# What's the smallest unit of money you care about? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 26, 2014, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-smallest-unit-of-money-you-care-about/691663 "2014-06-26T01:58:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-smallest-unit-of-money-you-care-about/691663/41 "2014-06-26T21:02:07Z")
I pick up pennies. I don’t really _want_ to, but sometime in my childhood I got it ingrained in me by my mother that it was bad luck not to pick up pennies. So I do, by force of habit. Then I toss them in a box and every several years I cash them in along with other random change. As for losing something–I’d be a tiny bit bummed to lose a dime or higher. It would take at least ten dollars to get me more than a little bummed, though, unless I was counting on having the money for something (like it was my lunch money). ---
**Author:** ![Cinnamon\_Imp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58956e/32.png) [@Cinnamon\_Imp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Imp)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-smallest-unit-of-money-you-care-about/691663/42 "2014-06-26T21:13:01Z")
A penny, I go out of my way to pick them up. I even picked up a half-penny months ago, and that’s not been legal tender since the 1980s. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-smallest-unit-of-money-you-care-about/691663/43 "2014-06-26T21:37:14Z")
A dime, going by what I will bother to pick up. There’s a nickle that’s been lying in my front hall for months, half-wedged under the wood trim at the edge of the tile floor. If it were anything larger, I would have taken the trouble to pry it out and put it into one of the many little change jars I have around the house by now. ---
**Author:** ![Kiyoshi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e19adc/32.png) [@Kiyoshi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiyoshi)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-smallest-unit-of-money-you-care-about/691663/44 "2014-06-26T21:46:56Z")
The smallest amount I would bother to pick up is 20 pence. I sometimes throw away 1s, 2s, and 5s because they’re just worthless clutter (It would take me a loooooooong time to collect enough coins for it to be worth using a Coinstar). I would be bummed if I lost a pound down a drain. If I lost paper money, I’d probably cry. ---
**Author:** ![yoyodyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a9a28c/32.png) [@yoyodyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yoyodyne)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-smallest-unit-of-money-you-care-about/691663/45 "2014-06-26T21:51:15Z")
I’d be a bit bummed by $5, bummed by $10, and pissed by $20. ---
**Author:** ![Jake\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Jake\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake_Jones)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-smallest-unit-of-money-you-care-about/691663/46 "2014-06-27T05:45:21Z")
A dollar lost isn’t the same thing as a dollar wasted. Not even close. That five dollar bill I might drop down the sewer grate is, statistically, identical to the five dollar bill I might drop on a lotto ticket. The difference is intent, and to call it a huge difference is probably an understatement. ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-smallest-unit-of-money-you-care-about/691663/47 "2014-06-27T21:15:31Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > A dollar, especially if it’s paper money (which screams MONEY more than coins.) Irrationally, a loonie feels more valuable to me than an American dollar bill. I’d be slightly more upset about losing one than losing a dollar bill. And I agree that quarters are a special case. Their worth has nothing to do with their face value. Sometimes a quarter is the only thing standing between you and a $50 parking ticket. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-smallest-unit-of-money-you-care-about/691663.md?page=2)