Berlin Inefficiences: 1/2 Cents

Just to start a series here about ways in which German society could be organized more sensibly¹².

When we switched to the euro in the Netherlands I hardly ever remember seeing the one and two cent coins. I think they were there in the beginning, but popular consensus soon decided that those were too small money amounts to justify bothering with and dispensed with them. They are still legal tender so occasionally you will be given change in those coins at some odd shop in the outback. Everybody knows though that people who do that are douchebags.

Here in Germany these coins still abound for some mysterious reason. Everybody hands them out and their tiny copper presence clutters pants pockets and wallets everywhere. Maybe you can buy beer in some remote part of Germany for 3 cents and that’s why it is imperative that these coins remain in circulation. I honestly don’t know.

These coins should be abolished. I am positive that doing so will simplify at least one interaction per day per person in Germany.

1. Paraphrasing Harry Potter from the Methods of Rationality: “I don’t want to rule the universe. I just think it could be more sensibly organised.” ↩
2. Also I need to document this somewhere to get it out of my head. ↩