The last-ever penny will be minted today in Philadelphia

Not everyone can see.

Australian notes vary in size for this reason.

That’s a terribly myopic take

The unbearable pain of having to handle bills of different sizes, there is not enough empathy in this world to truly pay hommage to your suffering.

It's primarily done for security and secondarily a benefit making it easier (for everyone!) to identify denomination by feel

Quite the opposite. As a fully abled person I find it incredibly annoying to have to flip through US notes instead of just immediately picking out the right one by size and/or color.

Does the Canadian solution of adding brail to the notes inconvenience you, or is that an acceptable way to make sure that people with disabilities can participate in cash transactions safely?

Does having different sized coins strike you as an inconvenience?

Why does a feature that can be used by anyone, regardless of disability, strike you as "inconvenient for almost everybody"?

What, exactly, is inconvenient about having notes be different sizes?

Or put another way: "Deliberately griefing the experience of a small number of people just to make it marginally more convenient for everyone else."

One thing about accessibility and usability, is that when you design something for the minority it tends to make things better for the majority. Take ramps for example, they not only server those in wheel chairs, but also families with strollers and elderly with walkers.

God-forbid you ever end up in a minority group.

Different sized bills are harder to stack in a wallet. Braille is a much better way to handle the problem. No cost to the majority, while solving the problem for the minority.

I’m in a minority group.

Use a wallet with a divider, and sort your bills. Won't have to flip through until you carry several each of five or more denominations. If you regularly do, then use two dividers.

> Different sized bills are harder to stack in a wallet.

This has never been my experience. What is the challenge?

It seems like having equivalent sized notes is just your personal preference, and that you are projecting that as an inconvenience onto "the majority". Based on the comments it seems like even people without disabilities mostly don't care, or actually think that it is a good feature.

For my side, even if I did agree with your preference, I am perfectly willing to deal with the incredible hardship of slightly different sized notes in my wallet in exchange for a society where disabled people need not fear being ripped off.

Crutches and canes can be easier on a ramp, too. Even people with fine balance but limits on movement of the hip, knee, or ankle can benefit.

As long as the largest bills fit and the smallest bills don’t get lost I don’t understand how it’s so much harder.

Unfortunate metaphor in context....