One & Two Cent Coins Being Phased Out Starting Next Week

It's happening, it's finally happening. No more awkward change, never again.

Well, there will be for another few months, but the process of eradicating one and two cent coins from our legal tender is beginning next Wednesday, 28th October.

As of that date, all prices will be rounded to the nearest five cent. For example, anything costing €10.01 and €10.02 will be rounded down to a flat €10.00, while €10.03 and €10.04 will be brought up to €10.05. Pretty basic.

You're still entitled to ask for your exact change, as the rounding off system is voluntary, but the aim is to switch to the new system sooner rather than later, as we look to join Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, the Netherlands, and Sweden as the other early adopters to the rounding policy.

A trial of this new system was carried out in Wexford back in 2013, with 85% of customers and 100% of retailers welcoming the changes.

Since the induction of the euro, 2,454,465,931 one cent and two cent coins have been issued in Ireland, with a total value of €37 million. The cost of producing a one cent coin is currently 1.65 cent, while a two cent coin costs 1.94 cent.

Via Irish Times