Scott Morrison says the 5c coin is already dead — but is he right?

After dismissing a question from news.com.au on killing off the coin yesterday, Mr Morrison decided to raise the issue at a Tax Institute breakfast in Sydney this morning.

“Nobody’s asked me about the five cent piece,” he said in feigned astonishment, a reference to an unexpected question about it from news.com.au at a National Press Club lunch yesterday.

“By the way, we don’t make them anymore. They’re still in circulation, but we don’t make them anymore.”

However, after further investigation, news.com.au can reveal that production of the coin is yet to cease, and The Mint produced about 20 million of them in the past 12 months.

Treasurer Scott Morrison takes questions after delivering the keynote address at The Tax Institute breakfast in Sydney this morning. Picture: AAP Image/Dean LewinsSource:AAP

Assistant Minister to the Treasurer, Alex Hawke, confirmed to news.com.au today that while production of the coin was in sharp decline, it had not yet been halted.

The Mint made 58.2 million of the echidna coins in 2014 and it is understood they are still rolling out, with 20 million made in the latest batch.

Mr Hawke said production levels were almost 10 times lower than 10 years ago.

“Demand for cash and coins is on a natural decline and production is being phased down to match demand,” Mr Hawke told news.com.au.

“Currently cash payments represent about 50 per cent of all transactions and the use of cash is expected to decline over time.”

Too many bloody 5c coins!Source:News Limited

He said the government had not made a decision about a final phase out of the coin.

It costs 5.061 cents to produce the five-cent piece.

For some, the coins have become a pest. One woman who is not a fan called them “the pigeons in my purse”.

And they are struggling to survive the encroachment of the growing cashless sector of the economy.

They are not being officially withdrawn from circulation, and there has been no warning of what will happen should they disappear.

Australian Retailers Association executive director Russell Zimmerman said he didn’t think getting rid of the coin would be a problem.

“It’s only going to affect low-value items,” he said.

“If something is 75c and then goes instead to 80 cents, that’s where the problem will lie.”

But he said it was hard to find a single item nowadays priced at below $1, unlike a few years ago when boosting the price of a newspaper from 65¢ to 70¢ was controversial.

“I think it’s fair to say that we are beyond that. If you look at what people are buying at the supermarket, it may come to $36.75 and you may have to round up or down but realistically that’s not going to be a real problem. If you use tap and go, there’s no problem. It’s obviously not an issue for the average consumer.”

The popularity of electronic payment also neutralised the issue for retailers.

“They don’t have to round up or down on a credit card sale. I don’t think it will be the big issue everyone feels it may be.

“It’s more of a consumer issue, around how much shrapnel people get in their pockets, I don’t see it as a retail issue.”