Is “No Cents” Nonsense?

Johnny-on-the-Spot … by John Foster …

The U.S. Mint stopped production of the lowly penny last June.

Although there are reportedly still 250 billion pennies in circulation, supply issues due to the decrease in new production combined with circulation issues are causing some businesses to scramble.

However, the U.S. Mint, as recently as 2024, said 3.2 billions pennies were minted but “vanished” from use after reaching us.

Must be a lot of those big glass jugs around filled with the copper coins.

The government said it cost 3.69 cents to make each penny.

Believe it or not, someone in the Federal government said that was too much and the Trump administration said stop making them.

Seems very “ungovernment-like” to me.

In other words, it made sense.

The plan all along was for businesses to round up cash transactions to the nearest nickel.

Seems simple enough.

The U.S. military overseas abolished the one cent piece during the 80’s.

America, it can be done.

But…

Some retailers and businesses have sent letters to the chairs of congressional financial services and banking committees asking them to pass “a national law allowing businesses to round cash transactions to the nearest nickel”.

Why do we need a new law?

It seems at least 10 states and municipalities have laws prohibiting that.

Hmm…

Seems to me some business might get the jump on competitors by saying, “We’re gonna round DOWN to the next nickel” in this penny-ante time.

Whaddya think?

A spokesperson from the University of California-Irvine says stopping penny production was a bad move, stating, “This is a case of charging ahead to make a change to payments infrastructures supporting our economy and livelihoods without careful forethought into how it would all play out and the legal and operational considerations that should have been dealt with ahead of time”.

Blah, blah, blah.

Hey, it was costing us 3.69 cents to make each penny!

Didn’t that impact the economy and livelihoods?

What about the 1943 coin?

It was made of zinc-coated steel and we called them “steelies” but they didn’t last very well and were ended.

As recently as 2023, there were multiple bills introduced in Congress to make pennies with cheap[er materials but they all failed to pass.

And now some retailers want this same governing body to pas a law permitting businesses to do what the military has been doing for about 40 years.

It’s insane.

The first U.S. penny was the 1787 Fugio cent, also known as the Franklin cent, was reportedly designed by Benjamin Franklin.

The motto on it was “Mind Your Business” to urge personal responsibility.

One the back of that coin, it said, “We Are One” representing national unity among the thirteen colonies.

The penny we know was authorized by the U.S. Mint in 1792 and was originally all copper and was larger that today’s coin and had Lady Liberty on the front of it.

Abraham Lincoln became the face of the one-cent piece in 1909.

The backside of the coin has featured wheat stalks, the Lincoln Memorial (1959) and there were 4 different designs in 2009 celebrating the Lincoln bicentennial.

In 2010, the Union shield became the “tails” of the penny.

But the official name of this coin is “one cent piece”.

Penny comes from the Old English word for coin (penig or penning).

Looks like our country is going to be dragged into the future screaming, “But what about the penny?”

We’ll have to adjust.

A penny for your thought becomes a nickel for your thought.

“Penny Lane” gets changed to “Nickel Lane”.

“Every time it rains, it rains, nickels from heaven.”

“A nickel saved is a nickel earned”.

“Nickel-wise, pound foolish”.

“It will cost a pretty nickel.”

“Don’t have two nickels to rub together.”

“Nickel pincher”.

“Worth every nickel”.

I believe George Carlin suggested, “If it’s a penny for your thoughts and you put in your two cents worth, then someone, somewhere is making a penny.”

And if the penny is going to vanish, can the one dollar bill be far behind?

Probably not.

With rising postal costs, one of these days we’ll simply be able to staple a dollar bill to the upper right hand corner of our envelopes to get the job done.

Most importantly though, remember if you see a penny on the ground and it’s not Abraham Lincoln looking at you, it’s bad luck to pick it up.