Withdrawal of low-denomination coins

The withdrawal of a country's lowest-denomination coins from circulation (usually a one-cent coin or equivalent) may either be through a decision to remove the coins from circulation, or simply through ceasing minting.

The Swiss 1 Rappen coin, last minted in 2006

Reasons

This withdrawal may be due to the high cost of production, since the coin may be worth less than its cost of production. For example, when Canada phased out its penny in 2012, its production cost was 1.6 cents per penny.[1] Other reasons include low purchasing power and low utility. Often coins are withdrawn after their purchasing power has been eroded after decades of inflation. In Switzerland, the 1 Rappen coin had fallen into disuse by the early 1980s, but was still produced until 2006, albeit in ever decreasing quantities. Conversely, the British Treasury department initially argued for the retention of the decimal halfpenny, on the grounds that its withdrawal would drive up inflation.[2]

In some countries, such as New Zealand,[3] withdrawn coins are declared to be no longer legal tender; in other countries, such as Australia, they remain legal tender indefinitely.[4]

When the coin in question is no longer minted, cash transactions are rounded, typically through Swedish rounding.[5]

Efforts have been made to end the routine use of pennies, and equivalents thereof, in several more countries, including the United States.[6] Countries in the Eurozone have had different responses to the issue; according to James Debono writing for Malta Today, "scrapping the coins is considered unthinkable for Germany where both consumers and retailers are obsessed with precise pricing."[7]

Countries

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.

Countries that have withdrawn their lowest-denomination coins include:

Country	Coin(s)	Year of last minting	Withdrawal date	Legal tender?	Notes
Argentina	1 centavo	2001	N/A	Yes	Not officially withdrawn
Australia	1 and 2 cents	1991	1 February 1992	Yes	Legal tender for amounts not exceeding 20 cents;[4] can be paid into bank accounts but sometimes refused
Bahamas	1 cent	2014	2020	Yes	Production of the one cent coin will end on January 31, 2020; one cent coins will remain as valid coins for use until December 30, 2020; will be accepted for full redemption from the partner banks of the Central Bank of the Bahamas through June 30, 2021
Belgium	1 and 2 euro cent	N/A	2014	Yes	Remain in use at some retailers; Coins are still struck for annual coin sets[8]
Bangladesh	1, 5, 10, 25 and 50 poysha	2001	N/A	Yes	Legal tender for amounts not exceeding 50 poysha
Brazil	1 centavo	2005	N/A	Yes	Not officially withdrawn
Canada	1 cent	2012	4 February 2013[9]	Yes	Non-cash transactions are still denominated to the cent.
Chile	1 and 5 peso coins	2017	1 November 2017[10]	No	Amounts are rounded to the nearest 10.
Croatia	1 and 2 lipa	2012	N/A	Yes	Not officially withdrawn; since 2009, coins struck only as annual coin sets[11]
Czech Republic	10 and 20 haléřů 50 haléřů	N/A	31 October 2003 31 August 2008	No
Denmark	1 and 2 øre 5 and 10 øre 25 øre	1973 1989 2008	1 April 1973 1 July 1989 1 October 2008	No[12]	Exchangeable at Danmarks Nationalbank for 3 years after withdrawal - now treated as scrap metal
Fiji	1 and 2 cents	2005	13 November 2008	No
Finland	1 and 2 euro cent	N/A	2002	Yes	Only a few were minted; coins are still struck for annual coin sets[13]
Hong Kong	1 cent 5 cents	1941 1980	? 1 January 1989	No	Can be exchanged or paid into HSBC bank
Hungary	2 and 5 filler 10 and 20 filler 50 filler 1 and 2 forint	1992 1996 1999 2008	30 September 1992 30 September 1996 30 September 1999 1 March 2008	No	2- and 5-filler coins were exchangeable at the Hungarian National Bank until 31 December 1993. 10- and 20-filler coins were exchangeable until 31 December 1997. 50-filler coins were exchangeable until 30 September 2000. 1- and 2-forint coins were exchangeable for five years from the date of withdrawal[14]
Iceland	5 aurar 10 aurar 50 aurar	?	1 October 2003	No
Ireland	Halfpenny (decimal) 1 and 2 euro cent	1986 N/A	1 January 1987 28 October 2015	No Yes	(euro coins) Rounding is optional for consumers[15][16]
Israel	1 agora 5 agorot	1991 2006	1 April 1991 1 January 2008	No	Exchangeable at the Bank of Israel and commercial banks for 3 years from withdrawal.[17]
Italy	1 and 2 euro cent	N/A	1 January 2018	Yes	Coins are still struck for annual coin sets
Malaysia	1 sen	2008	1 April 2008[18]	Yes
Mexico	5 Centavos	2002	2002	Yes	Not officially withdrawn, minting of coin ceased.
Moldova	1 ban	2017	N/A	Yes	Not officially withdrawn, only the production of the coins was stopped
Netherlands	1 and 2 euro cent	N/A	1 September 2004	Yes	Rounding is optional for retailers[19]
New Zealand	1 and 2 cents 5 cents	1987 2004	30 April 1990 1 November 2006	No[3]	Exchangeable at the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (but amounts over $5 must be paid into a New Zealand bank)
North Macedonia	50 deni	1993	1 January 2013	No	Exchangeable at banks from 1 January to 31 March 2013; exchangeable only at the National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia thereafter.[20]
Norway	1 and 2 øre 5 and 25 øre 10 øre 50 øre	1972 1982 1992 2012	1993 1 May 2012	No	Norges Bank is obliged to redeem 50-øre coins until 2022[21]
Panama	Medio Centesimo	1940	1940	No
Papua New Guinea	1 and 2 toea	2006	19 April 2007	No
Russia	1 and 5 kopeks 10 and 50 kopeks	2017 2014	N/A	Yes	Not officially withdrawn
Singapore	1 cent	2002[22]	N/A	Yes	Not officially withdrawn
South Africa	1 and 2 cents 5 cents	2002[23] 2012[24]	1 April 2002 1 April 2012	Yes
South Korea	1 and 5 won	1991	N/A	Yes	Not officially withdrawn, the two denominations are produced in limited quantities in official Bank of Korea mint sets
Sweden	1 and 2 öre 5 öre and 25 öre 10 öre 50 öre	1971 1984 1991 2009	30 June 1972 30 June 1985 30 September 1992 30 September 2010	No	Payable into bank accounts for several months after withdrawal - now treated as scrap metal
Switzerland	1 Rappen 2 Rappen	2006 1974	1 January 2007 1978	No	Exchangeable at the Swiss National Bank for 20 years after withdrawal
Trinidad and Tobago	1 cent	2014	2018	No	Production ceased in 2014 and lost its validity in 2018; exchangeable at the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago
Ukraine	1, 2 and 5 kopiyok	1992	2018	No	Exchangeable for 3 years after withdrawal
United Kingdom	​^1⁄2 penny farthing (​^1⁄4d.)	1983 1956	31 December 1984 1960	No[2]	Decimal halfpennies can be paid into bank accounts at discretion of commercial banks; cannot be exchanged by the general public at the Royal Mint although private companies exist which can do so
United States	​^1⁄2 cent	1857	21 February 1857	No
Uruguay	10 and 20 centésimos 50 centésimos	1994 2008	2005 1 July 2010	No
Vanuatu	1 and 2 vatu	2011	31 March 2011	Yes[25]

