Whose idea was it, that keeping the one-cent coin in circulation was a good idea in America. I pondered this as I emptied the little buggers out of my wallet once again. The one-cent coin, or penny… made of copper plated zinc, with a picture of Abraham Lincoln on one side, and the Lincoln memorial on the other. Apparently it’s the most widely used denomination in circulation in the USA.
A variety of surveys throughout the second half of the twentieth century have all shown high public support for the penny (above 70%). A group called Americans for Common Cents established themselves in 1990, and spend their time telling Congress why they shouldn’t get rid of the penny. Apart from the idea of public support, they point to adverse affects for consumers: “Removal of the penny will create the aggravation and confusion of rounding in each cash transaction.” Getting rid of the penny will remove the 0.3 cent profit the treasury collects on each penny made (although conflicting sources indicate this profit may be as little as 0.19 cents). And that good old argument – there’s no reason to change it so why should we.
Meanwhile, the arch-nemeses of the Americans for Common Cents group, the wicked and evil anti-penny organisations fight onwards for the removal of the “copper-coated scourge”. Now don’t get me started on the (10-cent) dime being half the size of the (5-cent) nickel.
2 replies on “senseless”
I’ve never seen any UNICEF envelopes on planes – besides, by the time I’m on a plane again, they probably wouldn’t let me on with all those pennies, they’d make a far too effective cosh.
qantas and klm have UNICEF envelopes in that handy pocket with the flight magazine, evacuation information and rubbish bag (formerly sick bag) or was it with the headphones? anyway i expect you will have a bucketfull of cents by the time you leave so definitely a weight hazard.