POLL: what do YOU think we should do with the cent?

[uthminsta]

Quite simple: the cent costs the mint more to make than it's worth. We've talked about this several times, so many of you have probably already got your opinions ready to fire. So opine on it all you wish, but I thought it would be nice to have a once-and-for-all vote on it, to see where the percentages lie... so please vote!

[Mavrick88]

I would guess that since many of us have tons of these things that the vote will be to stop making them. I think this will be mainly due to the fact that the pennies will eventually go up in value because over a very long peroid of time, they will become rare to find (especially the copper ones after the melting law is lifted). Of course this will take a very long time. I just wonder how long the govt. would give people to turn their pennies into banks for 'cash' or if they would even stop taking them ever. Probably not since they'd just melt them down themselves.

[uthminsta]

I see we got a vote for option 2. Change it to what?

[Dinero2005]

I think the real question is, "WHEN will they stop making them?" It's only a matter of time. It will get real insteresting becuase I believe that merchants that have been locked in the price of whatever and 99 cents to make it seem cheaper will be reluctant to change. For a period of time, places like fast food joints will be fine but as the cents gradually get pulled out of circulation, what do they do? Increase prices by $.01 and fight that "higher dollar stigma" or drop everthing by $.04? A $.99 hamburger is a lot cheaper than $1 one, isn't it?

[AGgressive Metal]

There needs to be option 4: return the US Dollar to a strong value so that a copper cent can again be worth more in legal tender than in melt value.

[Country]

I see we got a vote for option 2. Change it to what?

How about aluminum? That's what was proposed in 1974.

I think they are going to keep them. I'd put my bet on copper coated steel.

[Bluegill]

Yes, it's a criminal shame that the dollar has been debased to the point that we have are having this discussion. But that horse left the barn some time ago. We have to deal with the reality here and now in front of us. The penny has to go. It really does make no sense to keep it around.

Everything can be priced in even 5¢ increments. Not a big deal at all... Electronic transactions can still be in 1¢. Heck transactions can be in fractions of a cent electronically...

Judging by how many I see lying on the ground, and people literally throwing them away, few are going to miss it. Plus we won't have to worry about finding a cheaper materiel to make them out of anymore...

[uthminsta]

I don't think transactions would have to be rounded for many years after the ceased production. There have been close to THREE HUNDRED BILLION zincolns made. I don't foresee there being any shortage of them.

[doug]

It is not the prices that will make it hard, it is the sales tax that will make it tough. Seeing the sales tax rounded up to the nearest nickel could get expensive. I doubt the states will let it round down as they will want the extra taxes.

[hobo finds]

Keep them as long as they are made out of some type of metal. Plastic or cardboard would not be good. If they were the only option then get rid of the cent. I think even if they stop making the cent as long as you can spend them they will circulate for a long, long time.

[hobo finds]

Look at how many small cents have been made.
Numbers are thru 2009 and don't count prof or uncirculated cents

Small cents
42,052,000 F eagle
1,849,639,030 I.H.
25,817,950,007 LC Wheat
427,506,523,571 LCM
2,354,000,000 2009 BP


457,570,164,608 TTL

Add 2010, 2011 and 2012 lot's more!!!

[uthminsta]

three hundred billion zinc cents for three hundred million people. seems like enough.
EDIT: and that actually ALLOWS for hoarding and melting of the copper memorials and whatnot, and collecting of wheats and earlier stuff. if cent production stopped, wouldn't 1,000 per person be enough?

[Shifty51]

The first thing the government needs to do is to do away with the paper $1 Federal Reserve Note. Due to the short lifespan of the Notes over the long run it cost far more to produce the paper notes than it does to produce any coin. Do away with the $1 Federal Reserve Note first, then work on the penny and nickle.

http://coinsblog.blogspot.com/2008/07/p ... llars.html

"Using BEP’s 2007 production numbers, 4,147,200,000 one-dollar notes were printed. With 95-percent being replacement notes, 3,939,840,000 notes were printed just to maintain circulation levels. With it costing 4½ cents to produce one note of any denomination, the cost to just replace notes removed from circulation was $177,292,800 in 2007.

Rather than printing paper dollars, if the US Mint strikes coins the cost to replace those 3.9 billion notes would cost 15.9-cents (according to the Mint’s 2007 Annual Report [PDF]) per coin. The total production cost would be $626,434,560.

