Kerala   

Pennies do the vanishing trick

Photo: Vipin Chandran

SMALL CHANGE: The coins that are going out of circulation.

One may be pleased to see them, but they seem to be paling into insignificance and oblivion. This is the fate of the coins of smaller denominations.

The one paisa coins vanished from the market a long time ago. The coins made of copper found better use in foundries after certain industries reportedly cast an eye on them. The intrinsic value of the copper coins was higher than their face value and this led to these coins being melted down and converted into other articles.

Unlike the one paisa coin, the 5 paise and 10 paise coins are made mostly of aluminium and hence do not elicit high demand from industrial establishments. But these too have disappeared from the cash counters. The main reason behind this phenomenon is that the ‘small changes’ have become insignificant in value terms.

There is practically nothing that one can buy for 5 paise or 10 paise. These coins were in demand many years ago when one could exchange them for pan, beedis or toffee at the petty shops.

Now, there is no item having such a low price tag even in panshops. In fact, most of the manufacturers mark the prices of commodities such a way that the smaller denominations are kept at bay.

While the 5 and 10 paise coins have fallen from public patronage, the case of the 20 paise coins is not different. They too have become undeclared untouchables. With inflation touching double digits, even the 25 paise coins face a bleak future. The prevalent practice is that if the selling price contains a denomination anywhere between 5 and 95 paise, it is rounded off to the nearest Rs 0.50, thus eliminating the role of the 25 paise. The small denominations of coins are valid for any transaction. Yet none cares to carry them because they are simply ‘not worth’ it.

No doubt, these coins will be attractive possessions for numismatists. They will turn out to be precious collections. That perhaps is the brighter side of these small, beautiful coins.

R. Ramabhadran Pillai

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Rein in State leadership, Baby tells Congress high command
Engineer dons khaki
Stop banking on rain, look elsewhere for power
Wild ways
Slice of an epic in animation
Next issue
Imparting a new meaning to Theyyam
Single-window system
Market intervention
Power of prayer
Homage paid to Umerali Thangal
Empowering women to oppose crimes
Government contractors to stop work on projects
SEZ at Cheemeni to boost industrial production
‘Support water conservation’
Burning issue
Ban orders in Kodungalloor
Pennies do the vanishing trick

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu