An alternative to abolishing our 'copper' coinage (it is made mostly of steel), would be to replace the metal with a cheaper alternative, such as Aluminium.
The main problem I would see is that if they retired 1p coins and you needed 6p in change it would be all in 2ps; and what about if you actually needed 1p change? I know this wouldn't happen much if the prices were rounded up/down but I should think it would still happen sometimes; for example at petrol stations where it's difficult to stop dead on a round number on the pump.
I've spent many hours of my life stuck behind some old fogey in a queue, while they fiddle through all of their pockets so that they can 'helpfully' provide exactly the right money to a cashier. Now that I'm reaching the age where it's MY turn to hold everyone else up, I want more low value coins in circulation, not fewer!
;-)