Remember when “having your two cents worth” used to be worth something?
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Two cents? Remember the two cent piece?
After fumbling through the leather coin purse – yes, I’m man enough to admit I actually own a coin purse _ I found nothing but blasted five cent pieces in an effort to tidy up my payment for a coffee.
“What good are five cent pieces?” the grumpy editor said, mumbling under my breath.
It got me thinking. How long until the five cent piece goes the way of the two cent piece?
The two cent piece, which featured the frilled neck lizard on the back, was put out of commission in 1992. Back “in the day”, two cents was worth something.
Back in the ‘80s you could gather enough one and two cent pieces to buy 20 cent bag of mixed lollies from the Penguin corner store.
For the record, Penguin is a town in North-West Coast of Tasmania. It wasn’t a store run by penguins.
Admittedly though there is a giant statue of a penguin in the main street of Penguin ….. and penguin-shaped rubbish bins ………. and penguins. But I digress.
That 20 cent bag of mixed lollies back in the day would seemingly last an entire day such was the value.
But, alas, blasted inflation sucked that bag of lollies dry and took the two-cent coin along with it.
The Treasurer of the day deemed the two cent coin was no longer worth its weight and had to go. A similar fate awaits five cent piece methinks.
There is a touch of irony in the tale of the two cent piece.
Some of the two cent pieces were melted down and made into bronze medals for the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Maybe they were still worth something after all.
