WOODWAY, Texas (KXXV) — “You’ve probably got a better chance of winning the lottery, than you do of having a penny that’s going to be worth a lot of money,” Reliable Coins’ Tristan Alexander said.
It might be time to crack open your piggy bank and count your coins, as President Trump says he directed the Treasury to stop minting pennies because of production costs.
The first U.S. cent was minted in 1793 — last year, there were 3.2 billion pennies produced.
“But the issue is, it cost about 3.7 cents to make a penny,” said CEO of The Perryman Group, Dr. Ray Perryman.
While that might not seem like much, over time, it adds up.
“The U.S. Mint lost 85 million dollars last year in minting pennies,” Alexander said.
Inflation is the main culprit, along with the increasing cost of metals, machinery and personnel.
When is a penny worth more than it costs to make them?
25 News’ Kadence MaKenna went to an expert for the answer.
“Some of them have to be lost, have to be damaged, then maybe 40, 50 to 60 years from now, we might see some of the super nice, higher-end ones become a little bit more valuable, but again that’s a very slim chance,” Alexander said.
But for those who don't collect coins, Perryman told 25 News, most of us likely won't see a drastic impact.
“The vast majority of transactions are handled by either check or credit card,” Perryman said.
"Most of the people who deal a lot in cash transactions tend to be people who don't have bank accounts and don't have credit cards. Those tend to be lower income individuals,”
But if good ol' Abe Lincoln goes away, he might soon have company...
“If we eliminate the penny, I would be at all surprised to see people then start talking about the other coins as well,” Perryman said.
