennies that were in my ass
 
Originally posted by: TheGizmo
at the beginning of the day i stick about 25 pennies in my A$$, and spend them throughout the day, that way at the end of the day i can say haha all those people have pennies that were in my ass
Click to expand...

Nothing like good ol' ass pennies.
 
Slightly changing topic, stores suck that have minimum purchases on debit card or charge an Interact fee.
 
Originally posted by: glutenberg
Originally posted by: Marlin1975
Originally posted by: StevenYoo
lots of people out there want to abolish the penny.

the actual copper in a penny is now worth more than the penny itself, u know.
Click to expand...

STOP POSTING!!!

I hate it when people love to claim something as truth yet have no real knowledge (like this person and the OP)

Pennies are mostly zinc not copper. Been that way for many many years. They have very little copper and the copper in a penny is NOT worth more then a penny.


And as someone already posted...

""There is, however, no Federal law mandating that a person or organization must accept currency or coins as for payment for goods and/or services."

That's it. All this means is that the Federal Reserve System must honor U.S. currency and coins, not necessarily anyone else. "
Click to expand...

You're only half right about this. It's true they're made of 97.5% zinc and 2.5% of copper but with rising zinc costs, the penny is worth only about .75 cents.

WSJ Article
Click to expand...



Half right? Try reading again. Everything I said was true. Heck you even backed it up. A penny only has 2.5% copper. That is no where near the value of a cent by weight.
 
Originally posted by: Marlin1975
Originally posted by: glutenberg
Originally posted by: Marlin1975
Originally posted by: StevenYoo
lots of people out there want to abolish the penny.

the actual copper in a penny is now worth more than the penny itself, u know.
Click to expand...

STOP POSTING!!!

I hate it when people love to claim something as truth yet have no real knowledge (like this person and the OP)

Pennies are mostly zinc not copper. Been that way for many many years. They have very little copper and the copper in a penny is NOT worth more then a penny.


And as someone already posted...

""There is, however, no Federal law mandating that a person or organization must accept currency or coins as for payment for goods and/or services."

That's it. All this means is that the Federal Reserve System must honor U.S. currency and coins, not necessarily anyone else. "
Click to expand...

You're only half right about this. It's true they're made of 97.5% zinc and 2.5% of copper but with rising zinc costs, the penny is worth only about .75 cents.

WSJ Article
Click to expand...



Half right? Try reading again. Everything I said was true. Heck you even backed it up. A penny only has 2.5% copper. That is no where near the value of a cent by weight.
Click to expand...
Yeah, you're right.
But pre-1982 pennies do have more than a penny's worth of copper.
And it does cost more than 1 cent to make a penny today.
And the value of the metal in a nickel IS actually slightly more than 5 cents.
 
Originally posted by: MisterJackson
I've never done something like that out of respect for the person at the register. I mean, if you really want to do that, just roll the damn things.
Click to expand...
Seriously. Not to mention then they have to go change it at the bank, adding time/cost to the process.
 
Originally posted by: fbrdphreak
Originally posted by: MisterJackson
I've never done something like that out of respect for the person at the register. I mean, if you really want to do that, just roll the damn things.
Click to expand...
Seriously. Not to mention then they have to go change it at the bank, adding time/cost to the process.
Click to expand...

I agree on the inconvenience and respect thing, but the other part...

Depends on the place.

When I did bookkeeping at a retail store, we had our own coin sorting/rolling machine where we'd roll the pennies and then use them for the tills we made each morning and throughout the day. Even with the money we rolled from the cashiers, we still had to order boxes of coins from the bank that were delivered a few times a week.

So we never actually sent any of the coins that came in to the bank.
 
Originally posted by: smack Down
They are only required to accept legal tender if you already have a dedt. For example buying gas if you already pumped your gas they can't refuse to accept your pennies because they extend credit to you and you have a dedt.
Click to expand...

what is 'dedt'?
 
Originally posted by: Aquaman
Originally posted by: mugs
No they're not required to take them.

Yes a penny costs more than a penny to produce (by a large margin, because the cost of zinc has gone up significantly)

Yes we should abolish the penny, but a lot of people are stupid.

The nickel costs about 7 cents to make as well.
Click to expand...

If they abolish the pennies...... how will the government be able to collect finger print & DNA ? :Q 😕 😉

Cheers,
Aquaman
Click to expand...

If they abolish the pennies...... how will I check the tread on my tires conveniently 😉
 
i have a lot of pennies in my container. once it is filled, i'm going to bank for the coin machine. coin machine FTW.
 
Originally posted by: DaShen
Just put the pennies in a roll :roll:

It is considerate to do anyways.
Click to expand...

Someone in a grocery store I used to work in tried to pay me in a couple of rolls of pennies, but I couldn't take them unless I broke them open and counted (which I wasn't going to do). It might be considerate to roll them, but the cashier still needs to count it to make sure they aren't getting something filled with washers.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top