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10 reasons why we should keep the penny

    10 reasons why we should keep the penny

    In all, it lost $58 million and the Mint, keep in mind, is a federal agency that traditionally makes money in more ways than one. He argues that there are three main reasons for keeping the penny: Without it, we would become more reliant on the . Yes, abolishing the penny is worth considering. Since the penny costs 0.26 more than face value to CGAA will not be liable for any losses and/or damages incurred with the use of the information provided. Rating: 4 (257 reviews) Highest rating: 4. Nickels cost even more to make - If we eliminate the penny, we will need more nickels in circulation. Common Cents, an organization devoted to keeping the penny, runs an annual Penny Harvest and supports the penny largely because of its importance to charities. New Zealand got rid of its penny and two-penny coins without incident back in 1989, and in 1991 replaced their two lowest paper denominations with coins. Susan also belongs to the American Numismatic Society (ANS) and CONECA (error and variety coins club). Even the US Mint admits that the cost of producing a penny in 2007 could be as high as 1.4 cents. A low-denomination coin helps keep prices in check. The Mint made nearly 6 billion pennies in 2012 and lost a cent on every single one of them. Chicago, Illinois 60654 USA, Natalie Leppard Or should the U.S. keep it's smallest coin? These composition changes ranged from temporary wartime alterations during World War II, to more permanent switches like using zinc instead of copper for the penny. The first penny, known as the Fugio cent, was reportedly designed by Benjamin Franklin in 1787. And in February 2014, President Barack Obama argued during a YouTube chat that pennies were obsolete and a symbol of U.S. government waste. To anti-penny advocates, thats a lot of costs for a coin that cant even buy a piece of gum anymore. 10 reasons why we should keep the penny. Low rated: 2. Perhaps the main issue is that some of the major opponents to getting rid of the penny are the producers of coin blanks and the U.S. zinc lobby -- the groups that profit from the production of the penny. The Lincoln cent, now more than 100 years old, is by far the longest-running coin in U.S. history. 9 " Centsible " Reasons to Get Rid of the Penny. But without its namesake coin, many of these penny points saw a significant drop-off in donations - as much as 90%, according to one group that doesn't provide further details. [27], As a result of that extra time per transaction, the average citizen wastes 730 seconds a year (12 minutes) paying with pennies. Explain your answer(s). Dominic Townsend is a successful article author based in New York City. The coin shortage could be a rallying cry for a long-running movement that has lost steam in recent years: Kill the penny! Also the United States loses 1.8 cents for every penny being made. And nickels cost 10 cents to make. Not if we want to keep ination in check, protect America's If you have ten pennies for one reason or another, they will still be accepted and you can use them. Its giving store owners even more reasons to avoid handling cash as much as possible. Let's take a look at the issues involved in the pro-penny and the anti-penny debate so that you can make up your mind about where you stand on this critical matter. Make sure you have some later too. Several Chipotle restaurants tried this in 2012, but customers who had extra cents added to their bills complained. Many wont even bend to pick them up, as Andy Rooney noted on a 60 Minutes segment some years ago. These coins have become highly sought-after collectibles and in 2010 one sold for $1.7 million - a record amount paid for a 1943 copper cent! Simply mix one tablespoon of salt with two tablespoons of white vinegar, then submerge the penny in the liquid for a few minutes. Accessed Oct. 21, 2020. However, overall, the Mint is a profit-making machine. The penny debate gained renewed attention when the coronavirus pandemic led to a nationwide coin shortage as consumers moved towards contactless payment methods. Americans Oppose Abolishing the Penny," theharrispoll.com, Sep. 22, 2015, US Department of the Treasury, "Resource Center: Denominations," treasury.gov, June 15, 2018, John McCain, "Senators John Mccain & Mike Enzi Reintroduce the Coins Act to Save Billions in Taxpayer Dollars," mccain.senate.gov, Mar. In fact, it has been struck in greater numbers than all other coins combined including not just U.S. coins but the coins of all other countries throughout recorded history. The arguments for halting production of pennies basically boil down to the idea that theyre more trouble than theyre worth. Pennies today are worth almost nothing, but they still cost money to produce and consume vast quantities of natural resources. Learn how to protect yourself when the bank takes your car. She also maintains a personal blog. In recent years, a debate on whether or not America should keep the penny has arisen. Economist Greg Mankiw of Harvard University argues that if people start leaving pennies at cash registers due to their lack of purchasing power (in 2020 dollars, 15 pennies would be worth one monetary unit), then maybe then the useless halfpenny will finally be stamped out too. Those who oppose keeping the penny say it's not likely that we will identify new ways to bring down the cost of manufacturing pennies. Many anti-penny advocates think the ideal solution to this problem is to eliminate the nickel as well, making the dime the smallest coin in circulation. A lot of pennies never get spent. 