The point you are trying to make is the actual issue here. This system is total bullshit. Mandating a currency on people and then leaving elderly who saved in cash unable to adapt is theft. What are they going to do with those shitty (nearly worthless individually) small coins that many of us hate?

Moreover the disgusting paradox is that supermarkets like Tesco price things 1.99 and if you give them 2 pounds they either steal the penny or at best dump on you that worthless crap of 1 penny coins so that in a few years they will refuse to accept it when you try to pay with it.

We know that the central bank considers legal tender a currency that has to be accepted for repayment of debts but the point is exactly this here, why do we have to accept anything that a government tries to impose when the currency they will offer and try to mandate on us is not going to be efficient for us when we will buy a pack of strawberries?