Do Pennies Still Make Sense?
As Zinc Prices Rise, the Idea of Losing the Cent Gains Currency By Jeff Donn Associated Press Friday, July 7, 2006; A15 A penny used to buy a loaf of bread, but in an age of inflation and affluence, the coin is slowly sliding into monetary obsolescence. For the first time, the U.S. Mint has said this year that pennies are costing more than 1 cent to make, thanks to higher metal prices. That idea of spending 1.2 cents to put 1 cent into play strikes many people as “faintly ridiculous,” said Jeff Gore, of Elkton, Md., founder of a group called Citizens for Retiring the Penny. “The penny is going to disappear soon unless something changes in the economics of commodities,” said Robert Hoge, an expert on North American coins at the American Numismatic Society. Still, Gallup polling has shown that two-thirds of Americans want to keep the penny. There’s even a pro-penny lobby called Americans for Common Cents. “It’s part of their past, so they want to keep it in their future,” said Dave Harpe
