Will cents cease to exist?

mgoodm3

I was reading in CW that cents now cost 0.98 cents to make. That's pretty close to losing money. So, will they stop production at some point when they cease to be profitable or will they find a way to make them cheaper?

Russ

I think they should get rid of the half dollar first.

Russ, NCNE

jeffnpcb

You need to read the article again! It is Creative Accounting 101. They have considered the cost from the planchet to delivery at the Federal reserves for distribution. If you note that production has dropped, yet labor force and other essentials of regular operations have not, the net cost is higher.
It all depends on how you look at the figures presented. Anyone here worked for Enron, WorldCom or some of the other companies that use these numbers for reverse effect!

nwcs

No time soon. But it's all an accounting trick right now. They've shifted some of the cost of producing the other coins onto the cent. So the cent shows little seignorage while the rest show more. I read about this a couple years ago and they were showing how it was basically an old manufacturing trick.

kamehameha00

I hope they discontinue the cent for circulation in 2005 or 2006 and only offer it in proof sets for collectors only and then discontinue it entirely in 2009,just to see a single coin series last 100 years.

keets

Will cents cease to exist?

probably not for a long time, but hopefully they'll stop being struck by the U.S. Mint sooner than later. ironically, i received an XF 1958-D in change at McDonald's today.

al h.

mgoodm3

Oh well, gotta keep hope alive.

merz2

mgoodm3
I have said this in other threads,but will say it again.IMHO,they(The U.S. Mint) will do somthing in 2009.The 100th anniversary of the Lincoln Cent.That would be the appropriete time to either do away with the Cent or change the design.I hope like most that they do away with it after bringing back the Wheat reverse dor 2009.


kameahmeha00
Bite your tongue !

DirtroadRider

Maybe we should outsource the Mint to India. This would help in the labor cost at least 99%. At the same time maybe we can outsource our politicians.

mozeppa

they could make even smaller cents...like they did in 1856

large cent to small cent....then to really small cents.

say about the size of a shirt button.... then later shrink it to the size of this letter O.

of course there's not much room to put a portrait on em...but ya can'y have everything!....(where would ya put it)

RYK

From the reading of some of these threads, (good) sense has left the building a long time ago.

MatthewBabcock

(My dictionary is broke...)

Some countries have moved lesser valued coins to an aluminium composition... I don't like the idea for our coins, but that may be another option to consider... The Federal Reserve and banking system would save a bundle on the shipping charges with the lower weight and I think the metal is cheaper too (not for sure though)...

MatthewBabcock

I've been told by PM that I'm wrong on the cost of materials... Aluminium is more expensive than the copper content currently used...

cladking

The cost of minting and distributing a new Lincoln cent is inconsequential to the cost
of handling, counting, and transporting it during its lifetime. Just the man years wasted
while clerks count out change to customers is more than the value of the coin in each
instance. We pay a huge price to maintain this coin in circulation above and beyond the
many millions of dollars and time wasted. Additionally we pay for it in decreased quality
in all mint products because of the resources allocated to the production of it and the
machinery and dies to produce it. We pay for it in the pollution and scrap generated in
moving and producing it.

There are many who believe that the costs of the cent are actually being shifted to the
other coins. Is it really logical to believe that the cost minus the metal value of this coin
is really less than 20% of the cost less metal value of the quarter. It seems highly un-
likely.

In addition to the dramatic increases in the cost copper and nickel, zinc is beginning to
increase also. Since the article was written this coin has become significantly more ex-
pensive to produce.

spy88

It is my personal opinion that the mint should stop producing the penny. It is nothing but a nucents when you buy anything any more. All businesses could easily round up to the nearest nickel even with any state/federal taxes included. Sure would save us, the consumers, a lot of hassles!

The time has long gone when (and if) it was ever needed in our economy.

David

mercurynut

Even though I have a hoard of them....its time to say goodbye to the cent.

1234567890

If the cent goes, then nickel, dime, quarter, and half dollar would go too... we would need some serious inflation, like Japan.

Coinosaurus

Cents are becoming pointless and may go the way of the dodo bird even without legislation. These days, if you have a ten dollar bill and have to pay for something that is $9.01, all you have to do is look at the cashier funny and they will give you a whole buck back. Or just grab a penny from the change bin that is next to practically every cash register in the country.

It would not surprise me to see a fast food chain start a "round down" campaign where they round down all transactions to the nickel. It would be great PR, not cost them that much (maybe 1% of their gross revenue), and get adopted by everyone else very quickly. I predict we'll go through a phase where a merchant is considered "cheap" if they insist on collecting the spare pennies in a transaction.

coynclecter

There is only one reason for the continued existance of the cent.....sales tax. Since we are in base ten, the nickel would go too and everything would be priced like $22.4 or $16.7 However, there is a large volume of merchandise that is sold everyday under $5. The total sales tax is huge and if they round off then people will want each item rung up seperately cause items under 70 cents (or so) would be tax free.

dollardude

I agree with Cladking. I have been against the use of cents for years. Pennies are mostly pieces of nearly-worthless zinc (with a bit of copper plating) that are not worth the cost of producing. Furthermore, they waste people's time in normal business transactions. I believe the reason they have survived has been -- as most decisions are made -- political and not logical. The people who's livelihoods depend on pennies have powerful lobbyests in Washington, DC.