Zinc And The Big Cloth Bag

Growing up, I loved helping my dad wrap the coins he collected in a big cloth bag. I would dump them all into a pile on my bed and try to guess by the clinkety-clinks how much money was there.

Quarters were the best to wrap, of course. A roll of them is worth $10, but you only need 40 coins. Pennies were the worst, with 50 coins per 50-cent roll. Still, there were always so many more pennies than quarters that often, we didn't have an entire roll's worth of quarters, but we always had at least $5 in pennies to take to the bank.

I read today that U.S. Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-Arizona) has introduced legislation which eliminates the penny completely. According to the article, Kolbe considers the coin "a nuisance," and, in consideration of rising prices of zinc, the penny's main ingredient, believes now is a good time to get rid of the penny for good.

While I'll admit that the penny is seemingly useless in today's world, where even penny candy costs more than the name suggests, I respectfully disagree with Kolbe. If zinc is too expensive, make pennies out of something else. It's about time to make a commemorative penny anyway, a la the state quarter and the newly revamped nickel.

If Kolbe's legislation, the Currency Overhaul for an Industrious Nation (COIN) Act, becomes a law, what will happen to our pricing system? According to the Act, prices will be rounded to the nearest five cents. That sounds easy enough. But how long will it be till five-cent denominations become a "nuisance" too? The nickel will go, then all coins, and what next?

The truth is, I'm sure the day will come -- probably in my lifetime -- when we don't use hard currency at all. Even now, I hardly ever use cash, instead choosing my debit card, which allows me to spend only as much as I have but doesn't require me to carry or count dollars and cents. But I don't think we're ready for a completely cashless world yet. And until we are, I don't think we should eliminate the penny.

The penny was the first currency in this country, and more than $300 million worth of pennies have been minted in the past 219 years. It has been a viable coin since 1787, and I believe it still has a place in this world.

Even if that place is only my dad's big cloth bag.