ACCORDING to the Bank of Jamaica, there was $63.3 million worth of 25c and 10c coins in circulation as of May 29 this year. But, how much of that is actually being exchanged daily at the shopping malls and other transaction points?There is a real possibility that a good portion of that money is under beds, lost in vases, dumped on the road side, or lying at the bottom of the sea having been thrown into gullies and drains.
The so-called "red money" is held in disdain even by beggars soliciting alms at street intersections. The attitude has grown ever since these coins were released into the system in 1995.
And this attitude persists even though bank officials and economists insist that the coinage at this level is critical in the pricing of products and facilitating smooth monetary transactions such as change-making.
As a feature elsewhere in this edition indicates, the 25c and 10c coins are often left on counters, refused by shoppers. In other cases, some establishments fail to return the right quantity of change to the buyer - they think their customers would rather not have it.
Many can recall stories of having coins thrown back at them when offered to beggars. There was even a case when a representative of a noted charity frowned on a man who brought a pan full of coins he had saved throughout the year. The perception is not unfounded. After all, no one can identify an item with a 25c or 10c price tag.
Part of the 'coin-contempt' has been fed by a generation of people who have watched the dollar devalue over the decades. These same people still lament about what "25c could buy in ..."
This attitude to coins which are legal tender issued by the Central Bank is unfortunate in circumstanes where so many Jamaicans live in poverty. It devalues the adage that "one-one cocoa full basket."
Education about the value of money, be it a $1,000 note or a one cent, may be necessary to reverse the perception that the coins are worthless.
The only benefit seen in people's unwillingness to own these coins is that the Government saves some money by not having to produce them as often as other monetary denominations.
Ultimately however, thousands of Jamaicans are throwing away their share of $63.3 million.
