“A penny saved is a penny earned” is a well-known quotation often attributed to Benjamin Franklin. He reportedly never said that, but instead wrote in his 1737 Poor Richard’s Almanac “A penny saved is a two pence clear”. As a kid many decades ago, I heard “A penny saved is a penny earned” many times. It was probably my first lesson in Economics long before I had any idea about the definition of economics!

Once again there is talk about doing away with the lowly penny. The current interest is probably generated by President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency. This isn’t a new idea as federal legislation has been previously introduced in 1990, 2001, and again in 2017. Of course, these efforts were never successful. Currently the United States Mint has no public plans to do away with the penny; and it would take Congressional approval for such a step.

Reasons for dumping the penny include the cost of production (pennies cost about 3 cents each), the environmental impact of production and distribution, and the decline in use. There are private sector costs incurred with the penny; for example how much time across America is used each day to count the pennies in retail business cash drawers?

Reasons for keeping the penny include the historical significance, the teaching value (both about Lincoln and some arithmetic lessons), and the utility of exact change. One source cited penny candy, but I don’t think that is a serious concern anymore! The sole provider of penny blanks has lobbied to keep the penny; of course that company had sales of $48 million to the government in 2011.

Concerns have been voiced that without the penny prices would be higher and the elimination of the penny would hurt poor people more than others. People studying the situation have stated that both the concerns are not valid. A 2017 study found that 77% of those surveyed supported the elimination of the penny. When the same people were asked again, this time sharing the savings projected, 84% supported the penny’s elimination.

Serious consideration concerning the elimination of the penny must include the story from neighboring Canada. Canada stopped producing the penny in May, 2012 and stopped distributing them in February 2013. The reasons were simply “too expensive to produce” and “no longer needed”. But, as the late Paul Harvey would want to share: “The rest of the story.” How did Canada take the penny out of circulation? Is the penny still legal tender in Canada? When pennies were turned in to banks (or credit unions) then what? How were the pennies turned into scrap metal without being passed through the bank more than once? These are questions that need serious discussion and firm answers before plans to eliminate the penny are finalized.

If the penny is eliminated, then what happens? Prices will remain the same. At the cash register totals ending in 0 and 5 will remain the same. Totals ending in 1, 2, 6, and 7 will be rounded down while totals ending in 3, 4, 8, and 9 will be rounded up. This works!. As a Soldier I lived in Europe for six years and this is the way that business is done in the Post Exchange and Commissary.

A serious concern is to allow the American education system time to implement some lessons on rounding money to the nearest nickel or dime given these new paradigms! It will take time to reprogram cash registers to this significant change so the human element must be educated (trained) first.

Want to know more? In October of 2024 the New York Times published two articles on the subject: “America Must Free Itself from the Tyranny of the Penny” and “Should We Abolish the Penny?”. McGraw-Hill published “Should the United States Eliminate the Penny?” for classroom use. And there is even a YouTube titled “The United States Government Should Discontinue the Penny”.

My vote is to eliminate the penny, but we need a few answers first. This will take Congressional action, so if you have strong feelings one way or the other then share them with Sen Ron Johnson (R-WI), Sen Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and Rep Derrick Van Orden (R-WI 3rd). They represent us in Congress and they need to hear from “We the People”!