question about pennies

Then why is the coin minted with "ONE CENT" on it's reverse?

 

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The assumption always seems to be that any coin made in huge quantities is automatically common but the truth is very very far from that. Old coins exist because people save them. They are saved in the back of a warehouse, or by collectors, or are buried because the union army is coming. Whatever the cause they exist because they were saved and people did not intentionally save many of any coin after 1964. Up to this time there was widespread hoarding of current times by collectors who thought their bag of 1963-D mint pannies would be worth a small fortune in a few years. So many small date '60-D cents were saved that until just this past year it was the least expensive US coin in mint condition. Everyone was going to get rich saving this date.

Over the years these coins have trickled back into circulation. Mostly it's variety and gem collectors going through the old bags and spending what's not worth saving, ie most of the bag. Some bags are just returned to the bank when the new owner discovers it has no value or isn't worth shipping costs.

But the post '65 issues were not saved in this kind of quantity for the main part. Oh sure the mid-'70's cents are extremely common but not so common as the earlier cents. Many of these later coins are fairly tough, especially in nice uncorroded condition but have low prices largely due to lack of demand. Pennies are extremely cheap to set aside so most exist in some number unlike the larger denominations also made in the billions but virtually unobtainable in rolls.

There is another factor with the high grade cents though and that is that its value has been severly eroded over the last couple generations. This coin was real money in 1960 so they circulated widely. Most all specimens made at least a few purchases each year and accumulated wear which is always the telltale sigh of circulation. But each year a penny has become less valuable until today when it is more a liability than an asset. It takes more time to count than it's worth. The circulation of pennies is exceedingly poor. Many people find them a nuisance annd throw them in the trash. Tons are recycled from some municipal incinerators which are set up to catch these. Most of the other cents sit in jars or accumulations sometimes for many years before being returned to circulation. This allows many of the coins from the early '70's on to appear with extremely little wear. Since velocity is so poor on these "coins" most simply don't pick up any signs of wear anymore.

So all the memorials can be found in nice shape but if you actually start a collection you'll see some interesting patterns develop. Cents from the late '60's and early '70's aren't so easily found in AU and some of these coins are tough in any grade (in circulation) because of the high attrition caused by the coins being tossed in the garbage and having no value.

 

If you look long enough you will be superise at what you will find in a roll of cents. I search hunderds of rolls per week and I am amaize at what I find each time. Some roll you will found nothing and other rolls you will found some of the perfect coins that you will ever see. In the pass couple of months I have found 40's, 50's, 60's, 70's that look like they have never been in circulation and I have found 00's, 01's, 02's, 03's, and even 06's that look like they have been ran over by a truck. That is what makes it exciting about looking through rolls.

 

That might have been me. I've been known to pick up "road pennies" and spend them, so long as they aren't too badly mangled.

 

Yeah! And nickels say... um... they say... oh, nevermind.