CNB proposes removing ten and twenty heller coins from circulation
The Czech National Bank said this week it would be removing ten and twenty heller coins from circulation within a year. The move is being welcomed by most ordinary Czechs who believe that the tiny aluminium coins do nothing but take up space in wallets. But are they really useless? Dita Asiedu reports:
A ten heller coin - one tenth of a Czech crown - is worth around one three-hundredth of a US dollar, and clearly it's no longer as useful as it once was. Whilst my mother can still remember using hellers to buy candy at the local grocery store, today, you can't even buy a piece of gum or a single mint for less than a crown. It's therefore not surprising that most of my colleagues in the Czech Radio canteen, except for those who pay in hellers when they loose in cards, were glad to hear that the ten and twenty heller coins will soon become history:
"I thinks it's not a problem for me because I need big money."
"I think it's a good idea because they are coins that are worthless today and just make our wallets and purses heavier."
"Well, it's a problem because I can't afford to play fifty hellers each time I lose in a card game."
"It's not a real problem for me. People are not using these coins in shops. On the other hand, it may be the beginning of the end of the crown, which is a bit of a pity but this is reality."
But some Czech economists who have been analysing the possible effects of such a move are not as enthusiastic. David Marek from Patria Finance believes that the rounding up of cash payments to fifty hellers or one crown will not go unnoticed:
"The overall price level would increase by several tenths of a percentage point but this effect will only be seen in inflation for one year. It would mainly affect prices of cheaper goods, such as in restaurants or food prices. Other prices of the more expensive goods would not be affected because their prices are already set in crowns and not in hellers."
However, according to Alice Frisaufova the Czech National Bank spokeswoman, the bank has good reason to remove the heller coins from circulation:
"The Czech National Bank decided to abolish ten and twenty heller coins within the next year for a number of reasons. The main reason is that the transportation, manipulation, and security for the small coins is very expensive. The small coins also do not circulate anymore. The production of one small coin is much more expensive than the value of the coin. To release a ten or twenty heller coin costs thirty hellers per piece."
