Pennies - Do you think the mint should stop making them?

Question

Recently on 60 minutes, they had an article about how it is costing the mint more to make pennies than what their value is, and this is causing them a loss. Do you think that they should stop minting them and if so, how will it affect prices of things at stores?

Answer 1

If it costs more to make a coin than the coin's face value, it's time to change the composition of the coin.   If the metals the coin is made of have increased in value, they can just change the mix of metals.  This has happened lots of times.  I remember when the British penny, whose face value was pretty close to a US penny, was about an inch across, and its copper was worth way more than its face value!  This would tempt people to melt down the currency and sell the metal.

In fact I seem to remember hearing recently that the US mints are going to put more zinc into the penny.

But it still might be a good idea to quit making pennies, since there is hardly anything you can buy now for less than a nickel.  But that would be a big step, and prices will probably have to rise a lot more before people want to quit using pennies at all.

I remember in the 1960s I traveled to Turkey, and I never saw a coin smaller than 5 Kurus.  1 Kurus was so little that even in a country where poverty was common, it wasn't used.  I got one at a bank as part of a currency exchange, but there was nothing I could do with it except cherish it as a souvenir!

Answer 2

I believe they should remain in circulation.

I believe that every instance, stores, and other businesses will just round the price upward, and they will reap billions of dollars of profits, one, two, or three pennies at a time.