Save the penny. For those that do not know, every penny starts in Greene County [Tennessee]. Save jobs in Greene County!

[essentialsaltes]

"For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents. This is so wasteful!" Trump wrote Sunday night on his Truth Social platform. "I have instructed my Secretary of the US Treasury to stop producing new pennies."

While some conservatives cheered the move, Tennessee workers who supply the U.S. Mint with the blank discs stamped into pennies weren't as thrilled, according to The Greenville Sun.

Jobs could be lost at Artazn LLC, based in Tusculum, Greene County, in eastern Tennessee, which is politically conservative and Republican.

All surrounding counties also voted for him. In November, he defeated Vice President Kamala Harriswith roughly 83 percent of the vote.

“It’s disappointing to see President Trump make a statement of directive like that because these are American jobs,” [Greene County Partnership CEO] said.

Wasteful and inefficient! You're Fired!

 

[public hermit]

It's all about the bottom line, people. It's not about the people; that's for sure. Why his voters thought he was out to benefit them is a mystery. Many who voted for Trump will be adversely affected by his way of running roughshod, trying to control the money. I realize they couldn't have predicted that, since he is unpredictable, but anyone could have predicted that he wouldn't care about anything or anyone except money and power.

As an aside, I don't know how this works, but will the value of the penny increase if we aren't making them anymore? I'm saving what few pennies I have, just in case Trump is POTUS forever. One never knows.

 

[essentialsaltes]

As an aside, I don't know how this works, but will the value of the penny increase if we aren't making them anymore?

Not significantly. I assume they will remain legal tender, so they are worth 1 penny.

In terms of collecting, things are valuable if they are scarce. The US Mint makes like 3 billion pennies a year, so any recent pennies are still worth a penny.

I suppose you could watch copper prices and melt them down, but again, recent pennies have a lot of (like 97.5% now) zinc in them. Pre-1982 pennies are more pure copper and are 'worth' more than a penny.

Ooh, interesting postscript:

It's illegal to melt down 5-cent and one-cent U.S. coins.3 Investors hoping to gain from the future worth of the copper in their old pennies are counting on the penny eventually being discontinued as legal tender and the government allowing the copper coins to be sold for the value of their metal.

[Spot price of copper is now about $4.60 per pound, so a pre-1982 penny has about 2.8 cents of copper in it, based on the old value given in that article. The price of zinc has also gone up a little, but new pennies are worth less than a penny of zinc.]

 

[Pommer]

"For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents. This is so wasteful!" Trump wrote Sunday night on his Truth Social platform. "I have instructed my Secretary of the US Treasury to stop producing new pennies."

While some conservatives cheered the move, Tennessee workers who supply the U.S. Mint with the blank discs stamped into pennies weren't as thrilled, according to The Greenville Sun.

Jobs could be lost at Artazn LLC, based in Tusculum, Greene County, in eastern Tennessee, which is politically conservative and Republican.

All surrounding counties also voted for him. In November, he defeated Vice President Kamala Harriswith roughly 83 percent of the vote.

“It’s disappointing to see President Trump make a statement of directive like that because these are American jobs,” [Greene County Partnership CEO] said.

Wasteful and inefficient! You're Fired!

The cost to produce a penny has been more than a penny is worth, for well over a decade.
I remember listening to a story on the radio about when the US had a “half-penny”; the “expert” said we already have a penny and half penny, they’re called “dimes” and “nickels”.

 

[RileyG]

So how can people pay with change that requires pennies? Will cash become a thing of the past? Odd

 

[Pommer]

So how can people pay with change that requires pennies? Will cash become a thing of the past? Odd

Rounds to the nearest nickel.

 

[jacks]

I think he got the idea from Obama.
""I gotta tell you, John, I don't know," Obama responded, adding, "Anytime we're spending money on something people don't actually use, that's an example of things we should probably change." Obama 2022

(I don't know if Obama knew he was making a pun. )

 

[ThatRobGuy]

Seems like he took an idea from our neighbors to the north.

They eliminated the penny a decade ago.

I was actually kind of surprised not long after it happened when I was up there and realized that when I bought something in a grocery store, they just rounded off the pennies.

 

[public hermit]

Will an increased demand for the nickle, which costs more to produce, mean the government ends up spending more than if we kept the penny? I guess it doesn't matter. We're probably getting rid of hard currency.

 

[JSRG]

It's all about the bottom line, people. It's not about the people; that's for sure. Why his voters thought he was out to benefit them is a mystery. Many who voted for Trump will be adversely affected by his way of running roughshod, trying to control the money. I realize they couldn't have predicted that, since he is unpredictable, but anyone could have predicted that he wouldn't care about anything or anyone except money and power.

