The penny — that lowly, grimy, circular piece of copper and zinc — is getting the last laugh. It’s been less than a month since the last one was minted on Nov. 12, and there are growing penny shortages all over the US. Stores are actually paying people to bring them in, and businesses fear they could lose millions of dollars.
What’s that old saying? You don’t miss something until it’s gone? Maybe the penny was more important than we thought. But that old one-cent coin had been fighting a losing battle for respect for years. You can’t buy anything with them anymore, not even a gumball. Most of us just toss them into a junk drawer or a glass jar. A sad penny can even lie on a sidewalk all day and not get scooped up.
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The US Mint struck the last pennies on Nov. 12, ending a 230-year run. According to the Mint, the cost of making the coin was 3.69 cents for every penny — hardly a smart return on investment for taxpayers.
However, with the discontinuation of penny production, some brick-and-mortar businesses across the country have been unable to give back exact change because they lack sufficient pennies, if any.
A Retail Industry Leaders Association survey revealed that thousands of stores have no pennies, and they are calling on the federal government to take action.
Grocery chain Price Chopper and Market 32 recently held a Double Exchange Day, where people brought in their pennies and received double the value back in the form of a shopping voucher. Similarly, grocery chain Giant Eagle offered gift cards worth twice the amount of pennies customers brought in during a one-day event on Nov. 1.
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