外刊阅读｜英国人也开始抛弃现金支付？

Britain's least valuable coin is in terminal decline

英国价值最低的硬币正在走向末路

Inflation is the prime culprit for the problems of the penny

通货膨胀是导致便士问题的罪魁祸首

For many centuries using Britain's currency demanded advanced arithmetic skills. The pound was divided into 20 shillings; a shilling into 12 pennies; and each penny further subdivided into two halfpennies or four farthings. 

数世纪以来，使用英国货币需要高超的算术技能。1英镑可以换20先令；1先令又又可以换12便士；1便士还可以再换成2个半便士或4个四分之一便士。

Many argued for a less complex system. As early as 1696 Christopher Wren was arguing that a decimal system would be "very proper for accounts".

许多人主张采用更简单的体系。早在1696年，克里斯托弗·雷恩就认为采用十进制体系将"非常适合记账"。

Wren eventually got his wish. In 1961 the government dropped the farthing, the spending power of which had fallen by so much that bus conductors were refusing to accept it. A decade later, in 1971, decimalisation divided the pound into 100 new pennies, and shillings and halfpennies both stopped being minted.

雷恩最终如愿以偿。1961年，政府废除了四分之一便士，因为其购买力大幅下降，以至于公交车售票员都拒收它。十年后的1971年，采用十进制后，1英镑可以换成100新便士，先令和半便士都不再铸造。

Another five decades on, some of the decisions made then are looking rather dated. The price level has risen by more than 12 times since decimalisation was carried out. The humble penny is much humbler as a result. 

又一个五十年过去了，当时做出的一些决定现在看来已经相当过时。自实行十进制以来，物价水平上涨了12倍多。因此，不起眼的便士变得更加不起眼了。

When the new penny was first introduced, its spending power was close to that of a modern ten-pence piece; now it is closer in value to the old farthing at the time of that coin's withdrawal.

当新便士首次推出时，其购买力接近现代的10 便士；现在，它的价值更接近当年被废除的旧四分之一便士。

This loss in value has been a slow process, but recent changes have brought the penny much closer to its demise. The pandemic accelerated a long-running trend of falling cash usage. 

这种价值损失是一个缓慢的过程，但最近的变化使便士离消亡更近了一步。疫情加速了现金使用量长期下降的趋势。

Physical money was used in just 14% of all transactions in 2022, down from 54% a decade before. Contactless cards and mobile phones have replaced notes and coins in many exchanges.

2022年，实体货币在所有交易中的使用比例仅为14%，较十年前下降了54%。非接触式卡片和手机在许多交易中取代了纸币和硬币。

The recent sharp spike in inflation has been more significant still. The 21% rise in prices since January 2021 has forced a general reappraisal of pricing strategies by consumer firms. 

然而，最近通胀率急剧飙升带来的影响更为显著。自2021年1月以来，物价上涨了21%，这迫使消费企业重新评估定价策略。

"Charm pricing" long sought to persuade consumers of an item's cheapness by pricing it just below a whole number; a 1997 study found that 60% of all advertised prices back then ended in the digit "9".

"魅力定价"长期以来一直试图通过略低于整数的定价来说服消费者相信某件商品便宜；1997年的一项研究发现，当时60%的广告价格以数字"9"结尾。

Such strategies are far less common now. Supermarkets have generally switched to prices ending in zeros and fives. Pret, a ubiquitous coffee chain, had kept the price of a cup of filter coffee at 99p for more than a decade; in 2021 it moved to £1.25, and a year later it bumped it up again, to £1.40. Even when cash is used in a transaction, pennies are rarely that useful.

现在，这种策略已经不那么常见了。超市普遍采用以"0"和"5"结尾的价格。Pret是一家随处可见的咖啡连锁店，十多年来该店一杯滴滤咖啡的价格一直保持在99便士；2021年，它将价格上调至1.25英镑，一年后再次上调至1.4英镑。即使在交易中使用现金，便士也很少有用武之地了。

Nor is seigniorage, the profit that governments can make from the difference between the face value of money and the cost of its production, any reason to keep them. The National Audit Office, a public-sector watchdog, noted in 2020 that the Royal Mint had been losing money on coin-making for several years.

铸币税(政府通过货币面值与生产成本的差额获得的利润)也不是保留便士的理由。英国国家审计署这一公共部门监管机构在2020年指出，英国皇家铸币厂数年来一直在硬币制造方面亏损。

Slowly but surely, then, the penny is going the way of the farthing. Just 30m pennies were minted in 2022 (the last year for which full data are available) compared with more than 200m a decade before, and with more than half a billion annually in the 2000s. 

因此，便士正在慢慢但坚定地走上四分之一便士的老路。2022年(可获得完整数据的最后一年)铸造的便士数量仅为3000万枚，而十年前的年铸造量则超过2亿枚，2000年代的年铸造量更是超过5亿枚。

The same forces are also at work to reduce the value of the two-pence coin. When the penny does finally disappear, it may have a companion.

同样的原因也在逐渐削弱2便士硬币的价值。当1便士最终消失时，它可能还有一个同伴一起消失。

1. prime culprit

罪魁祸首；元凶

e.g.

The prime culprit was sentenced to life imprisonment.

这个主犯被判无期徒刑。

2. humble [ˈhʌmbl]

adj. 谦卑的；谦逊的；卑贱的；低下的

e.g.

He always makes much of his humble origins.

他总是非常在意他卑微的出身。

3. withdrawal [wɪðˈdrɔːəl]

n. 撤消；撤回；撤退；退出

e.g.

The newspaper published a withdrawal the next day.

报纸第二天发表了撤销声明。

4. ubiquitous [juːˈbɪkwɪtəs]

adj. 普遍存在的；无所不在的

e.g.

Sugar is ubiquitous in the diet.

糖在饮食中到处可见。

5. seigniorage [ˈseɪnjərɪdʒ]

n. 铸币税

e.g.

Theories prove that reducing the seigniorage can alleviate the inflation effectively in the period of serious inflation.

理论证明，在通货膨胀严重时期，减少铸币税可以有效缓解通货膨胀。