It's been around forever - the notion that selling an item at $9.99 will fool people into thinking that's it's way cheaper than a $10 item. Walmart does it, car salespeople do it. It's less of a problem in the US, where most .99 prices get an additional sales tax boost at the cash register. But in the UK, where all prices are tax inclusive, a .99 price means one thing - lots of pennies in your pocket change.

So trust the Brits, god bless 'em, to come up with a cut-to-the-chase solution. A survey shows at least a third of the country was to see the introduction of a 99p coin.