Copper is expensive. So is all the other fine metals – gold, silver, etc. But come on. Did you see the new penny?
It is the most flimsy penny I have ever seen. It’s shinny and new and it still has President Abe Lincoln on it, but it’s so thin. You can actually bend it with your fingers. I know. I tried it and it worked.
If you compare a 2011-penny to a 1971-penny, you will notice that the 1971-penny is ever so slightly thicker than the 2011-penny.
The new penny also has a one-cent shield on the back. What happened to the Lincoln Memorial?
I don’t know about you, but I feel that in today’s society, a penny is actually worthless. You can’t even buy bubble gum anymore for a penny! So why do we even have pennies? Why can’t we just round everything either up or down?
So, say for example, the price of something is $3.54. Just make the price $3.55 and call it a day. Or, on the flip side, if something is $2.92, round it down to $2.90. Will it really make that much of a difference in our economy?
I did a double-take when I saw the new penny. Do not like the back. Feels like something a comic book hero would swing around while fighting in WWII. As to why we still have the penny? That’s been an ongoing debate for years. The basic issue has always been that nothing will ever round down, only up, and that it will, therefore make everything cost more. It’s a subtle tax increase, too, as even sales tax would round up…
Michael, you’re probably right. They would round everything up instead of down… Also, the old penny had so much more character. Thanks for your comment!
They are thinking about just using coins for a dollar rather than paper money because it costs more than a dollar to make a dollar bill.