When did the US 1 Cent piece become disposable?

[DrGrip]

Yep, I'm talking about the coin that we mistakenly call a penny...

When did this bit of currency become something disposable? It makes no difference where you walk, if modern man has been there you can probably find one!

What year did the US people all of a sudden determine that carrying too many of these was more of a burden than simply doing without them. I have seen people toss "pennies" from their change into the grass or onto the sidewalk when getting items from vendors. I've watched folks chase a nickle into traffic and then observed them not even attempting to retrieve the 4 "pennies" that they dropped as well. Most any one of us could walk around the Wal-Mart parking lot and find several one cent coins but very few of the other types of US coins.

Is one cent really worth that little? At my last count 100 of these little coins made one dollar, perhaps it isn't the coin, maybe the people have gotten over the habit of saving!

If the US does away with the one cent coin will there be quite a number of any one thing for our future MD friends to find buried other than poptops and pull tabs? I personally look forward to the day I hear my grandchild yell out, "Hey old dude, I found a Memorial"!!!

Grip

 

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[UncleVinnys]

To answer your question:

About 10 seconds after they came out
with the zinc pennies in 1982.

As you well know being a detectorist, about half the penny
finds are corroded and useless. Now I don't even dig them any more.
Whenever I get pennies 1982 or later, I trade them in immediately,
then save it up until I can buy an ounce of silver, which is about
the only thing that will retain its value.

Don't mean to rain on your parade . . . I appreciate what you're saying,
and you are right -100 still equals one dollar.
Just that I regret the depreciation of our currency.

My Humble Opinion

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

When did the US 1 Cent piece become disposable?

Yep. 1982 - as Uncle Vinny said. Biodegradable zinc cents.

I look at Walker Halfs and Flying Eacle Cents and think "what have we allowed to happen to our coinage?"

 

[ivan salis]

ah zinc cents --1983 * whrn the cent became nonsense * --- metal detecting folks curse at and throw away "aluminum" pulltabs when found -- but keep half eaten zinc cents * which often the only way to get rid of em is to "process" them via a "coin star" type coin counter machine (at a hefty discount for doing so I might ass) --because no human will take the crummy things --

on a strictly metal only basis --zinc goes for about 67 cents a pound and aluminum goes for 64 cents -- so the differance between a pound of pulltabs and a zinc cents --scrap metal wize is a whopping 3 cents a pound ---sad huh?

 

[George (MN)]

The Half Cent was discontinued in 1857 as it wouldn't buy anything anymore. Should the mint discontinue the penny (& maybe the nickel, too)? Try going into any store of your choice & finding anything under 25 cents, unless something is being advertised below cost to draw in people for the profitable sales.

I learn about attitudes about small change by talking with kids. One told me many kids he knows throw away dimes, & he knows a few that throw away quarters. Maybe some of you have some happy childhood memory associated with pennies, but what are they good for now, besides tossing?

55 years ago, you could buy a stamp to mail a letter for 3 cents. You could also buy a newspaper for maybe 2 cents, an ice cream cone, bottle of soda pop, or a candy bar for 5 cents. Now all these things cost 10-25 times those prices. As prices change with the times, shouldn't the coins change, too?

Those horrible (as we find them) zinc pennies cost 2 cents to make, not even counting the wages of the people who make them! Just think of part of your tax dollars being wasted on the US mint "selling" these pennies below cost. Any guesses as to why they still make them? Best wishes, George (MN)

 

[Baggins]

I wish I knew the answer to that....what I do know is that I have many friends who do just that...they toss em...so I just let them know that when they get the urge, to just give them to me...seems to work just fine!
Baggins

 

[RON (PA)]

I pick all of them up, corroded or not. Saving them for a house. The younger generations seem to have lost the meaning of coins. Could it be because everyone has a debit card, that they cannot feel, touch, or see coins anymore. I say let the kids drop their change. It all adds up.

 

[DrGrip]

They certainly do add up. ALL of my clad finds and the pennies end up in a large bank that the wife and I keep. At the end of the year, or when the bank gets full, we take them to the regular bank and have them deposited into the vacation fund. Each year between my finds and the pocket change we accululate close to $1000.00. Yep, they add up!


Grip

 

[mlayers]

I can remember sitting in school and kids would throw pennies out the windows at people walking across the yard, and this was in the early 70's. Kids has just been this way for years. I would always pick them up as I never had money so every penny adds up. I am still that way pick up every coin I see on the floor, parking lot, or ground they all add up to me. I also save my aluminum tabs that I dig up.....Matt

 

[airborne1092]

....since it costed the American taxpayer .024 cents to mint a coin valued at .01, I'm guessing!

 

[allen]

if i see one, i pick it up
they add up over time !

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

Should the mint discontinue the penny (& maybe the nickel, too)? Try going into any store of your choice & finding anything under 25 cents, unless something is being advertised below cost to draw in people for the profitable sales.

First you have to convince gas stations and mini-marts to drop the stupid price for gas from $x.xx9 increments: $2.499, @2.579, etc. Who are they kidding?

I say we need a 1/10th of a cent coin (like the old tax "Mils") so we can finally get correct change. Write your congressman!

 

[johnnycat]

Every once in a while I take my little grandson to the big box stores and wonder the parking looking for pennies. We never come home empty handed.

 

[Goes4ever]

I have some nice large gold rings come out of the ground that registered as a zinc penny, so I dig em all

 

[michigan michael]

I pick all of them up, corroded or not. Saving them for a house. The younger generations seem to have lost the meaning of coins. Could it be because everyone has a debit card, that they cannot feel, touch, or see coins anymore. I say let the kids drop their change. It all adds up.

Well put! Debit and credit cards are killing all our coins. I don't understand it either. It is so easy to spend money that you really don't see and hard to save the little coinage you do see.
Not to mention it usually cost more to use them anyways. ATM, gas, etc. Remember when a visa was a visa (Not capital one visa) and they were all used for emergency's only? I have jars of coins and pick up every penny I see. Did you know it costs 3 cents to make a 1 cent penny? just food for thought.-MM