answersLogoWhite

0

If you're referring to U.S. coins it's a race between the quarter and the penny.

Because the Mint made a laundry list of mistakes back in the 1960s that led to the near-disappearance of half dollars, the quarter has taken on the role of the most-used coin for larger amounts of change-making. Before 1965 any purchase that required more than 50 cents in change would be made with a half dollar, and possibly one quarter; now it's 3 quarters.

OTOH although it's not very popular the penny is probably the most frequently used for two reasons: First, the presence of sales taxes and "99 cent" pricing in the U.S. means that most purchases rarely end up in exact multiples of 5 or 10 cents. Second, the failure of the U.S. to adopt 2-cent coins (compare to the U.K. and the EU) means up to four pennies are needed for making change, the most of any denomination.

User Avatar

Wiki User

16y ago

What else can I help you with?