See also

• Cent (currency)
• Penny
• Legal tender#Demonetization

References

1. "Canada cuts costs by eliminating penny, while US still clings to iconic coin". FoxNews.com. 4 February 2013. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
2. "1984: Halfpenny coin to meet its maker". BBC. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
3. "History of New Zealand Coinage". Reserve Bank of New Zealand. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
4. "RBA Banknotes: Legal Tender". Rba.gov.au.
5. "Save the penny or leave the penny?". www.cbc.ca. Retrieved 2015-10-12.
6. Lewis, Mark (5 July 2002). "Ban The Penny". Forbes. Retrieved 2009-05-07.
7. Debono, James (10 April 2014). "1c and 2c coins here to stay". Malta Today. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
8. "2015 Belgium 9-Coin BU Coin Set". Retrieved 21 October 2015.
9. "Phasing out the Penny | Canada's Economic Action Plan". ActionPlan.gc.ca. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
10. "El fin de las monedas de $1 y $5 y la regla de redondeo para el pago de beneficios". www.ips.gob.cl.
11. "Kovanica 1 lipe, jedna lipa - katalog hrvatskog novca | KUNALIPA". www.kunalipa.com. Retrieved 2015-11-23.
12. "Say Goodbye to the Smallest Danish Coin, the 25-Øre". CoinNews.net. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
13. "Finland euro coins". Fleur de Coin. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
14. "Exchangeable cash withdrawn from circulation". Hungarian National Bank. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
15. Pollak, Sorcha (19 October 2015). "Coin rounding to begin as 1 cent, 2 cent coins phased out". Irish Times. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
16. "Rounding of one and two cent coins under way". RTÉ News. 28 October 2015. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
17. http://www.pressreader.com/israel/jerusalem-post/20100914/282102043000720
18. "Doing away with one-sen coin payment". The Star. 14 November 2007. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
19. "Rounding to multiples of 5 cents". De Nederlandsche Bank. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
20. Bogov, Dimitar (26 April 2012). "Decision on Withdrawal from Circulation of Coins in Denomination of 50 Deni" (PDF). Skopje: National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
21. "50-øre coin withdrawn in 2012". Norges Bank. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
22. Ang, Benson (25 June 2013). "1-cent coin headed for history". AsiaOne. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
23. "One Cent (1c)". South African Mint. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
24. "5c coin to be discontinued". The Times. 24 November 2011. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
25. "Reserve Bank of Vanuatu statement: 1 and 2 vatu coins" (PDF). Reserve Bank of Vanuatu. Retrieved 21 October 2015.