Managing Change: Is the Penny Worth Keeping? - WSJ.com
Sort of a startling factoid from the article:
"Due to rising demand in China and other developing countries, the price of zinc (which makes up 97.5% of the metal in a penny) has soared to nearly $2 per pound. At this price, the value of the metal in a penny is MORE than one cent -- exceeding the face value of a penny by about 10%. Add to this the cost of minting each coin, and the U.S. Mint is now losing about 0.75 cents on each penny it cranks out. Assuming that it continues the current pace of producing nine billion or so pennies a year, this would add up to an annual loss of about $67.5 million."
Posted by kovu at November 17, 2006 11:47 PM