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ANOTHER CALL TO END U.S. CENT PRODUCTIONDick Johnson writes: Are we closer to axing the cent? A letter to the editor in the Atlantic City Press wants the government to cease striking cents. Good idea. He also suggests closing one of the country’s three mints because that would cut their coin production in half. Bad idea.
Thanks. Here's the letter.
-Editor
End pennies, save money Are pennies worth the trouble? Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the purchasing power of one cent in 1913 was approximately equal to that of today’s quarter. In 1913, the cent was the lowest denomination coin and today it still is. Over 2.5 billion pennies were struck (2014-2016) and comprised 55 percent of the total coins minted. Estimates of the cost to produce and distribute pennies range from 1.7 to 2 cents each and the Treasury loses $100 million yearly by continuing to produce these nearly worthless coins. Canada stopped minting pennies in 2012, and it’s time that the U.S. does likewise. This action would halve U.S. coin production and could justify consolidating coin manufacturing from three mints to two. Given the country’s ballooning deficit, it makes perfect economic sense for the U.S. Treasury to abandon nostalgia and end deficit-enhancing penny production.
Tom DeFiore
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Wayne Homren, Editor The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org. To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum All Rights Reserved. NBS Home Page Contact the NBS webmaster 
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