The humble cent can’t buy much these days, and now the coin is under attack as a public nuisance. In December, frustrated by the time token-booth clerks spend counting the coins, the New York City Transit Authority began posting signs in the subway: “Speed your trip. Avoid using pennies.” Other industries complain that pennies actually cost them–and consumers–money. The National Association of Convenience Stores estimates that workers waste 5.5 million hours a year counting pennies. Retailers are also irked by the six-cent bank service charge on each 50-penny roll, fees they say total $15 million annually.
In practice, Americans have little use for the cent: according to one survey, there are nearly 1,000 pennies lying unused in every U.S. household. In California, recycling efforts were slowed because a one-cent refund offered little incentive to turn in bottles and cans. But the public has a sentimental attachment to the cent. A recent Gallup poll found that 62 percent oppose dumping the coin.
That’s good news for the zinc industry (pennies are now 97 percent zinc) and the U.S. Treasury. The penny’s seigniorage–the difference between the cost of producing a coin and its face value–added $42 million to federal coffers last year, As they say at the mint, a penny made is a penny earned.
