Re:Get rid of the penny? pff (Score 5, Interesting)

Australia got rid of the 1c coin years ago. Prices that used to end in .99 now end in .95, not .00.

Actually its a little bit more complex than that in Australia. Prices that are not a multiple of the smallest coin are still allowed (ie any interger value for cents is OK). At the checkout the final_total_only is rounded (down to the nearest multiple of 5 cents for sales ending in 1c, 2c, 6c, 7c & up to the nearest multiple of 5 cents for sales ending in 3c, 4c, 8c, 9c; see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_rounding, but only if cash is used for purchase. Electronic payments are charged at the exact total cost. IOW, very little difference to cost of most transactions, but fewer coins required (along with savings for pocket wear and coin production costs).