Is This the Age of a New Penny??? (USA)

[ChichiriMuyo]

TheRealMafoo said:

ChichiriMuyo said:

These started popping up awhile ago, and what really bothers me about it is that they haven't gone to steel or aluminum coins for the penny yet.  It doesn't make sense to circulate coins that cost more to make than they are worth.

I think it cost more to make paper money.

A dollar bill cost 5.7 cents to make, and average life in circulation is destroyed is 18 months.

A dollar coin cost 21 cents, and average life of a coin is 30 years.

A penny in 2004 cost .93 cents, so right at the cost.

But the cost of keeping one penny in circulation for 30 years, is .93 cents. The cost of keeping a paper dollar in circulation for 30 years, is $1.14.

So over time, the paper dollar cost more to make then a penny, and cost 5X what a dollar coin cost.

Copper is worth twice as much today as it was at anypoint in 2004.  Zinc is nearly twice as much as well, and it's a much less stable market that has building issues with insufficient supplies.  In 2004 it may hace been reasonable but today it's moving quickly to the point that it costs 2 cents to make a penny.  And that doesn't make any sense at all.  You're right about paper currency, and I fully support a move to dollar coins, but pennies (and nickles, to be honest) don't just cost more to make - they are worth more as scrap metal (though it's illegal).  That's not good, especially when pennies are the most likely to fall out of circulation.