
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">President Trump has ordered the end of minting the penny. ; It has long been more expensive to produce than the face value of the coin. We taxpayers lose $85 million a year minting the one cent coin. The copper in the alloy coin can be put to other industrial uses. ; In that regard Trump’s action makes sense. ; (And do not worry about better uses for the silver in our other coins. ; There isn’t any.)</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">It would not be the first time a coin has ceased to be minted. ; We once had a half cent coin created in 1793 and eliminated in 1857. ; We had a two cent coin from 1864 to 1874, It was the first coin to carry “In God We Trust.” ; ; Apparently, trusting in God was not enough to save the coin.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Getting rid of the unique (almost) copper one cent coin is not without a measure of public grieving. ; It is without doubt the most popular and beloved coin. ; It has a much greater cultural value than its monetary worth.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">It is the coin most collected by youngsters. In fact, it is the most collected and least used coin. ; Virtually every household in America has a jar of pennies. ; They are often used as “chips” for &#8230; not surprisingly &#8230; penny-ante poker. ; “Pitching pennies” was once a childhood pastime. ; What kid, living near a train, did not place a penny on the track to see it “re-minted” into a flat oval.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">We often have our own traditions. ; My grandmother would tape pennies to my birthday card – one for each year. ; As I got older, she would use silver coins and pennies. ; Without the penny, she could only could have done her thing every five years.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">We celebrate the penny in lots of songs &#8212; Pennies From Heavan (Bing Crosby), Penny Lane (The Beatles), Penny Arcade (Roy Orbison), Throw a Penny (Bee Gees), Penny for Your Thoughts (Willie Nelson), Pretty Penny (Lionel Richie) and others.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Many of our expressions refer to the penny – “a penny for your thoughts (Willie Nelson used the phrase, but did not coin it – no pun intended).” “Penny wise and pound foolish,” “in for a penny, in for a pound.” ;  ;When we butt in, we “put in our two cents.”</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">A stingy person is a “penny pincher”. We name our young girls Penny. (Yeah, I know it is short for Penelope, but it does remind us of the coin, so I am including it). When women went to the ladies’ room, they often said they were going to “spend a penny.” (Probably not so much these days.)</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The penny is often considered a “good luck” piece. Many women carry a penny in their purse. We even had shoes designed to display a penny – appropriately called “penny loafers.” Pennies are the coins most commonly found in wishing wells and fountains. Golfers often use the penny to make their spot on the green.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Some of the popularity of the penny is the fact that it is the only coin that carries the image of arguably the most beloved President of the United States – Abraham Lincoln. ; It is the sculpted version by Victor David Brenner from a famous photograph of the 16<sup>th</sup> President taken by Mathew Brady. ; The Lincoln cent was introduced in 1909 – the 100<sup>th</sup> anniversary Lincoln’s birth.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">If we are to eliminate the Lincoln penny, surely, we need to put his image on another coin in common circulation. ; Not one of those coins that we rarely see or hold. ; That means Lincoln would replace one of the guys on the nickel (Jefferson), dime (Roosevelt), quarter (Washington). ; The half dollars and dollar coins are rarely found in pockets or purses. ;</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">So, which of the three popularly used coins would get a new image? ; The answer is obvious. ; It would be historic malfeasance to knock Jefferson or Washington off their coins. ; It has to be Roosevelt by process of elimination. ; ; (The sound you hear is the blowback from those who still believe that Franklin Roosevelt was a great President.)</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Mine is not a partisan proposal. ; When the penny was previously threatened with extinction during the Obama administration, I proposed that it be saved with a double image of Lincoln and Obama – the man who freed the slaves and the first Black President. ; Even though I was not a fan of Obama’s policies, the coupling on the coin created great symbolism. ; The idea was not well received by some of my Republican friends and would be a far less popular idea today – even with me. ; Also, it is our policy not to depict living individuals on coins or currency.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Personally, I am against ending the minting of the penny because of its cultural value as opposed to its intrinsic value or the production costs. ; It is not just a medium of exchange, it is iconic Americana.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Does Trump have the power to take a coin out of circulation &#8230; or is this another issue that will have to be settled by the courts? ; Time will tell.  ;But I would ; hope to see those copper coins in circulation for generations to come.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">So, there ‘tis.</p>

Trump wants to eliminate the penny
