A Penny For Your Thoughts - Should They Be Eliminated?

In the last several years, there's been a lot of debates about the possibility of no longer minting pennies in the United States. Some people think it's utterly ridiculous to even consider. Others think that it's ridiculous that we even had them in the first place.

The reason that some people like the penny is that it's practically in their blood to save their pennies for a rainy day. There are even rhymes about how picking up a penny is good luck. People have jars and piggy banks full of them. However, those people don't understand the fact that pennies are rapidly becoming impractical.

First of all, there's the cost to consider. You might not be aware, but it actually costs more to mint a penny these days than the completed penny is actually work. After all, it does take a couple days to mint a coin and a lot of materials, workers and machinery to make it happen.

There's also the inconvenience to consider. After all, it's difficult to calculate with pennies involved. If we got rid of the penny, things would always be in multiples of five. There'd be no more instances of calculating in terms of numbers like 37 cents or 89 cents. It would be much easier for kids and foreigners to figure out the math while shopping.

So, is it worth it to keep pennies for nostalgia, even though they aren't practical? Well, that depends on who you ask. One thing's for sure, though. As long as people are taking the time and resources to make pennies, we should respect that and save them for a rainy day.

Alan Kelly has been writing articles about coins for the past two years. He also enjoys writing about hobbies, like why you should use plastic playing cards and how to find quality giant playing cards.