U S Cent being discontinued ?

[Dozer D]

My wife happen to see/hear on the Internet that the U S CENT, might be given the boot just like Canada did with theirs. Has anyone else seen or heard of this just recently. OR, is she just pulling my chain. Story has it, that hoarding coppers could gain someone over 1000% or more when cashed in!!!! Comments, I know we've covered this subject before.

 

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[aa battery]

Yes they been talkin about that for years so she makes cents.

 

[yankeesfan4life]

so she makes cents.

Very punny. (I couldn't resist.

 

[enamel7]

Congress would have to vote on it and that hasn't happened, so it's here for awhile.

 

[littlehugger]

Its been discussed for many years, but does not seem any closer to reality.
Our current cents are zinc, with a copper wash. 2.5% copper. Anyone who detects know how quickly these corrode.
Cents were copper thru 1981, and a mix of both in 82, and zinc after.
Currently, even using pot metal, cents cost more than a cent to make. Old copper cents are worth more than a cent in copper.
Its not likely cents will be discontinued soon, but I would set aside the copper ones and any high grade zincs.
Remember when we were kids, and they stopped making silver coins? Nowadays, aren't you happy when you find a silver quarter?
Well, one day, copper will be the new silver. But save it for your kids or grand kids. And don't anticipate a huge profit for the metal value. Let your kids sell them to collectors for a buck each, or even 5 bucks.
If they do demonetize cents, the copper price will drop immediately from all those hoarders trying to cash in at once. Like Billy Beer.

 

[cosmetal]

Spot on about the copper price drop.

I know this question may be impossible to answer with any sort of accuracy. But, are there any estimates on the amount of horded cents stashed away?

James

 

[FormerTeller]

I know this question may be impossible to answer with any sort of accuracy. But, are there any estimates on the amount of horded cents stashed away?

I got 100,000 of them (copper cents, not $100,000...). Not real sure why I still have them, but haven't wanted to turn them in for face value, and too lazy to sell them. [emoji2]

 

[MotherOfGeeks]

Rumors have been circulating for years so I'm not holding my breath for it to be anytime soon, but I'm ready for when they do discontinue the penny. My stash is up to $350, but growing more slowly since I quit searching boxes of pennies from the bank. I still search customer wrapped rolls from selected banks, mostly credit unions. My poor man's copper hoard is stored rewrapped in rolls and in boxes ready to be deposited if it becomes financially necessary.

 

[LooseChange]

Spot on about the copper price drop.

I know this question may be impossible to answer with any sort of accuracy. But, are there any estimates on the amount of horded cents stashed away?

James

It is known that Portland mint is sitting on tons (literally). Some belong to the business and are available for sale, some are there as bulk storage.
https://portlandmint.com/shop/product.php?productid=4&cat=2&page=1

It is also known that tons (literally) were melted before the ban (Jackson Metals and Pinhcer Processing). A fun read for anyone who fantasizes about melting copper cents commercially: https://www.goldismoney2.com/threads/the-history-of-pincher-processing-llc.28059/

 

[cosmetal]

It is known that Portland mint is sitting on tons (literally). Some belong to the business and are available for sale, some are there as bulk storage.
https://portlandmint.com/shop/product.php?productid=4&cat=2&page=1

It is also known that tons (literally) were melted before the ban (Jackson Metals and Pinhcer Processing). A fun read for anyone who fantasizes about melting copper cents commercially: https://www.goldismoney2.com/threads/the-history-of-pincher-processing-llc.28059/

Thanks for the heads up on the Pincher Processing story. A fantastic read . . .

Peace!
James

 

[signal_line]

What? You mean all those zinc cents I threw away are going to be a collector's item? LOL I remember some guy paid the IRS with a barrel of pennys.

 

[Slingshot]

Cents help prop up the illusion of a stable currency unaffected by inflation and most people are unaware that the new cents are copper plated pot metal. Special interest lobbying by the mining industry in DC also help keep cents in production. I think they should go to a plastic cent with a bit of ground up copper mixed in to give them color if they still desire to keep them in production. At least those wouldn't corrode like the zinkies do, and the mint wouldn't loose millions every year paying 1.5 cents to produce and ship a 1c coin. A half a cent doesn't sound like much, but do the math for a typical cent mintage from any year of the past decade. With the tottering fiscal policies favored by our illustrious congress cents make sense to most politicians.

 

[Honest Samuel]

your wife does not make sense. She is just playing with you. The pennies will be here forever. Remember, the mints sell rolls and bags of coins worth far more then face value. They need the money.

