In the USA, the smallest coin is rarely called officially - a cent. More often they say pennies. It just so happened that 5 cents is “nickel”, 10 is “dime”, and 25 is “quarter”, that is, a quarter (here, of course, with this word we mean something completely different). Americans in general are conservative people; they are reluctant and only forced to change the design of their money. So the modern 1 cent coin looks the same as a hundred years ago.
What is a cent?
If “dollar” is a distorted “taller”, then “cent” came from the Latin word “centum”, meaning the good old hundred. Roman centuries, in which the centurions served, senti, centazimo, - all these "hundred" designations have a similar etymology. In each of the languages they mean one percent (another formation from this word). Not only in America, but also in dozens of other countries, in which the base unit is not always called the dollar, these coins are used. And in Australia, and in united Europe, and in exotic Brunei, and in Canada, and in Hong Kong, and in Mauritius, and in the little-known state of Kiribati, and in many other places it does not surprise anyone that the smallest coin is 1 cent. But for the first time this unit was introduced nevertheless in the North American States.
Coin appearance
In fact, cents appeared on American soil three years earlier than the most common currency today, namely in 1783. Just one hundred of these coins formed one dollar. Until 1857, there were also half centents (and half a penny went in Russia at that time).
Coins with a profile of George Washington in denominations of 1 cent of the sample that is still in use today were put into circulation in 1909. Then the dollar was very expensive, it was provided with gold, and "weighed" about one gram. Today, such an amount of “yellow metal” goes for forty dollars or more, there is no pegging, and the price is determined by the exchange rate, but then, more than a century ago, there was no point in saving on the manufacture of “penny” metal, and it was made of an alloy with a high copper content . As it turned out now, it turned out to be expensive.
Appearance of coins
There is no loose change in the world, as diverse as 1 cent. The coin is issued in different countries, its appearance reflects national and natural features, including flora and fauna of different climatic zones. But the main thing is still considered the American cent, the appearance of which has also changed repeatedly. At first, the reverse (the reverse side of the nominal side) was decorated with various symbols of freedom, the main value of the New World. In the nineteenth century, the attention of the employees of the Federal Reserve System, or rather its emission centers, was attracted by other avatars of America - bald eagles, bison and even Indians, indigenous people (the attitude towards them did not change). The previous century was marked by a respectful attitude to the first president of the United States, and besides him, a 1 cent coin has traditionally been decorated with an assurance of faith.
Expensive coin
Over the past decade, the dollar in its purchasing power has greatly lost ground. Pragmatic Americans, accustomed to calculating everything in the world, thought about how much 1 cent costs, and whether it is too expensive for taxpayers. The USA is a rich country and proud of its traditions, but in this matter they clearly came into conflict with the economy. The public reacted to this situation with a practical boycott of the "penny." In some outlets, the smallest bronze coins simply refuse to accept, rounding prices to “nickel”. Simple calculations speak in favor of such a solution. Firstly, centovik production costs each of the emission centers almost 1.8 times more expensive than its nominal value. Secondly, the United States remembers that time is money, and spending it on recounting almost worthless trifles is wasteful, it takes 2 hours 24 minutes a year for an average US citizen. In addition, the minting of coins and the preparation of bronze constitute a technological process in which people doubt the ecological purity. So it is quite possible that soon cents, if they will be taken into account, then only with cashless payments.