10 reasons why we should keep the penny. "Penny Stock Rules." It cost 2.4 cents to make the penny. The official name for the US penny is one-cent piece, according to the US Department of the Treasury, but early Americans were allegedly in the habit of using the British term penny. [4][35], 4. [29] An estimate from Citizens to Retire the penny says that the 107 billion cash transactions in the United States annually add up to 120 million hours of time between customers and employees at a cost of $2 billion to the US economy. The problem was resolved by reducing the size of the cent and changing its composition from copper to an alloy of copper and nickel. While we do our best to keep these updated, numbers stated on this site may differ from actual numbers. The debate over whether to keep the penny or discontinue it has intensified since the penny crossed the line of one-cent production cost per penny. Eventually, this reduced demand will result in fewer pennies being minted each year. The pro-penny group backs up its claim by pointing to the work of economist Raymond Lombra. [11] In 2009, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society announced that school children had collected over 15 billion pennies in support of its charitable work thats $150 million dollars for blood cancer research and treatment. -Pennies are less costly to make than nickels, as 5 pennies, costing 6.3 cents to make at 1.26 cents per penny are less cheaper than nickels, which are cost 7.7 cents to make. She has written about personal finance and shopping strategies for a variety of publications, including ConsumerSearch.com, ShopSmart.com, and the Dollar Stretcher newsletter. Since 1982, 327 billion pennies have been minted. Pennies are so close to worthless that many people argue its time to do away with them altogether. Consequently, all government payments tied to the CPI, such as Social Security, would rise, costing the government $1.5 billion ($3 billion in todays dollars) over five years. In 1856, the weight was further reduced to 2.49 g. In 1873, the weight was increased to 2.50 g where it remained until silver was eliminated from all coins in 1965. While the one-cent, once-copper coin doesn't have the purchasing power it used to, Americans still have a hard time letting it go. The government accountability office reported in 2017 that roughly two-thirds of pennies dont circulate, meaning they are sitting in storage and losing their value over time. Learn how to keep it safe. All rights reserved. [23], Making pennies also has environmental consequences from mining and transportation. The penny is an essential part of our nation's monetary system, and it helps to keep commerce flowing smoothly. It takes a great deal of energy to produce pennies and according to the Environmental Protection Agency, it releases 107 million pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere every year while transporting them. That means whenever the Mint produces a penny and sends it out to a bank, its losing money on the deal. Summary: Pennies are made of zinc and copper, and zinc can be harmful: Zinc mining and industrial use has negative . [22], At a total per unit cost of 1.82 cents, it costs nearly two pennies to make one penny. Most Americans probably dont even realize that for more than 30 years, their pennies have been 97.5 percent zinc, with a thin copper plating to give them the illusion of being red cents with high copper content. There are multiple upsides as well as downsides to America discontinuing minting the penny. In 1943, the Mint produced cents made of zinc-coated steel in order to conserve copper, a metal vitally needed for military uses during that pivotal year at the height of World War II. For people making over $100,000 those few extra cents don't matter. There are reasons for the elimination of the penny, mostly having to do with the inconvenience of the small coin. [ 36 ] 6. However, new initiatives are being proposed to make the penny more efficient - read more to find out how! Pennies are basically worth pennies today, and they consume vast quantities of natural resources to produce. the penny under one cent. Proponents of the penny argue that shopkeepers would tend to round up, increasing prices. )," YouTube.com, Sep. 6, 2010, Greg Mankiw, "Get Rid of the Penny!," gregmankiw.blogspot.com, Apr. Although debate continues today about whether we should get rid of the penny entirely or not, its long history is something worth noting and its clear that it has undergone some monumental changes over time from its composition to its patterns on both sides - which makes it an interesting part of our nations history. A 2006 Coinstar poll found that 33 percent of American men and 22 percent of American women do not value spare change. Eliminating pennies would save time at the point of purchase