But do not let the 353-percent increase fool you. The BEP predicts the life of a one-dollar paper note is three years while the US Mint predicts the life of any coin is 30 years. To help with the calculation, let’s assume the price of printing notes will stay constant. In order to keep the $3.9 billion of one dollar notes in circulation for 30 years, it will cost the BEP $1.77 billion dollars. Since the Mint will be striking new coins for circulation and (theoretically) not replacement coins, the US government would save about $1.15 billion over 30 years. The following table illustrates these costs:"

Denomination Production Total
Paper Dollar - 4,147,200,000
Coin Dollar - N/A

Number of Replacement Notes
Paper Dollar - 3,939,840,000
Coin Dollar - 3,939,840,000

Cost of Production for Replacements
Paper Dollar - $177,292,800
Coin Dollar - $626,434,560

Cost of Replacements over 30 years
Paper Dollar - $1,772,928,000
Coin Dollar - $626,434,560

[hobo finds]

three hundred billion zinc cents for three hundred million people. seems like enough.
EDIT: and that actually ALLOWS for hoarding and melting of the copper memorials and whatnot, and collecting of wheats and earlier stuff. if cent production stopped, wouldn't 1,000 per person be enough?

What happens if they do change them? Will people hoard or melt the zincs?

[uthminsta]

I totally agree on the dollar coin versus paper. Getting rid of the note is also the only way to get Americans to USE the dollar coin.

What do you think they should do with the cent?

[doug]

I totally agree on the dollar coin versus paper. Getting rid of the note is also the only way to get Americans to USE the dollar coin.

That is what Canada did, I think they were smart.

[ed_vantage17]

Get rid of it and round to the nearest $0.05. For those who think there will be price manipulation, realize that there has never been a 1/10 cent issued, but all gasoline in the US is priced as such and nobody blinks an eye.

[Chief]

The first thing the government needs to do is to do away with the paper $1 Federal Reserve Note.

+1
The dollar coin would catch on if there was no paper alternative. Pennies, especially zincs, would still circulate if there were no more minted. That is, unless zinc prices made it worthwhile to hoard zincs. As someone said, we have more than 1,000 pennies per person in the US??? That is more than enough.

[Madwest]

The inflation calculator says that from 1914 to 2011, the cumulative inflation rate is 2,250%

In other words, the buying power of today's quarter is only slightly greater than the buying power of the cent in 1914. If the cent was an acceptable lowest denomination in 1914, then not only do we not need the cent, we don't need the nickel or dime either.

[SilverEye]

Simple. Round cash transactions up the nearest nickel, donate the difference to charity. Credit, debit, gift card, etc don't need to change at all.

[Ecotic]

I want the current situation to continue indefinitely. The day the penny is eradicated is the day banks stop carrying them, stop accepting them, and that's when the copper pennies dry up. Basically I can't keep my profitable copper penny selling business going if the penny is eradicated. Besides, even when I was little everyone didn't care to pick up or keep pennies, even when they were worth more. So I hope we just do nothing out of pure self-interest.

[Rob72830]

I see we got a vote for option 2. Change it to what?

How about aluminum? That's what was proposed in 1974.

I think they are going to keep them. I'd put my bet on copper coated steel.

I think the mint should change it into aluminum. Aluminum is cheap and would probably cost less than a cent to produce. IMO, as long as we have sales taxes, there is going to be a need for pennies. So I chose option 2. Keep them. BTW, if the melt ban was lifted, I wouldn't melt my cents, I would keep them and use them for money. In the SHTF situation, I believe those little coppers would be accepted in trade. Heck, I think even those copper rounds would be acceepted as currency. Look at the economic situation during the Civil War. How many people made and used tokens because of a shortage of coin? I think it could happen again.

[PolishPunisher]

Kill two birds with one stone. Make all pennies worth 5 cents and cease production of CuNi 5 cent piece.

[everything]

Nothing, the cent will outlast the paper dollar, they could probably mint more coppers for collectors though. If they priced them right.. We are stuck with the increment because of all the computer programs, cash registers, and 1/100th methodology behind not being able to give an accurate number without the dang thing. Merchants have already adapted with the take/give a penny, and automatic change dispensers.

[uthminsta]

We are stuck with the increment because of all the computer programs, cash registers, and 1/100th methodology behind not being able to give an accurate number without the dang thing.

I don't understand this. Do you all really think that 300 billion already-minted zinc cents will not be enough to use in daily transactions for several years, while we slowly "wean" the American public off of them?
And do you all think that we need the coin to continue to be made, in order for all those computer transactions to work?