1 US cent costs a reported 3.7c to manufacture so you have to ask yourself why are they even being minted. Money is essential and by no means do I want to see it phased out at any time in the future as I still regard cash as king. The small pocket change for businesses to handle is very costly and banks charge a premium for this service. This is why items are rounded up or down, ok mostly rounded up as having no small denomination coins in their tills helps them save on banking charges.
I think this is the natural progression of our various currencies due to the cost of goods increasing due to inflation. What was relevant 20 or 30 years ago is not relevant today.
When I grew up I could buy 5 sweets for 1 cent and now one of those sweets is 50c. Kids back then used to get R1 pocket money and it used to last us if we were careful. Since then that sweet has increased 250 x in value and has shrunk in size as it is not the same size. A box of matches used to cost 2c and is now R2.50 and it is what it is. Something that was regarded as a no value item still has no real value yet has risen 125x which still seems expensive in your mind because it is.
Nothing costs 1 c today and why the SA Reserve cut the 1c and 2 c from supply back in 2002. The cost to mint the coin was more than the coins value and for the same reason the 5 c coin was also stopped being minted, but is still in circulation.
I call the coins we gave left shrapnel as we have 10c,20c,50c R1 and R2 coins which are worthless as they cannot buy 1 item ad used more for tipping a car guard or paying for parking if you have enough of them. These are the coins that now fill the ash trays in the car which were once the home of the 1c, 2c and 5c coins.
I can recall the saying you were lucky if you found a coin on the ground ad today if I drop a 10c piece you wonder if it is even worth the time and energy picking it up because it is only half a US cent in value. I see quite a few on shop floors yet I do not see people scrambling for them as they are worthless.
Unfortunately it saddens me that the world is heading towards a cash less society with certain retailers going cashless like Starbucks. Certain food retail chains advertise certain tills as being cash less as well, but I make sure I always have cash on hand. Don't even ask me how to pay by phone as I have seen others do this and I am not at that level yet. Surprising I am in crypto, but definitely no tech whizz kid here and this will take time to get there I guess.
For certain business purchases they are cash only and these deals save everyone involved the headache of paying taxes. The items are cheaper and why the bargaining can take place as everyone feels like they have won by negotiating a good deal.
The US is contemplating getting rid of the 1c and I guess we will see the 10c disappear next leaving us with the 20c coin which oddly enough is worth 1 US cents. Depending on inflation and depreciation we shall see how long our smaller denomination coins last, but my guess is we have many years left and we are more likely to see cash money disappear entirely at some point.