From ERIC ROCHE
An addendum to M. Locker’s regret about the disappearance of the 1p
coin (Letters, 23 October. In Australia both the 1 and 2 cent ‘copper’ coins
were recently withdrawn from circulation as the declining value of the currency
made their metal content worth more than face value. The Federal Government
thereafter passed a law requiring the weekly shopping bill to be rounded
up or down to the nearest 5 cents (the size of the smallest remaining coin).
Strangely enough, we now have a need not for the English 99p coin, but for
the 95 cent version. Prices are now $10.95, $19.95, $99.95.
Eric Roche Booragul, NSW, Australia
