The Lowly Penny

Murphy

The Motley Fool

OffMetal

That is an interesting article!

I'm a freshman in high-school this year, and I think that my High School's floor is covered with change. People, especially the seniors and juniors throw away their pocket change all the time. On a good day, I've picked up $1++ in pennies, nickles, and a few dimes I always like to stop and pick up change even if it's a cent, because they add up quick!! This year I've found $30+ just at school!!

Ben

ms70

Last time I emptied my water jug it was just short of $1000.

flaminio

From the article:

<< <i>Proponents of the penny say that eliminating the coin from circulation would lead to higher prices because retailers would round to the nearest five cents, and call the movement a "rounding tax" that would reportedly cost Americans $600 million annually. >>

Sorry, Motley Fool. This is not logical.



Rounding to the nearest five cents over the course of many transactions results in a net -zero- difference to consumers.

Even if I accept your figure of $600 million lost (which I don't), this is offset by the $17 BILLION in annual savings gained by cent elimination (using the $60 per person per year figure quoted in the article).

D

I thought the Disme was the first US coin...

-Daniel

rmoss

I can remember as a kid a penny had value. You could take a penny to the local store and buy 2 Mary Janes. Two pennies would get you a Tootsie Roll Pop. I will still bend down and pick a lowly cent, not that I'm cheap, I just remember when it was worth something. Collecting Lincoln's got me started in coin collecting.

It's a shame what the mint has done to the cent coin. It looks terrible and corrodes and turns black. The mint could do better if it tried.

AgMe

Hmmmm, that's a fun article.

~g

cladking

It's the time and effort wasted that is worst. Factories are spewing soot to
make something which is a drain on our lives. Trains and trucks roll to bring
of things that make us poorer. We pay taxes so that the tax bill is just a lit-
tle higher. We live a part of our lives in order to have them cheapened to less
than nothing.