Penny Problem: Not Worth Metal It's Made Of

[Sarah G]

The saying goes, "See a penny, pick it up, all day long you'll have good luck."

But these days, the penny itself isn't having much luck. Not only is there nothing you can buy with a penny, it's literally not worth the metal it's made of.

With the rising cost of metals like copper and zinc, that one red cent is literally putting us in the red.

"It costs almost 1.7 cents to make a penny," said U.S. Mint director Ed Moy.

Each year, the U.S. Mint makes 8 billion pennies, at a cost of $130 million. American taxpayers lose nearly $50 million in the process.

The penny's not alone. It costs nearly 10 cents to make a nickel.

On Friday, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said he thought the penny should be eliminated, but he admitted that he didn't think it was "politically doable," and said he was not going to push the issue.

Congress held a hearing last week on a proposal to make both coins out of cheaper metals, even steel. They say it would save taxpayers more than $100 million.

But for now, tossing the penny altogether is not under consideration.

"One reason there is a lasting attachment to those coins is because they are a part of our country's history," Moy said.

The penny has plenty of history. It was the first U.S. coin to feature a president: Abraham Lincoln.

Next year, the mint plans to issue a new penny commemorating the bicentennial of Lincoln's birth.

That means more pennies for us to pocket.

Penny Problem: Not Worth Metal It's Made Of - ABC News

Hmm, I wonder if they'll still be lucky being made out of steel..

Wheat Penny Values (in U.S. Dollars)

Wheat Penny Values - Coin Values Table for Wheat Cents - How Much are Wheat Pennies Worth? - Wheatback Pennies

 

[Avatar4321]

Maybe we should stop devaluing our money and we wouldnt have that problem.

What you stop spending less and paying off our debts by living within our means? Crazy I know!

 

[JackDan]

Well, the thing is they may lose money on the penny and nickel, but they make it up on the dime and quarter, which are made of a cheaper zinc plated steel. so it ends up being a push.
Quarter - 7.33 cents to make
dime - 3 cents to make

 

[JackDan]

My company sells a fair amount of nickel and copper in the forms of copper tubes, and stainless steel tubes, plates, and structural shapes. These are commodities that have been pretty violotile in the last 5 years and can swing up or down and have long upward and downward trends. It would be smart for the USA to switch the Penny and nickel to zinc plated metal, but from what I hear, alot of machines nationwide are weight sensitive and it is something lobbists have preached against changing due to infastructure already being in place.

 

[Sarah G]

They can't be worth less than what it takes to make them though. It takes almost $.02 to make a penny.

 

[JackDan]

They can't be worth less than what it takes to make them though. It takes almost $.02 to make a penny.

Right now it takes 1.67 cents to make a penny. If the price of copper were to crash, it could be below 1 cent to make a penny. This is because in the last 10 years the price of copper has tripled.

I understand what you are saying, but I have read many articles on this, and the money gained on the dime and quarter outweigh the money lost by the penny and nickel. Yet we could be even more positive and gain more if the penny and nickel were zinc plated steel. Not much to debate about there.