Is it time to get rid of Lincoln?

[LogGrad98]

https://tinyurl.com/4uhl2h5

From the article:

I just found out that it costs more than a penny to manufacture a penny. Specifically, it costs 1.62 cents to produce that 1 cent copper coin. And that's been the case for a while now! What the hell?

So is it time to phase out the penny? No more 19.99? Round up or down to the nearest nickel?

 

[babe]

https://tinyurl.com/4uhl2h5

From the article:



So is it time to phase out the penny? No more 19.99? Round up or down to the nearest nickel?

Great. So the road to the Weimar wheelbarrels of zeros(or chips filled with zeros) has some bumps along the way. Once paved with gold and silver, now even copper and zinc are too precious for our coins. At current metal prices a minimally-sufficient coke can is worth about 2 cents at the scrapper's buy price, that's why we drink a lot more outta phyto-estrogenic plastics with a market-based recycle value of 0.2 cents.

BTW, there's now a little unit for pyrolyzing plastics back to oil, including the capacity to separate gasoline, kerosene, and diesel. Intended for the third world markets where there's cheap child labor available for gathering the plastics outta the landfills. . . . .

 

[Duck Rodgers]

It's an interesting fact, but aren't coins and currency in the physical form about to be MIA anyway?

 

[colton]

https://tinyurl.com/4uhl2h5

From the article:

I just found out that it costs more than a penny to manufacture a penny. Specifically, it costs 1.62 cents to produce that 1 cent copper coin. And that's been the case for a while now! What the hell?

So is it time to phase out the penny? No more 19.99? Round up or down to the nearest nickel?

It's been that way for a long time now, and yes... I am all for getting rid of pennies.

 

[Nate505]

Yes. Get rid of the damn penny and create a 20 cent piece to put Lincoln on. The penny is about as pointless as it gets.

 

[unluckyseventeen]

It's cost more to create a new penny than the penny is actually worth, for a while now. Even our government MAKING money is wasteful. For shame.

 

[Gameface]

In it's favor the penny is virtually conterfiet proof.

 

[GoJazz]

I would be all for just removing the penny and nickel and quarter. Then just use to the 10th so dimes and make a 50 cent piece.

 

[Bronco70]

When I read the thread title, I thought we might be discussing getting rid of the capital of Nebraska. But I see we're talking about the penny.

But I'm in favor of getting rid of that, too.

 

[Beantown]

Just have everyone in America send their pennies to me, ill take them.

 

[Hitman]

Australia got rid of our one and two cent coins (known as "copper coins") nearly 30 years ago. The total price for a transaction is rounded up or down to the nearest 5c when the transaction is cash, but credit or electronic transactions use the actual figure. These coins haven't been missed.

 

[LogGrad98]

australia got rid of our one and two cent coins (known as "copper coins") nearly 30 years ago. The total price for a transaction is rounded up or down to the nearest 5c when the transaction is cash, but credit or electronic transactions use the actual figure. These coins haven't been missed.

iawtp

 

[babe]

In it's favor the penny is virtually conterfiet proof.

Not if the cons make it out of iron or steel. . . . like we did during WWII. Something like ten cents a pound, and I think about eighteen pennies per pound.

I love pennies. I collect them, well hoard them. You know there are a lot of big bottles full of pennies in a lot of homes. I see no harm in the gov doing the public a service by making pennies for kids to collect, sorta on par with school lunch. It's a great teaching tool. Give a kid four of five rolls of pennies and tell him to count them, look at the date and mint stamps, and wait for the chance to explain the element Cu or the politician Lincoln. I'm sure this form of education is much more cost-effective than subsidizing public schools.

 

[Jazz Spazz]

Ironically, if we stop making pennies, they may even become more valuable.
I agree that we need to stop with the pennies, and continue with the rest.
I see no point in adding a 20 cent piece to the coins we already have.

Another good option would be to put a worthless president on the penny instead of Lincoln.
This way we can all be reminded on a daily basis how worthless that president is/was.
** insert president here**
There are a few suggestions... but I lean towards Clinton.
Please send in your own suggestions.

 

[LogGrad98]

Not if the cons make it out of iron or steel. . . . like we did during WWII. Something like ten cents a pound, and I think about eighteen pennies per pound.

