Do you think that the US should stop making pennies?

Question

Believe it or not, pennies cost more to make than what they are worth.

Some info:
http://money.cnn.com/2006/07/18/news/penny/index.htm?cnn=yes

Hey, I did not say whether I was for or against it. I am just wonder what other people think.

And a lot of what you all are saying is addressed in the article. Try reading the article first for the reasons before stating what you think.

Answer 1

If it will benefit the country economically (lessoning the deficit, for example...why should the govt. spend $ to make something that individually is 1 cent?) Besides, coin makers will still have jobs as long as we make use of the other coins, so they won't lose out either.

If they do stop making pennies, there's bound to be sentimental ideas about them, because they're a part of our economic history. So, they'll probably have them in museums sections dealing with other economic ideas of the past.

Answer 2

NO they shouldn't scrap pennies !!! Why pay an extra .04 when you can pay .01 ? I know that that doesn't sound like a lot but in the long run it IS. Why pay .05 when you can pay .01 ? If you don't want your pennies you can just donate them. At Tim Horton's they have a box outside of their window where you can donate anything you have. Or just save up your pennies & cash them in. It may take a while but after a while of saving, you'll have $10.00 as opposed to nothing ! Besides, it's good to have a lil change laying around. Some keep change in their cars in case they need a lil extra cash & you can put your pennies in there. I know that they won't be getting rid of them by '09 tho. That's when they're gonna celebrate by making a new design on the penny. I found out bout all this last night. Better to pay only .01 than round it to the next .05. Besides, doesn't it cost more to make coins @ all ?? LIke as if it's gonna be .05 to make a nickel... How much does it cost to make a nickel ? (or any coin)

My source is where you can vote. I wish I could see the updated poll. I tried to put the whole addy in but YAs wouldn't accept the addy. Vote to keep the penny !!! If you don't want your pennies, give them to ME :) They should continue to make the penny & let customers decide what they want to do w/ them. That's what they've been doing all along anywayz... To vote, get rid of the spaces.

I agree w/ what someone said earlier bout 4 being rounded to a 5 & 6 being rounded to a 10. Why pay an extra .04 when you could pay .06 ? It all adds up you know... Oh yeah & if they're gonna be rounding everything to .05, then they should round it off to toe LOWER #. instead of .07 then it should be .05. It's just more fair to use as customers.
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I got the following fr that site below...

During its early penny-making years, the Mint was so short on copper that it accepted copper utensils, nails and scrap from the public to melt down for the coins.

Wartime demand for copper prompted the Mint to alter the composition of the penny in the early 1940s. Coins made of zinc-plated steel were in use for a while, and salvaged ammunition shells also made their way into the minting process.
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If they were doing this then, then why can't they do it again ? Or make pennies out of something cheaper ?

Answer 3

Cost more to make than they are worth? That's a lie, if that were try I could go to the bank, get a hundred dollars in pennies, then melt them down back into normal copper on my stove then sell them back to the mint for a profit.

I don't see any copper millionaires around.......Besides, if we did get rid of the penny, you could not pay in cash if a bill ended in anything but 0 or 5. Do you expect every company (even foreign ones) to change the price because we don't think a penny is worth making? I don't think so.

I wish people would use a little common sense before asking stupid questions.

Answer 4

It may cost more, but think of how many billions of dollars corporations will make off consumers every year. The average person will pay hundreds, if not thousands more. Why? Because the average purchase ends in a .99. That would be rounded up. Sure, it's only a penny, but it adds up! Haven't you seen Office Space? lol... seriously though...
I saved all my receipts for taxes last year rather than take the standard deduction... I made some good money. Now imagine being able to save all those pennies every year (without having to count them). You'll be paying that much more without the penny. Is it stupid to have something cost more than it's worth to make? A waste of gov't money? Yes! Well, just make them out of different material. It's something that's been done in the past! They used to make them out of pure steel when they needed the copper. Now they make them out of some blend. Just make them out of recycled aluminum for all I care, but don't rob citizens of their hard earned money!

Answer 5

Without the precision of pennies, the economy will be directed away from equilibrium. Say your meal costs $6.43. It may not seem like much getting shortchanged 2 cents or getting 3 cents extra, but multiply that by the hundreds of billions of monetary transactions made in a day and you'll get a major butterfly effect that will send the economy into a recession.

No BS

Answer 6

Yes! It's typical government stupidity. We lose money on every penny made, yet they're barely even money at this point. They're useless. People think so little of them that they throw them on the ground and nobody else bothers to pick them up. What is the point?

Imagine what we could do with the money we would save if we stopped making worthless pennies.

Answer 7

NO! It's bad enough that everything is rounded to the nearest penny. Let's go with nickles? I don't think so! Sales taxes around my area are either 4 or 6 cents... That would make the 4 cents a nickle and the 6 cents a dime, You know it would!

Answer 8

Yes... the only intrinsic value they have today are by collectors. They served their purpose over the early years when a penny(s) in change actually were worth something in purchasing items. Today the are nothing but a menice to carry.

Answer 9

From a taxpayer's perspective, yes. From a consumer's perspective, no. As a taxpayer its a lose-lose situation. If the government stops losing money on the manufacture of pennies, congress will quickly waste it elsewhere. So, I have to vote as a consumer and say do not stop.

Answer 10

They definitely need to stop with the pennies. It's just more change in the purse. They would have to change the prices of everything in every store, but it needs to be done because it just makes things that much more difficult.