The 10 reasons to get rid of the penny are either practical or financial. They are logical but require a change. Congress must enact a law that eliminates the penny from circulation. ... 2 The actual production is 1.78 cents, admin costs are 0.25 cents, and distribution to Federal Reserve banks costs 0.03 cents.
It costs about 2 cents to mint a penny, so the government loses money by producing them. However, even if minting costs were zero, it would still be time to eliminate pennies, because our time is valuable and pennies waste time. ... But using a penny generally adds more than two seconds to the average retail transaction.
Retire the Penny is a commonsense, non-partisan coalition of individuals, businesses, and political leaders who understand that eliminating the penny from circulation could save the US government close to $85 million annually. The penny costs twice as much as to produce than it is worth.
Why Do Pennies Still Exist? Pennies have almost no purchasing power; it costs more to mint a penny than a penny is worth; and the U.S. Mint could cut its workload significantly just by ceasing production.
For most pennies, those minted in recent years are worth, well, a penny. Most wheat cents (wheat pennies were minted between 1909 and 1956) are worth about 4 to 5 cents. Those in better condition can have double-digit value. Special examples (especially those in near perfect condition) can be worth much more.
Making pennies wastes natural resources and is toxic to people and the environment - Pennies are 3 percent copper, and 97 percent zinc and are primarily made from virgin ore. ... The process of refining both metals can release sulfur dioxide (SO2), lead and zinc into the environment.
Those who favor keeping the penny believe the penny plays an important role in keeping down the costs of the goods and services we buy. If there were no pennies, stores and restaurants would round up to the nearest nickel. This means consumers would end up paying $0.55 for something that should cost only $0.51.
Mint said there are no immediate plans to get rid of pennies. “There have been no formal discussions on this topic within the United States Mint (Mint) or the Treasury Department," said the spokesperson. "We mint coins in accordance with legislation and based on orders from the Federal Reserve System.”
The coin lobby Citizens to Retire the Penny support the elimination of the United States one-cent coin. In a 2015 survey regarding US currency, 56 percent of coin and numismatic experts declared that they on average believe that the penny will be phased out around the year 2026.
The problem is two-pronged: The U.S. Mint significantly reduced its production of coins after implementing safety measures to protect its employees from the coronavirus. Consumers are also depositing fewer coins at U.S. financial institutions, according to the Federal Reserve.
1943 Bronze Lincoln
"The most valuable Lincoln cent sold privately in 2010 for $1.7 million," said Stone. In order to preserve copper for the war effort, the U.S. Mint switched to making pennies from zinc-coated steel planchets, instead of the usual bronze coin blanks, Stone explained.
Yet No Comments