I love pennies. I collect them, well hoard them. You know there are a lot of big bottles full of pennies in a lot of homes. I see no harm in the gov doing the public a service by making pennies for kids to collect, sorta on par with school lunch. It's a great teaching tool. Give a kid four of five rolls of pennies and tell him to count them, look at the date and mint stamps, and wait for the chance to explain the element Cu or the politician Lincoln. I'm sure this form of education is much more cost-effective than subsidizing public schools.

I believe the cost of a penny is more in the processing than in the material.

 

[moevillini]

... I see no harm in the gov doing the public a service by making pennies for kids to collect, sorta on par with school lunch. It's a great teaching tool. Give a kid four of five rolls of pennies and tell him to count them, look at the date and mint stamps, and wait for the chance to explain the element Cu or the politician Lincoln. I'm sure this form of education is much more cost-effective than subsidizing public schools.

except it can be difficult to find a bank to count all your loose change, and if they do they charge 5% - 10% for the service

Some years back one of my kids' fifth grade class did a penny drive for some charitable purpose or another - towards the end of the school year when they had several large jars (the Hinckley & Schmidt water cooler size) filled with pennies, they put the jars in a couple wagons and the class walked a couple blocks to the nearest bank to get them counted. Well the first bank they went to absolutely refused to count them, so they went to another bank across the street and were told the coin counter was out of order, so they walked a couple more blocks to a third bank, where they had to leave the pennies and were told they'd get a check in the mail, with a 7.5% service charge taken out. Kind of a disappointment for the kids, who were hoping they could leave with cash in hand (whoever came closest to guessing the correct amount was to get a prize)...
Not to stray into another topic here, but I suppose some of this was poor planning on the teacher's part, and it was a bummer for the kids. At least they got some exercise!

and in third grade, all my kids studied coins just as babe described - they had to bring in one of each coin from the year they were born, and from the year they moved into their current home - then the kids compared years, talked about history and who was on the coins, learned how coins are minted, etc. I still have the pack my youngest put together with a bunch of 1990 coins on it.

At any rate, I wish the one dollar coin would become better utilized - it probably wastes about as much money to print paper dollars as it does to mint pennies. I know it'd be cost effective to use a coin for $1 rather than paper currency.

 

[bigb]

except it can be difficult to find a bank to count all your loose change, and if they do they charge 5% - 10% for the service

I do all of my banking at a Credit Union. Most of the branches have machines and you can use it for free if you're a member. In fact, the last time I tried to deposit my change, I spent the time and effort to roll it. I got to the branch and they wouldn't accept my rolls. I had to undo all my rolls and send them through the machine.

 

[babe]

I do all of my banking at a Credit Union. Most of the branches have machines and you can use it for free if you're a member. In fact, the last time I tried to deposit my change, I spent the time and effort to roll it. I got to the branch and they wouldn't accept my rolls. I had to undo all my rolls and send them through the machine.

I haven't been to the bank with my stash for several years. I got robbed once, and the thieves didn't even try to carry those buckets. . .

But here's something that might catch on. A fairly simple scale, accurate to say +/- 8grams with a capacity for fifty pounds. It's take all of about ten seconds to tare for the container and another short time to pour the pennies in, and ten seconds to weigh it again, and a very simple calculation.

Some banks keep $50 bags. I think a $5, $10 and $50 bag would meet the general need.

hmmmmm. . . . maybe you guys are right.

 

[PearlWatson]

I do all of my banking at a Credit Union. Most of the branches have machines and you can use it for free if you're a member. In fact, the last time I tried to deposit my change, I spent the time and effort to roll it. I got to the branch and they wouldn't accept my rolls. I had to undo all my rolls and send them through the machine.

I saved up my coins for 4 years and took them to a credit Union and dumped it into the machine for free. It took a few minutes. It was close to $300 from pocket change I gathered doing laundry.

 

[sirkickyass]

I saved up my coins for 4 years and took them to a credit Union and dumped it into the machine for free. It took a few minutes. It was close to $300 from pocket change I gathered doing laundry.

I try to make the "cash in my change" trip about once a year. I routinely am in the triple-figures.