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Kolbe v. the Penny, Round Two
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ShareJuly 18, 2006 5:33 PM
Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-AZ) is taking another shot at getting rid of the penny -- this time through his Currency Overhaul for an Industrious Nation bill, also known as the COIN Act.
Today Kolbe unveiled the legislation, which would eliminate the penny by establishing a rounding system for U.S. currency. A similar bill failed in 2001, but penny foes have found new ammunition as rising metal prices have pushed each penny's production cost past its one-cent value.
Each penny costs 1.4 cents to manufacture, according to Kolbe. Likewise, nickels cost more than five cents to produce.
Kolbe's previous try, the Legal Tender Modernization Act of 2001, failed as some Americans felt nostalgic about the brown coin. Charities say the penny is important for their fundraising efforts, and a public policy group called Americans for Common Cents was established to protect the one-cent piece.
Kolbe, however, is optimistic this time.
"Our currency and coinage policies are quite simply pound wise and penny foolish," Kolbe said. "The penny has been a nuisance for years, but now that the cost of a penny exceeds its value, the landscape of the debate has completely changed."
Among its provisions, the COIN Act would also replace the $1 bill with a coin and also move the Mint and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing into the Federal Reserve.
ABC News previously reported the government is losing money by producing pennies and nickels. The U.S. Mint says it has become more efficient in coin production, but that skyrocketing copper, zinc and nickel prices have pushed its costs up 10 to 20 percent.
July 18, 2006 | Permalink | User Comments (8)
First the Susan B. Anthony coin dollar, a major blunder. The treasury design team involved with that great idea were paid well. Then came along a gold colored coin dollar (still the size of a quarter). More highly paid brains. So now we're at it again. Could it be another dollar coin the size of a quarter.
A bit of advise to the designers of the new dollar coin.....Remember guys, quarter, half dollar, silver dollar. Size matters.
Posted by: botcha-galoop | Jul 18, 2006 8:27:40 PM
Kolbe is from Arizona, not from Arkansas. But TV "news" people shouldn't really be expected to care about such details.
Posted by: Bob | Jul 19, 2006 2:16:20 AM
Follow the Canadian example -- $1 coins are twice the size and weight of quarters. $2 coins are the same size but have ridged edges (for the sight impaired). If the US Treasury Dept. Was serious about getting rid of the $1 bill, the Mint would simply stop printing the paper note and press the coin. People would get used to it.
As to rounding, it has been happening successfully in Hong Kong for years.
Posted by: Jamie | Jul 19, 2006 1:22:31 PM
Thanks for correcting "R-AR" to "R-AZ." The fundamentalists, of course, would prefer R-GAY.
Posted by: Bob | Jul 19, 2006 3:07:51 PM
Why not stop pressing pennies for a while, and let those pennies in circulation right now stay for a while? It sounds like Kolbe not only wants to stop pressing them, but also pull them off the streets. Let the public eventually "use" them up, and if the costs are lower, the Mint can go back to pressing them again.
Posted by: Steff | Jul 21, 2006 12:12:47 PM
Why not just make the penny out of plastic? It's not a perfect solution, but it's got to be cheaper! People arguing to keep the penny for historic reasons shouldn't care.
Posted by: John Pawlak | Jul 24, 2006 8:29:25 PM
Kolbe has the right idea. We should reduce the cost of the federal government whenever possible, and this is a way to do it without affecting any important services.
We should stop making pennies and nickels; they cost more to make, store, and transport than they're worth.
This will save taxpayers several hundred million dollars in US Mint costs each year.
Let's also start widespread production of $1 and $2 coins. In many contexts, dollar coins would be much more convenient than a pocketful of smaller coins.
If you go to a laundromat or apartment building, a washer or dryer costs at least a dollar per load.
Many newspapers cost 75 cents or a dollar even on weekdays, such as the Wall Street Journal & USA Today.
In vending machines, many drinks cost at least a dollar (16-20 ounce bottled waters, juices, and sodas).
In many cities, you need at least a dollar to get any real period of time at a parking meter.
Nickels and pennies have outlived their usefulness.
Posted by: John | Feb 12, 2007 1:41:49 PM
If everyone that has a bucket of pennies turns them in we Won't need to make more.
Lets start a Pennies for charity drive.
Posted by: Mark | Dec 11, 2007 10:29:36 AM
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