Poll: Should the United States government eliminate the penny?

They cost more to make than they are worth, and most people won't pick them up if they see them lying in the streets. This is for a school project so Please answer with:
Yes, No, or Undecided :loud:

 

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I would say.....No..! For now anyway! They should look for something cheaper to make them with!!

 

My numismatist side said no, but my economist side said yes....Eliminate the cent, change the composition of the "nickel" to a cheaper metal (steel?), and let the chips fall where they may on the "micro-inflation" caused by no longer having a denomination under five cents.

 

It costs more to market the failed Sacajawea, Susan B. Anthony, and Presidential Dollars. Also marketing for the State Quarters. Instead of changing things up perhaps they would save money by leaving it like it is!

All the marketing costs for these failed items is paid out of OUR pockets by the means of forced wage garnishment at the point of a gun in the form of taxes. And for the coin collectors out there that say "IT HELPS THE COMMUNITY TO HAVE MORE TO COLLECT" I say bull. IF you are taxed less you can afford to buy more and so could others. This would help the coin collecting community more than a Puerto Rico Quarter.

 

Yes. I collect Lincolns and think the 2009 commem reverses polluted the series.
It would have been better to keep the Lincoln and Lincoln Memorial through 2009 and then stop minting them. JMHO

 

I think the 2009 commemorative series would have been the PERFECT way to end the series....Go out with a "celebration" and then end the cent's production beginning January 1, 2010.

 

I'm not sure I follow this. Could you clarify "It costs more to market" ? It costs more than what ?

 

Here's some food for thought...

Much is made about the cent costing more to make than face value. Here are some questions.

• How much money are we talking about (dollars per year) ?
• Do other denominations cost more to make than face value ? If so, why single out the cent ?
• Are there denominations on which the Mint makes money (i.e. the face value is more than total cost of manufacturing) ? If so, how much money are we talking about ?
• Government isn't in operation to make money (obviously ! ). They operate to provide service to the public, and those services cost money. Is it so wrong to make cents which cost more than 1c ?
• Why do dogs have black lips ? (just wanted to see if you're still listening)

Most importantly... why does no one ask these questions ? Aren't they relevant to having a broader, reasonable view of Mint operations ?

 

Is it reasonable to say the State Quarters are a failure ? I've always thought they were a big success.

 

Absolutely. The penny is the lowest common denomination coin today and it needs to be removed. I think the nickel should be the lowest personally.

 

No, we should keep the cent and get rid of all the extremely overpaid bigwigs. The people at the top are the #1 problem with ANY business in this country. It seems they all need 3 or 4 mansions and a 60 foot yacht just to keep up with the Jones's. If you don't think this is a problem just ask someone whose former boss is living high on the hog, while someone in China is now doing their old job. Just ask A R O U N D...

 

Please let me answer your question with another question...

When was the last time you actually SPENT a coin?

Now I'm not talking about holding up a grocery store line or drive through so you can fish out $.37 to give $20.37 for a $10.37 order. Using coins to avoid more coins doesn't count.

When was the last time you used a vending machine? The ones that are left have dollar bill suckers and most people just use bills and pocket the change (too much chance a coin will get stuck).

Most commuter's use EZPass to get around toll booths...but most tolls are in even dollars even if they didn't.

So...when was the last time you went into a store, bought something for less than a buck, and paid with coins? I'm willing to bet it's been a while.

People accumulate coins, then cash them in at their local CoinStar machine. That's why 2009 dimes and nickels aren't being released...there are too many coins that have been turned back in. My bank gets so many coins from their CoinStar machine that they send the surplus back and don't order new coins.

The US Mint is tasked to "produce coinage in support of commerce". If coins aren't being used for commerce, why is the US Mint pumping out billions each year?

Answer: No reason other than political...no one wants to be the one to "end the insanity".

 

All personnel fellings aside, you have to be a really special person to keep making something that is putting you further in the hole. I read somewhere that it costs approx1.5 cents and 5.8 cents respectively to make a cent and a nickel, now in my backwoods hillbilly inflicted brain that means I am losing therefore I stop doing it until I can figure out how to do it cheaper. Do we really need the cent? We no longer have the half cent, I guess we decided it was no longer a viable currency unit so we ditched it. Don't get me wrong I am an avid cent collector, but economics should come before sentimentality. Anyway if they stopped making the cent how long would it take before we had a shortage, would there be enough time to switch pricing to round to the nearest nickel (or dime if we got rid of both). I think it would be amusing seeing BU rolls of 2008 cents selling for $100 on feebay.

 

I'm not saying "do away with coins"...not at all. I just wish we would produce USEFULL coins...$1, $5, $10, and $20 coins that are a reasonable size for everyday use.

 

I say NO, do not eliminate. Reason to keep it, produce them only for collector sets, not circulation. For circulation, move up to higher denomination coins as others have also stated. Just don't TOTALLY eliminate the cent/penny coin so it can continue to be a copper piece in collector sets and collectors of cent coins. Even though I'm not particularly heavily into the one cent coin.

 

No they aren't. The marketing costs are paid out of the mint seniorage. No tax money is used to fund the mint.

 

I voted no, keep the cent. sentiment should take priority over economics, plus if they eliminated the cent they would just shift the dead wood to some other denomination, I do think they do not need to churn out as many as they have been doing, the mint should make coins for commerce.

There have been many years when the mint did not make certain coins, I would think that with the state of the economy they could let the mint workers take a year long vacation and we would still have enough coins for commerce.

 

All the time.

I use vending machines all the time. Coins are vastly superior to currency in vending machines. I never have a problem with a coin; I almost always have to wrestle with the bills. Gotta coax the machine into taking them.

Vending machines are the #1 reason / justification for $1 coins IMO.

 

Absolutely NOT!! There are some people, like me for one, who literally have to make every cent count. Those of us who aren't well off financially have to keep track of everything, and cents are still an important part of daily life.

 

The only vending machines I've found that take $1 coins are at the Post Office...and they're taking them out.

Good on ya for spending coins...I try to. Each morning I grab a handfull and put them in my pocket. When I come home at night, I have more than I started with.

I must be the only person this happens to.