<p>Okay, at the store, I drop a PENNY…and it has rolled away…some one tells me, and I say, oh thanks, its okay, and they insist on pointing it out, showing me were that penny rolled and I feel obligated because they were soooo helpful to go over, reach under something and pick it up…</p>
<p>Hint to everyone…if a person says, oh thanks, thats okay, and doesn’t get that penny or that nickel…LET IT GO!!! You have been very nice, but if that person wants to leave the penny or even that dime, its up for grabs</p>
<p>I’m right there with you, CGM! What’s worse for me is that I’m a nail biter so I couldn’t pick the thing up if I wanted to, and you get watched in an accusatory manner if you don’t pick it up.</p>
<p>I always consider the polite, considerate thing to do is pick it up - just as I would if a scrap of paper had fallen out of my pocket. Actually, it is probably a lot easier for the cleaning crew to pick up the scrap of paper than a coin which doesn’t always get vacuumed up that easily.</p>
<p>I just came back from the airport. D was digging in her purse to find ID and a quarter drops. She asks if it’s hers. I pick it up and when I look up, a man with his family is in the next line with his hand out. Makes me get out of my line to give him back the quarter. (I had a nasty slip/fall when I was pregnant with D2 because there was a penny on the floor in the market. I either kick them out of the way or pick them up. (2 kids in college so every penny counts)</p>
<p>And ff, I ruined a perfectly good vacuum on barbie shoes and little legos, so I can imagine what coins would do)</p>
<p>Earlier this week, a bill was introduced in Congress proposing eliminating the penny and rounding prices to the nearest nickel. Supposedly the current cost of the zinc needed to make a penny costs 1.4 cents.</p>
<p>Well, FF, when you have 5 bags in your hand, and are tryng to pay the bill, and don’t feel that at that exact moment you can pick it up without dropping even more things…but no, they look at your and everyone waits until you stop doing everything you are doing, holding up the line, until you pick it up. </p>
<p>Especailly if it rolled into a very inconvienent spot…</p>
<p>I am no litterer, Ihave chased pieces of paper down the street, BUT, in a store, where they don’t just suck anything up because all kinds of things are dropped, I should be able to pick up that penny when I want to.</p>
<p>Guess FF never been to a sale. And when i have seen a person drop something, me, because I am not usually trying to pay,will pick up the silly nickle my self and hand it to the person, instead of just wagging my finger at them.</p>
<p>Mootmom, funny you should mention it. I was wondering recently if that would ever happen - obviously, the ha-penny is no longer with us. IMO, pennies are virtually useless. Vending machines do not take them. </p>
<p>The only problem is for things like gum - if you buy something for 30 cents and the tax is one cent, do you pay 35 cents?</p>
<p>Any man with a mamma worth her salt would know enough to help out a lady whose arms are full instead of chastising her. Bad manners on his part to not offer to help. </p>
<p>(One reason I love the South: if your arms are full, men hold the door for you and help you into your car; up North, they just snort and say, “Oh, looks like you’re having a tough time there.”)</p>
<p>I always run over and pick them up as fast as I can, especially if I didn’t drop them. I need all the unrecorded income I can get to save up to pay the inheritance tax.</p>
<p>Mootmom, this just showed up in my ABA newsbytes email, wonder if it’ll pass:</p>
<p>Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz.) last week introduced a bill that would require all cash transactions to be rounded to the nearest 5 cents, effectively eliminating the penny. The legislation also would fold the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and the U.S. Mint into the Federal Reserve, mandate a study on alternative coin compositions and create a process to replace the dollar bill with a $1 coin. The bill comes after U.S. Mint officials told lawmakers earlier this year that it costs more than a cent to produce and distribute a penny and more than 5 cents to make a nickel. Soaring metal prices account for the cost increases. Kolbe introduced a similar bill in 2001. Read more…</p>
<p>IMO there has already been enough pennies fabricated in the US for the next 20 years if not longer. All that has to be done is get them back in circulation and out of jars at home and water fountains.</p>
<p>OMG Canada has coins for $1 and $2 and IMO it’s awful. Way too much metal to carry around. I hope this never passes in the US.</p>
<p>I spend quite a bit of time in Canada and have learned to appreciate them. They are very useful for tolls and in vending machines. Look at it this way, would you rather have 4 quarters or one Loonie in your pocket.</p>
<p>I keep a Ziploc bag of Canadian money in my car. My usual traveling companion tells me I look like a street person with my bag of money.</p>