without hurting customers or businesses financially. Often, when we pay with cash at a store, the total amount doesnt end in a multiple of $0.05. To be fair, the current production cost is down from the 1.66 cents it cost in 2014, and the continuation of a years-long trend and efforts by the Mint to increase efficiency as well as . History has shown us that updating the monetary supply in countries where the currency is very stable has had little if any adverse effect on the economy, or people's acceptance of the coinage. Here are the proper bibliographic citations for this page according to four style manuals (in alphabetical order): [Editor's Note: The APA citation style requires double spacing within entries. It may or may not come as a surprise that it now costs the U.S. Mint almost two cents to make a penny and almost a . It began as a pure copper coin, but when prices rose during World War I, the Mint added nickel to the penny to cut costs. Less than forty years later, the mint reduced the weight to 2.67 g and used a composition of 90% silver. The analysis also shows that tooth decay is still the most common reason for hospital admission with 30,000 children and young people aged 0-19 admitted to hospital last year. 4. It's the $2 bill and it's the rarest small-denomination currency in circulation, representing about 1 percent of our money. The rust should come right off! In 2010, it cost 1.67 cents to produce each penny. In conclusion we should get rid of the penny. In 2020, the penny debate gained new attention as the coronavirus pandemic led to a nationwide coin shortage. By clicking Accept All Cookies, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. 25, 2019, Jenny Gross, "Will the Penny Survive Coronavirus? Should the penny stay in circulation? Vending machines dont accept them, and neither do most parking meters. Aside from its Lincoln portrait, though, it has undergone a number of major changes in design and composition. -Prices will increase because all purchases will have to be rounded to the . The Indian Head cent endured for half a century before its design was replaced by the Lincoln portrait in 1909, the 100th anniversary of the 16th Presidents birth. According to the American Council on Health and Science, penny accounts for 2.4% of all coins produced annually in the US with metal content including zinc ores that are hazardous to environment when released. Without pennies to make exact change, prices would have to be rounded up or down to the nearest nickel and skeptical Americans fear that most of the rounding would be up, increasing the cost of much of what they buy. In fact, it costs almost a dime to make a nickel today. If that is the case, then people would be less willing to part with spare change for charitable drives. For all its current problems, the penny has a long and proud tradition dating back to 1793, when one-cent pieces were the very first coins produced by the fledgling U.S. Mint. Second, once pennies drop out of circulation, the nickel will become the lowest-value coin cluttering up peoples pockets. Read more to learn about the potential benefits of eliminating the penny. The penny's diminishing role means that it may not be here for much longer - so get rid of those spare coins you have tossed around in your pocket! 9 "Centsible" Reasons to Get Rid of the Penny . Analyze the pro argument of Mark Weller from Americans for Common Cents. The general rarity of the $2 bill is compounded by the fact that many people hoard them. No, dropping the Penny won't cost the government more. Get tips on managing costs, finding financial assistance & more! Men are nearly twice as likely as women to favor dropping the penny (39% vs. 20%). Lombra did his careful analysis by simply looking at a convenience stores prices and assuming that each consumer would buy three items in one visit. There have been several other minor changes in the coin metal composition. 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. Making pennies from . The United States should continue the production of the penny. The COVID-19 pandemic could accelerate this trend. The $2 bill, however, might be making a comeback. The penny no longer serves that purpose. Sign up for more easy craft ideas, fun hobbies, and DIY projects, Lincoln Wheat Penny Key Dates, Rarities and Varieties. She is a member of the American Numismatic Association (ANA) and holds several certifications. That will save Canadian taxpayers $11 million a year, our northern neighbors government reports. According to an old superstition, its good luck to find a penny on the sidewalk. Reduced coin usage linked to the pandemic has already had an impact. However, once stores stop accepting pennies, consumers will have even more incentive to donate the coins to charity because they wont be able to use them anywhere else. Today, theres literally nothing you can buy with a single penny and you cant do much else with it either. procon@eb.com, 2023 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. If you try paying for something in a store with a fistful of pennies, you can expect dirty looks from both the clerk and the other customers if the store doesnt just flat-out refuse to take them. 8 Reasons to Keep It vs Eliminate It," moneycrashers.com (accessed July 2, 2018), Rodney J. Bosco and Kevin M. Davis, "Impact of Eliminating the Penny on the United States Mint's Costs and Profit in Fiscal Year 2011," pennies.org, Apr. It's clear that the modern penny is no longer necessary in our financial system. Also we should ks to make the government get his money out and thats over $8 million more than a penny is work. Freshly minted pennies at the US Mint in Denver We Won't Forget President Lincoln. Accessed Oct. 21, 2020. Using your figures, that would amount to about 1000 ounces of copper. (Source 1) That is 60 million dollars we didn't need to lose, and 60 . Those little extra costs could add up quickly. Faced with a similar sea of red ink, Canada stopped making cents in May 2012. There's a downside to life without pennies. Danielle DeLee began writing in 2010. [12], Pennies and nickels both cost more to make than their face values, but on average over the last five years, nickels have been made at a loss of 2.58 cents per coin, compared to .65 cents per penny. Why or why not? Amy Livingston is a freelance writer who can actually answer yes to the question, "And from that you make a living?" According to the Royal Mint, there are 11,430m 1p coins (worth 114.29m) and 6,714 2p . One-cent pieces account for nearly three-fourths of the coins now Yes, the penny should stay in circulation as it is a reminder of our country's history and serves to keep the cost of goods low. His mission is to use his platform as an author to bring awareness and perspective on important issues affecting everyday life. Instead, the coins will be gradually pulled out of circulation. In 2021, the Mint made 7.60 billion pennies, costing taxpayers $145.8 million. (Also Nickels. Pennies don't buy as much as they used to: In 1913, a penny purchased a little more than a quarter does today (about 28 cents). There has been a growing debate on whether we should keep the penny or let it go. So long as most Americans remain attached to the penny whether their reasons are logical or not its unlikely that a bill to eliminate it will ever make it through Congress. Although originally made of pure copper, pennies today are composed of 97.5% zinc and 2.5% copper. After only two years, the Flying Eagle cent gave way to the now fondly remembered Indian Head cent. The penny costs an irrational amount of money compared to what it's worth. "Current Market." The penny is an interesting coin to discuss. Some stores are even refusing to accept cash altogether. Illustration: The Spruce /Danie Drankwalter. At the G-8 summit next week, the Brits and the French -- even the French! Post date: 20 yesterday. Four decades ago, the Mint made more than 1.5 million prototype aluminum cents during a similar crisis, with every expectation they would soon see use in circulation. In 2009, four different cents were issued with images representing key segments of Lincolns life. In Canada, at least, eliminating the penny has not led to a widespread increase in prices. Economist Henry Aaron of the Brookings Institution, a nonprofit research group, reminisces in a 2013 anti-penny screed about paying a nickel for an ice cream cone as a boy. It's a Money Loser for Retailers. Some are opposed to change, and others are attached to the penny for sentimental . The Penny Should Abolish The Penny. In 2013, Aaron wrote an anti-penny screed pointing out that it costs more to make a penny than its face value - 1.8 cents each - and therefore it is not cost-effective. And if a single penny is useless, a whole bunch of pennies isnt much better. The US Mint produces coins as instructed byCongress, so a law would have to be passed by Congress and signed by the President in order for pennies to be removed from circulation. The penny is an important part of our history and culture. [5], Mark Weller, Executive Director of the pro-penny group Americans for Common Cents, says, The alternative to the penny is rounding to the nickel, and thats something that will negatively impact working families every time they buy a gallon of gas or a gallon of milk. [6], The US Federal Reserve found that minorities and low-income people are more likely to use cash than credit cards. You're saving it. When people start leaving a monetary unit at the cash register for the next customer, the unit is too small to be useful. [19] Former US Mint Director Philip Diehl said, [T]he value of a penny has shrunk to the point that, if you earn more than the minimum wage, youre losing money stopping and picking up a penny on the sidewalk. [20], Comedian John Oliver noted, Two percent of Americans admitted to regularly throwing pennies in the garbage, which means the US Mint is spending millions to make garbage. [21] Two-thirds of the billions of pennies produced are never seen in circulation again once they reach a consumer via the bank. The United States should get rid of the penny because it is people are not using them, cost to much, and other countries have already dropped the penny. Should you need such advice, consult a licensed financial or tax advisor. The penny debate gained renewed attention when the coronavirus pandemic led to a nationwide coin shortage as consumers moved towards contactless payment methods. After reading the pros and cons on this topic, has your thinking changed? As you can see, both sides have some good points. I will now list them and also describe them. This is backed up by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; they state there are 343 million consumers in this country adding up to over 25 million hours wasted on counting pennies. This means users can store and transact with their coins without interference from third parties such as banks or governments. Faced with a similar sea of red ink, Canada stopped making cents in May 2012. