Who Knew – Is the penny going on the chopping block?

I’m a bit amazed at this development but can certainly understand what is causing this problem.  The United States Mint recently acknowledged it is costing more than one cent to produce a penny coin.  Apparently the rising cost of metal has put the penny in jeopardy.

According to Jeff Gore, founder of Citizens for Retiring the Penny, it is currently costing 1.2 cents to put the penny into play.  The group considers this ridiculous.  I must admit, I too, see the hilarity in this.

The Gallup poll shows that two-thirds of Americans want to keep the penny coin.  Of course they weren’t considering the rising cost to produce coins.  Historically coins have cost less to produce than the value paid by the banks who receive them.  This made the process a money- maker for the government. 

Since 1989 there have been efforts to cease penny production.  A bill was introduced in Congress to round off purchases to the nearest nickel.  In 2002, the Gallup poll found that fifty-eight percent of Americas save the pennies rather than spending them.  Two percent of the people polled stated they threw the pennies away.

Edmond Knowles of Alabama saved his pennies for forty years.  He actually collected 1.3 million of them.  This weights 4.5 tons.  He had a very hard time getting rid of them.  His banks said no to this.  He requested  Coinstar, a coin-counting company,   take the pennies.  They sent an armored truck to his home and removed the pennies.  Of course, they enjoyed the publicity.  Edmond received $13,084.59 for  4.5 tons of pennies! 

Personally I enjoyed this story.  It certainly fits my theme – Who Knew???