This one is ninety-seven and half percent zinc.

So I'm at work the other day, and a man comes in and gets two cents as his change, and he says, "You know they're considering not making the penny anymore?"

"What?" says I.

"Yeah. Says it's worthless." He drops the pennies in my tip jar and leaves.

First of all, why would you point out that you were leaving me a worthless tip? 

Secondly...really? No more pennies?

Turns out, Worthless Tip is right! There's a lot of people out there who think the penny should be retired, even the U.S. Mint, because it costs more to manufacture pennies than they are actually worth. Also, most people throw pennies away or save them in piggy banks, jars and drawers rather than spending them, so they aren't actually being circulated very well. Apparently if it takes you longer than 3 seconds to bend down and pick up a penny off the ground, you're earning less than minimum wage. 

The anti-penny movement thinks we should just round everything up or down by five cents, thereby eliminating the need for a penny and saving money in the process.

Of course, there's two sides to every coin (punny!). On the pro-penny side, companies are more likely to round purchases up than down, thereby punishing the consumer. It's true that pennies are essentially free money, but this is also a good thing; charities have raised a lot of money from setting up boxes for pennies (like the box at the Dairy Queen or the McDonald's). Because it doesn't mean anything to you, you'll give it to anyone, even a waitress. 

And, it also costs more than five cents to create a nickel, so the problem won't be solved at all. 

What do you think about pennies? Would you miss them? Would you rather never see them again? Too bad, here's a video: