§ Mr. David Howellasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what savings would be obtained by abolishing the penny;
(2) what annual savings would be secured by abolishing the 1 p and the 2p pieces.
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§ Mr. Lawson[pursuant to his reply, 17 December, 1984, c. 64]: The costs saved by abolishing the 1p and 2p coins using current figures would be £0.9 million and £1.2 million respectively.
§ Mr. David Howellasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish figures showing the real value of today's 5p and 2p pieces in 1930, 1940, 1950, 1960 and 1970; and which coins at the relevant dates would have come nearest to representing these values.
§ Mr. Lawson[pursuant to his reply, 17 December 1984, c. 64]: The values and nearest coins to today's 2p and 5p pieces are as follows:
November Value at date shown Nearest coins p p p p 1984 2 5 2 5 Old pence p p d d 1970 0.41 1.02 1 *3 1960 0.27 0.68 *½ *1 1950 0.18 0.46 ½ *1 1940 0.15 0.37 ¼ 1 1930 0.13 0.31 ¼ *1 * Nearest single coin.