My father collected coins all his life. Some of these coins were put in folders or protective pockets, but many were stored in old jars. As a child, I liked to look through his many jars of coins for ones to add to my coin folders. My maiden name is Whitman, and it was a source of pride that we always used Whitman coin folders for our collections.
Today, I have several jars of Dad’s coins waiting to be rolled up and deposited in the bank or saved in coin folders. This picture shows two of these jars. I likely have thousands of pennies that Dad collected, and their sentimental value is worth much more than their actual value.
I’ve been thinking about pennies since President Trump announced that he would stop the production of pennies. Some people fear that retiring the penny will cause prices to rise as businesses round prices up. Others point out that it costs the U.S. $192 million per year to mint pennies at a price of nearly 4 cents per penny. I wonder if the value of pennies will increase as they become rarer, so I did a bit of research. Here’s what I found.
- Officially, the U.S. does not have a coin called a penny. Our one-cent coin is called the cent. The British have pennies, so our forefathers did not want to name a coin “penny.”
- It cost 3.69 cents to mint a one-cent coin in 2024.
- The cent was first minted in 1793; the Lincoln cent was introduced in 1909.
- Eleven other coins and currency have been retired, including the half-cent coin, the two-cent coin, and the twenty-cent coin.
- The penny will not go away anytime soon, as there are approximately 250 billion in circulation.
- Prices will not necessarily round to the nearest 5 cents. Most payments are made by check, electronic funds transfers, and payments apps, which will still be able to accommodate rounding to two decimal places.
- Pennies are not likely to increase much in value. So, my 2,000 (estimated) pennies will still be worth about $20.00
Do you think it’s a good idea to retire the penny? Please feel free to comment and share your thoughts.
This article was published in my quarterly newsletter, along with articles on Scriptures that help you feel secure in times of financial stress, reducing spending by making it painful, and valuable Beanie Babies. If you would like to receive my quarterly newsletter on Honoring God with Your Money, please complete the form on the Contact page or send me an email to susan.ball5@aol.com
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