 

[Scott (Mich)]

I remember reading an article within the last year, probably in an issue of Numismatic News, that talked about the choices for the current cent and nickel compositions. The article stated that the labor cost for the cent had exceeded one cent, so it did not matter what material they could use, as anything used would still have a cost of over a cent to produce, even if the melt value was under a cent. Sure, they could use plastic (I hope not), but they would still be too expensive to be profitable.

As a person who likes to metal detect, I would like to see the one dollar bills and five dollar bills be discontinued and replaced with coins. We already have the dollar coins, now we just need a five dollar coin, then they could also discontinue both the cents and nickels so the smallest coin would be the dime...Yeah, I know that will never happen, but I just like the idea of larger denomination coins. Less than a century ago we had coins up to a $20 denomination, I just wish we could do that today.

 

[barneyb71]

I dumped mine last year....moved that money over to my roll hunting funds. Turned that $300 into $300 face value of silver. I’m thinking I’ll profit more from that silver then I ever would waiting around on them to stop making the penny. Good luck to you that are hanging on to them.....

 

[FreeBirdTim]

Special interest lobbying by the mining industry in DC also help keep cents in production.

Bingo! They minted 8 BILLION pennies last year. Why? Because of the shady politicians who get payola to keep this farce going for the mining industry. We don't even need one billion new pennies minted each year, so why mint eight billion? Corruption runs deep in D.C., that's why...

 

[Diver_Down]

Cents help prop up the illusion of a stable currency unaffected by inflation and most people are unaware that the new cents are copper plated pot metal. Special interest lobbying by the mining industry in DC also help keep cents in production. I think they should go to a plastic cent with a bit of ground up copper mixed in to give them color if they still desire to keep them in production. At least those wouldn't corrode like the zinkies do, and the mint wouldn't loose millions every year paying 1.5 cents to produce and ship a 1c coin. A half a cent doesn't sound like much, but do the math for a typical cent mintage from any year of the past decade. With the tottering fiscal policies favored by our illustrious congress cents make sense to most politicians.

The problem is that the cent is singled out as a line-item in a budget. But regardless of how much money the US Mint loses money in minting lower denominations, the fact remains that they are profitable. Literally, they are one of the few federal agencies that operate at a profit. Their "business" props up other federal spending. Everyone should take the time and understand the concept of seigniorage. Also, understand the relationship of the Federal Reserve and their obligation to buy the coins at face value from the Mint. Need to make more money? Mint another million quarters and dump them on the Federal Reserve.

 

[LooseChange]

The problem is that the cent is singled out as a line-item in a budget. But regardless of how much money the US Mint loses money in minting lower denominations, the fact remains that they are profitable. Literally, they are one of the few federal agencies that operate at a profit. Their "business" props up other federal spending. Everyone should take the time and understand the concept of seigniorage. Also, understand the relationship of the Federal Reserve and their obligation to buy the coins at face value from the Mint. Need to make more money? Mint another million quarters and dump them on the Federal Reserve.

Good point DD. It seems to me that if the 1-cent has to go, the 5-cent should too. The cost to mint cents ranges from 1.4 to 1.6 throughout the year; nickel ranges from 6 to 8. If the cent were eliminated, one consequence might be a need for more nickels - which wouldn't help the negative seigniorage issue all that much.

Imagine if the cent, the nickel, and the $1 FRN were eliminated. More dimes, quarters, and dollar coins would be produced which would be huge seigniorage.

 

[Slingshot]

Lol, imagine a day detecting clad, and having 3 $5 coins, 8 $1 coins, 12 25c, 23 10c in your pouch - forget the silver!

 

[Diver_Down]

Good point DD. It seems to me that if the 1-cent has to go, the 5-cent should too. The cost to mint cents ranges from 1.4 to 1.6 throughout the year; nickel ranges from 6 to 8. If the cent were eliminated, one consequence might be a need for more nickels - which wouldn't help the negative seigniorage issue all that much.

Imagine if the cent, the nickel, and the $1 FRN were eliminated. More dimes, quarters, and dollar coins would be produced which would be huge seigniorage.

I'm a proponent of eliminating the $1 FRN. It is ridiculous that one department (US Mint) produces a coin that has a lifespan of $20 years and another department (Bureau of Printing and Engraving) produces a $1 FRN with a lifespan of 3 years. Both departments are under the Department of the Treasury. People want to complain about the cost of a cent, but don't raise the issue that 2 different departments produce the same monetary instrument in different forms. One is produced at a huge profit to the government, the other at a loss.