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, zinc ores contain only 3% to 11% metallic zinc. I was recently given over 10000 wheat back Lincoln Cents for a YN program we run through the Pennsylvania Association of Numismatists. Citizens to Retire the U.S. Penny cites a study done by Walgreens and the National Association of Convenience Stores showing that handling pennies adds an average of two seconds to each cash transaction. One problem with this argument, according to penny proponents, is that if there were no pennies, the Mint would have to produce more nickels. Should we keep the penny. We should get rid of pennies because it cost less and is useless but it could be helpful, I think we should keep the penny because it is sill money, what the creep who ever wrote these are all bum hahahahaha. Whether you are starting your first company or you are a dedicated entrepreneur diving into a new venture, Bizfluent is here to equip you with the tactics, tools and information to establish and run your ventures. Rather than drop the practice completely, however, the stores decided to simply round all bills down to the nearest $0.05 instead. Read our guide on how to clean pennies. Even during my childhood in the 1980s, there was a candy store not far from our house that sold penny candy in jars one penny for a mini Tootsie Roll, or two for a Mary Jane. These arguments arent based on logic which, ironically, makes them much harder to counter. Hey we should because it would be very hard to get a sense even through really more people took it away you want to get one sent back you just keep the money back horrible, get rid of the penny its a worthless coin and costs more than its worth to make, Not really he has a point that it does cost more to make. A zinc penny weighs 2.5 g. Doing the math, 327 billion pennies weigh 1.8 billion pounds If 77.1% of you voted to keep the penny in our 1st poll I bet we can . Most recently, in 2017, Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Mike Enzi (R-WY) sponsored ultimately failed legislation that would have suspended minting of the penny. One of the functions of prices is to provide participants in the economy with information about the scarcity, supply and demand for a particular good. Shopkeepers would have to either change the prices on all of the items in their inventories or reprogram registers to round automatically when an item is charged. According to the 2020 Annual Report from the U.S. Mint, it now costs about $0.018 or 1.8 cents to make one cent. Its the only coin we have that has Lincolns face on it! All information published on this website is provided in good faith and for general use only. Hardly anyone uses them anymore. It will be a lot easier just to keep the penny because then we don't have to tell everyone to change. If consumers in 1857 could get along without halfpennies, then modern consumers can almost certainly manage without a coin thats worth less than one-tenth as much. The group's mission is to keep the penny in use. The cost of pennies is a minor problem. 10 Rarest and Most Valuable Coins in the World, Early Jefferson Nickel Values 1938 - 1964. The US Mint shipped 8.4 billion pennies for circulation in 2017, more than all nickels (1.3 billion), dimes (2.4 billion), and quarters (1.9 billion) combined. Theyre so hard to use that they end up stuffed in jars or abandoned on sidewalks. The impact of the loss of the penny on price flexibility depends on its implementation. Supporters of the penny dont buy this argument. The problem is, too many believe the present administration and government in D.C. is reasonable, when its actually FUBAR. At this rate, the United States loses millions of dollars producing pennies and nickels. Large cents bearing portraits of Miss Liberty were minted for 64 years a long lifespan during the nations first century. Franklin is also credited with the saying, A penny saved is a penny earned. [35], 3. The group marshals support from consumers, charities and small businesses who argue that without the penny there will be higher prices due to rounding up costs. In response, some penny charities started holding nickel drives instead of penny ones, putting their faith in wishing fountains that accept useless coins. (6) The penny has become useless as a means of exchange. Millions of pennies are produced every day and sent out all over the country. Life Without Pennies. In 2013 alone, this cost taxpayers $105 million. The U.S. Mint does lose money on pennies and nickels. If we don't have the penny. 5. The penny has been around for centuries, but it may be time to say farewell. Are culture would be forgotten shops prices .

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