"pfennig curioso" at Lamoneta.it "Monete Estere"

[villa66]

Vielen dank, Wurzel. The tradition of buying the bride's shoes with 1-pfennig coins is something I am most happy to know. I beg your indulgence with the following....

Two quick questions:
1) Is the entire purchase price of the shoes paid with 1-pfennig/1-eurocents? That is, if the shoes cost 40 euros, then 4000 1-eurocent coins are needed?
2) Does this tradition go back as far as Kaiserreich times?

And one question about the circulation of 1- and 2-pfennig coins. In three years in Deutschland I never met one of these coins in circulation, although I do remember being told they did still pass at supermarkets, and that most households had a jar of these coins on a shelf or in a corner somewhere. My question:

1) Why did 1- and 2-pfennig coins continue to circulate at supermarkets and bakeries when it seemed they circulated almost nowhere else?

Please don't--and this extends to anyone on the forum--apologize for the quality of your English. I am very aware that I am the one being afforded the luxury of communicating in my native tongue, and I am appreciative of the kindness.

Please, if it will make it easier to reply, write in whatever language is most comfortable. The online translators make it possible (although not always easy!) to read what is written.

Again, with many thanks

v.

[Wurzel]

Hello Villa,

Your answers:

1) yes thats right. But you have to know that is an tradition no one must do this, not the shoeseller and not the bride. But there are still people who practice this

2) as far as i know this tradition goes back to the middle ages there th Pfennig was the smallest silvercoin, and the poor people have to save them very early to have the money for buying brideshoes for their daughter when they have to marrie


To your question about circulation:

in Germany we often find price that ends with -,99 or -,98 these prices are called "Schwellenpreise" from the marketinexperts. They use the psychological effect that 1,99 Euro/DM feels cheaper than 2 Euro/DM
If you by such an an item you will get back 1 or 2 Cents /Pfennig.

For example look at this price from an normal discounter market: http://www.lidl.de/ (if you are asked for an postal code use 42283)
This prices i even know from DM-times

I personally save those little coins in an "Sparschwein" an take them to my finacial institute (called Sparkasse) to save this i did so from about 1985 on until today. Even my Grandma saved through this way the money for my Christmasgift an Birthdaygift (saved coins from 1 Pfennig up to 50 Pfennig)

I know that in Lire-times in italy coins where left on the desk when you get some back as a extra fee for the workers, this was in Germany never this way.

When a person asks as kindly as you do i´m willing to help as god as i can even if it is in english.

Many greetings to Italia from Wuppertal /Germany

Michael

[villa66]

“Grazie mille” to everyone for their help, and to Wurzel especially, for opening a door on this charming Deutsche tradition regarding the little pfennig/eurocent coin.

v.

[Chippi]

Hello villa66,

it´s time for pictures. This are only 1 eurocent pieces, 6100 as number.

Greetings Chippi

[Numis-Student]

In January i was giving away my "small coins": 1 Cent: 992 pieces, 2 Cent: 537 pieces. They were "collected" in about 3 or 4 years...
In the new "Sparschwein" i will save coins from 1 to 10 Cent.

I`m german, but i live in Austria for 5 years...

Greeting from Vienna,
MR

Please, if there are any mistakes, say it to me That is the only way to learn...

[Wurzel]

http://www.n-tv.de/mediathek/videos/wir ... 83626.html

Versorgung mit Kleingeld zu teuerBundesbank will keine Cent-Münzen

Es könnte sein, dass Ein- und Zwei-Cent-Münzen bald seltener in unseren Portemonnaies auftauchen und möglicherweise sogar ganz verschwinden. Der Grund: Die Versorgung mit dem Kleingeld ist für den Handel sehr teuer. Zehntausende Tonnen Münzeld müssen im Jahr transportiert werden.

[villa66]

I have been enjoying the information being posted here and would like to mention a few things but it's just too late tonight, and it'll have to wait until tomorrow evening. Wiedersehen.
v.

[villa66]

Much of what has been posted here about the 1- and 2-eurocents (and small change in general) is very familiar to Americans also. The jars of unused "coppers" sitting at home, the debate about stopping the manufacture of the coins...very familiar, as was the idea of saving change and having to go to some trouble (and receive some fun) when enough of it accumulated.

It does seem like the 2-eurocent could be easily discarded. I have to confess I never saw the utility of 2-cent pieces in modern life, where a cent--be it American, EU, or Anstralian/NZ--was so insignificant an amount of money. Just seems like the 2-cent coin complicates transactions unnecessarily, and is just one more mistake to be made when looking into a pocket or a purse for change.

The idea of uneven pricing (.99/1.99/etc.) being the reason for the circulation of pfennigs/eurocents caught me very much by surprise. In the U.S. there is almost always a "sales tax" levied on purchases. So it doesn't matter whether the price of single items is even or uneven, because the total will almost always wind up an odd cent (.98/.99/1.01/1.02/1.03/1.04/etc).

When "sales taxes" were first widely enacted in the U.S., back in the '30s, the penny (1-cent) was too valuable a coin to do the job satisfactorily, so many states went through a phase where they issued sales tax tokens.

So are there no sales taxes collected at the cash register in Deutschland? Or perhaps not at food stores? (Come to think of it, many U.S. states forgive sales tax on foodstuffs.)

Anyway, thanks for the posts. It's always fun to see and hear of coins in their natural habitats.

v.

[Torfstecher]

Oh yes, we have a sales tax too. And more than you, I think.
It's generally 19% on most goods and services, 7% on food and some other items.
But it's not added at the till, but always beforehand included in the advertised prices.
The exact numbers then are printed on the receipt (Amount: € 19.99, included sales tax: €3,19).
Private buyers just pay the amount. Professional resellers and others who buy for business reasons can get back the tax, but of course they then have to add the full tax on their own sales, which usually should be higher than their buys.

[villa66]

Oh yes, we have a sales tax too...it's not added at the till, but always beforehand included in the advertised prices.

I understand now. Thanks!

v.