Thread: A Penniless America? Does It Make Cents?

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A Penniless America? Does It Make Cents?

POSTED: 1:36 pm PDT July 2, 2006
UPDATED: 1:44 pm PDT July 2, 2006

PLYMOUTH, Mass. -- A penny bought a loaf of bread in early America, but it's a loafer of a coin in an age of inflation and affluence.

It's slowly sliding into monetary obsolescence.

For the first time, the U.S. Mint has said pennies are costing more than 1 cent to make this year, thanks to higher metal prices.

A Maryland man who heads up a group called Citizens for Retiring the Penny says the very idea of spending 1.2 cents to put 1 cent into play strikes many people as "faintly ridiculous."

Gallup polling has shown that two-thirds of Americans want to keep the penny coin. There's even a pro-penny lobby called Americans for Common Cents.

The Mint's announcement is a milestone, though, because coins have historically cost less to produce than the face value paid by receiving banks.

Sorry......I got my giant coke bottle bank for my pennies and even though it may not add up to much once it's full, it makes me feel like I'm not penniless.

I posted this in my blog...see my entry below...got to have a sense of humor in this day and age!

http://porgietirebiter.bravejournal.com/

Becoming a Millionaire, One Worthless Penny at a Time

In a story just out on the Associated Press, that I found on the New York Time's site, seems that some want to do away with the penny, the little copper coin with Abraham Lincoln's face proudly displayed. With the price of raw materials, seems the penny now costs more to put into circulation than its face value of one cent. People find the coin a nuisance, stash them away in drawers, jars, the bottoms of old purses tucked away in the bottom of some closet never to be seen again. The article even claims that many people now THROW THE PENNY AWAY, finding it a nuisance to have them in their possession.

That gave me an idea...

I love the penny, always have, and probably have several thousand of them tucked away in various and assorted sacred storage containers here in my house. I remember those old sayings like, "a penny saved is a penny earned" and the math question from grade school where someone would work for a penny the first day, two the next and so forth and so on, and the staggering amount of money that would be created in a short amount of time from this daily doubling of the lowly penny.

Surely there should be a way in which to show America the value of a penny? Then it hit me...how about someone (ME) becoming a millionaire by collecting all the pennies that others just do not want any more?

It's so simple, you send me your UNWANTED PENNIES, I cash them in and deposit the money into a special account until it reaches a million dollars after taxes...hmmmm....curious here, and maybe someone can answer this...if the pennies are a gift, and all of the gifts are under the $10,000 a year IRS allowable gift amount individually, would these pennies even be taxable?

If you would like to be a part of my Millionaire from Pennies campaign, it is really simple to participate in any way you would like by employing any of the following steps:

1. If you would like to get rid of your old WORTHLESS pennies, fill in the contact form above with your email address, and I will contact you with and address you can send the pennies to.

2. Cut and paste this story to your blog, send it to the media, email it to your friends with a link to this article, and help me get the word out.

It's that simple, and with any luck, I'll soon see those coppers flowing in as I try to show America the true value of the Lincoln Penny!

Email me Directly at homemagic4u@aol.com

Pennies May Soon Be a Thing of the Past
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: July 2, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Poor-Penny.html
Filed at 12:24 p.m. ET

PLYMOUTH, Mass. (AP) -- In this village settled by thrifty Pilgrims, you can still buy penny candy for a penny, but tourist Alan Ferguson doubts he'll be able to dig any 1-cent pieces out of his pockets.

He rarely carries pennies because ''they take up a lot of room for how much value they have.'' Instead, like so many other Americans, he dumps his pennies into a bucket back home in Sarasota, Fla.

Pity the poor penny!

It packs so little value that merry kids chuck pennies into the fountain near the candy store, just to watch them splash and sink. Stray pennies turn up everywhere: in streets, cars, sofas, beaches, even landfills with the rest of the garbage.

A penny bought a loaf of bread in early America, but it's a loafer of a coin in an age of inflation and affluence, slowly sliding into monetary obsolescence.

For the first time, the U.S. Mint has said pennies are costing more than 1 cent to make this year, thanks to higher metal prices. ''The penny is going to disappear soon unless something changes in the economics of commodities,'' says Robert Hoge, an expert on North American coins at The American Numismatic Society.

Great idea PintoBean! I still bend over and pick them up and no matter if it was heads up or tails....it was a lucky day.

You never know...if enough people pass it along, I might be surprised. I have had two people so far request an address to send their pennies.