As an aside, I don't know how this works, but will the value of the penny increase if we aren't making them anymore? I'm saving what few pennies I have, just in case Trump is POTUS forever. One never knows.

Canada got rid of their penny 13 years ago (prices round to the nearest nickel).

That said, as far as I understand, it would be possible to lower the price of producing the penny by changing its composition, which could be a way to eliminate some needless waste without getting rid of it entirely.

 

[jacks]

Now that we are falling so far behind in our math skills, it certainly will make making change easier. Of course "rounding" could present a problem...

 

[RileyG]

Rounds to the nearest nickel.

Thank you

 

[public hermit]

Canada got rid of their penny 13 years ago (prices round to the nearest nickel).

That said, as far as I understand, it would be possible to lower the price of producing the penny by changing its composition, which could be a way to eliminate some needless waste without getting rid of it entirely.

Right, this is probably one of those things that needs a little thinking through, at least. You know, form a committee and find the best way. But nope, that's not what this is. This is one dude saying do x, and everybody just does it. Strange.

 

[essentialsaltes]

Will an increased demand for the nickle, which costs more to produce, mean the government ends up spending more than if we kept the penny?

Some people have said so, but I'm not (yet) convinced. Thinking about possible change combos.

with pennies | without

one penny | round down [a penny saved, so to speak]
two pennies | round down [two pennies saved]
three pennies | a nickel [three pennies saved, one extra nickel]
four pennies | a nickel [four pennies saved, one extra nickel]
a nickel | a nickel [no change]
a nickel and a penny | a nickel [a penny saved]
a nickel and two pennies | a nickel [two pennies saved]
a nickel and three pennies | a dime [a nickel and three pennies saved, but an extra dime]
a nickel and four pennies | a dime [a nickel and four pennies saved, but an extra dime]
a dime | a dime [no change]

It seems like we can save a nickel about as often as we need an extra one. But we may need a few more dimes. Quarters may offer other flexibilities: two dimes and three pennies is now a quarter.

 

[ThatRobGuy]

Will an increased demand for the nickle, which costs more to produce, mean the government ends up spending more than if we kept the penny? I guess it doesn't matter. We're probably getting rid of hard currency.

It's all fiat currency anyway, why don't they just make it all out of the cheapest materials they can find?

Like I noted, Canada already did the same thing...if the folks up north already did all of this "committee research" necessary to figure out that it makes sense to eliminate it, wouldn't us doing the same be an unnecessary duplication of effort.


Let's be honest here, would anyone be critical of the idea if it was coming from a source other than the Trump admin?

Our political sphere has been nothing but "we should do XYZ because it worked out great for this other, more progressive country", why is this being viewed any differently?

 

[jacks]

Once Bazooka Bubble Gum went for 5 cents, the penny became obsolete.

 

[public hermit]

Our political sphere has been nothing but "we should do XYZ because it worked out great for this other, more progressive country", why is this being viewed any differently?

What do you mean? They are both dumb ways to do things? I agree. What seems less than helpful is the roughshod way things are getting done. Do you think Trump consulted folks who might know the best way to start eliminating currency or do you think he just wants to do it, so now we are doing it. It's the later because Trump consults only the very best, Trump.

 

[Akita Suggagaki]

What do you mean? They are both dumb ways to do things? I agree. What seems less than helpful is the roughshod way things are getting done. Do you think Trump consulted folks who might know the best way to start eliminating currency or do you think he just wants to do it, so now we are doing it. It's the later because Trump consults only the very best, Trump.

And then we wait for the unintended consequences.

 

[wing2000]

I think he got the idea from Obama.
""I gotta tell you, John, I don't know," Obama responded, adding, "Anytime we're spending money on something people don't actually use, that's an example of things we should probably change." Obama 2022

(I don't know if Obama knew he was making a pun. )

fun fact...
35 years ago, U.S.. Rep Jim Kolbe and Senator John McCain introducted the Price Rounding Act of 1989 that would have put the penny out of ciruclation.

 

[ThatRobGuy]

What do you mean? They are both dumb ways to do things? I agree. What seems less than helpful is the roughshod way things are getting done. Do you think Trump consulted folks who might know the best way to start eliminating currency or do you think he just wants to do it, so now we are doing it. It's the later because Trump consults only the very best, Trump.

We've heard "we should switch to single payer health care as soon as possible because look how great it worked in country XYZ", "we should do publicly funded Tuition because XYZ did it and it's working great", "we should implement XYZ's model of gun control asap", etc...

Yet the one thing where he's actually taking that approach, and suddenly it's a problem.