The United States penny has been around for more than 220 years, according to CNN — it is a necessary contributor to the American economy and too iconic to throw away.
The United States indeed loses money each time it produces a penny, however, the loss is even greater every time the U.S. produces a nickel. According to CoinNews, the penny costs 2.06 cents to produce, while the nickel costs 7.53 cents to produce.
This difference emphasizes that the penny is actually more monetarily efficient than other coins that are in circulation.
The penny is also more resilient than the nickel. The United States Mint reports that a penny can remain in circulation for 40 years, while a nickel can remain in circulation for a lesser 30 years.
Keeping the penny also helps America’s poorer population. The majority of charities in America receives donations through small coins, including the Ronald McDonald House. According to McDonald’s website, every time a Happy Meal or a Mighty Kids Meal is purchased, the restaurants donate one penny towards the Ronald McDonald House Foundation to help families with sick children.
Quora states that 3.2 million of McDonald’s Happy Meals are sold every day worldwide — which means that losing the penny would lose this charity $32,000.
The Salvation Army is another charitable organization that gets a large portion of its donations in the form of pennies. In 2013, the Salvation Army ran a campaign asking people to donate their unwanted pennies, according to the Samaritan.
The campaign relied on people sparing their “useless” pennies — however, it proved that big differences can be made when everyone puts all of their pennies together.
These charities rely on the penny to support them in their mission of helping others. Without the penny, it is likely that their donations will suffer.
If the penny is taken out of circulation, the Library of Economics and Liberty predicts it will cause a raised price of goods. The removal of the penny would result in retailed goods being round up to the nearest nickel in the absence of single cent values.
For example, if a product is currently priced at $4.56, it will be rounded up to $4.60. This is is only a small price increase, but it will be harshly felt by families and students where every cent counts towards putting a roof over their heads and food on the table.
“As a college student, I save as much money as I can,” junior Jackson Howard said. “Every penny counts.”
Many Americans reject the idea of removing the penny because it is a piece of American history that people carry with them every day. While this is purely a sentimental approach, it is still valid as a historical reason to keep the penny.
The penny should not be removed because prices will go up, therefore hurting the poorer population. Many charities rely on donations of pennies, and many people are attached to the penny for its historical significance. Therefore, the iconic copper coin should not be lost.
