I hope this link works. It's a Coin News article about the costs of minting Cents and Nickels. https://www.coinnews.net/2019/05/24/penny-costs-2-06-cents-to-make-in-2018/
They should stop making the cent, a lot that I have been getting in change look like health hazards. I often just throw them in the trash rather than keep them. OK so I do check the first
The problem with these articles is that it's totally dependent on how you allocate the fixed costs of the mint as to what cost per coin you arrive at. If the mint stopped making the cent, would their labor costs go down? Maybe a little, they could cut down the number of shifts or maybe not - they might have people make other things. How do you allocate those costs? By the number of items made, the face value of those items or something else? What about the wear and tear on the equipment? Mint less, you spend less on maintenance on the machines. But there is some base cost you would be splitting over fewer units manufactured. The die shop makes fewer dies, but nothing else changes - still need people to design and review, make the dies and distribute them.
while there is no shortage of change, they keep producing more, I think its many factors, but if its breaking ya to do something quit doing it, or cut down on production, but then federal funds would be cut, and that's a no,no for any government agency. my dad would order way over what was needed to perform their duty in the motor pool, because if they don't spend it, budget cuts come, and you have to answer to your superior.
Read the chart. While there are other costs involved the cost of the materials alone is more than the value of what they are making. Also note that the cost of copper, nickel and zinc all rose in price last year.
If they stopped making cents there soon would be a shortage of them. Actually there would be MORE federal funds. The Mint does not receive funds from the government they are self funding and the profits they make go into the general fund of the Treasury. Discontinuing the cents that they make at a LOSS of $50 million or more would mean that much MORE money going into the Treasury.
