Inflation has made the penny barely worthwhile nowadays.
Indeed, the early symbol for a penny originated with the Roman denarius - a coin that once was a day's pay for a Roman legionary. When English translations of the Bible referred to a penny they were, in fact, referring to the denarius.
The days when a penny was a day's pay are long, long, long gone.
Verily, even most people's thoughts these days are more costly than a penny.
Inflation has eroded the purchasing power of the currency, and now the lowly penny may be making its final farewell.
The United States 1 cent coin costs 3.69 cents to make, a 20% increase this year alone, currently costing the US Treasury a loss of $179 million dollars per year minting them for them to sit in people's drawers or jars, and weigh down their purses.
As such, Trump has instructed the Treasury to stop producing them.
While from a sentimental standpoint, keeping the penny is attractive as the US has had pennies since 1787, it is likely time to join other nations such as Canada in letting the penny make a graceful exit from our money supply.
Other US coins have gone by the wayside. For example, the last United States half penny was last minted over 150 years ago in 1857 and the lack of 1/2 pennies hasn't been missed or remarked upon.
Expect the penny to be removed for circulating currency if Congress agrees, and the costs of items to be rounded up or down accordingly.
The end of the penny, after all, just makes cents.
6 comments:
They've been talking about it for years. Looks like it's time has finally come....or gone, depending on how you look at it.
About time...
I disagree. It is, like a paper dollar, a symbol, a method of exchange, nothing more. the fact that is costs nearly 4 times it's worth is meaningless, as it lasts may years, so the cost is truly not important.
The cost of a penny and the cost of a paper dollar are nearly identical, but the penny will last more than 20 times as long.
BTW, using your logic (regarding the Denarius) we should forgo all coins, not just the penny
drjim: I'd agree it is time.
OldNFO: Yep.
Mr. B: When is the last time you reached in your pocket and paid for something with a penny? Not getting it in change, but actually using it to buy something?
Some coins still are useful for transactions such as nickles, dimes, and quarters for parking meters etc.
The penny however has little going for it anymore. It costs more than it is worth to produce and its spending power is minimal.
I actually do use pennies as much as nickels, dimes, and quarters to pay for things.
Using your logic, we should stop producing most coins.
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