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  • Essay / Pennies: bane or boon? - 685

    Pennies have been part of the American monetary system since 1793, being the oldest American coin still in circulation. The penny, and as its supporters have pointed out, nickel costs more money to produce than it is worth. The penny costs 1.8 cents per coin minted, and the nickel costs about 7.5 cents to make. So, in my opinion, the penny and nickel should be abolished and the dime should replace them as our lowest denomination. This would be accomplished through a slow but sure reduction in the mintage of both coins and by allowing coins to slowly filter out of circulation through banks. The coins should remain legal, so people can spend them if they have them, but the bank should take the coins they receive and dispose of them by melting them down or perhaps selling them to private collectors. the concerns of the opposition to my beliefs. Proponents of retaining the penny as the lowest form of money have many arguments against removing the penny from production and circulation, including the following: Prices could increase due to the requirement to round up all purchases to the nearest nickel. , charities use penny drives to generate donations, producing nickels is even more expensive, the penny has sentimental value, and 2/3 of Americans surveyed favor its retention. These arguments are all well documented as reasons to keep the money made by promoters. I don't dispute the validity of some of these arguments, but I would say that some of them are unfounded. Many people say they would be disappointed to see the money disappear because they give their change to good causes which would prevent them benefiting from the donations. Ot...... middle of paper ...... a dead coin with a penny worthless and expensive to produce nickel? Works cited by Gore, Jeff and Matthew J. Eggers. “Should the Penny be retired?” The New York Times in advance. Scholastic, 2013. Web. November 7, 2013. Gray, CGP “Death to Pennies”. YouTube. YouTube, November 30, 2011. Web. November 21, 2013. Hagenbaugh, Barbara. “A penny saved could become a penny thrown away.” USA TODAY: Latest news from around the world and the United States. Gannet Co. Inc., July 7, 2006. Web. November 7, 2013. Headly, Susan. “The penny debate.” Parts About.com. About, 2013. Web. November 7, 2013.Mallaby, Sebastian. “The penny stops here.” Washington Post. The Washington Post, September 25, 2006. Web. November 21, 2013. Miles, Chris. “Obama says we should stop minting the penny.” PoliticsMic. Mic Network Inc, February 14, 2013. Web. November 7, 2013. “Penny's end is near. » ConsumerAffairs.com. Consumers Unified LLC, July 19, 2006. Web. November 21. 2013.