Thoughts for pennies

Dear Editor,

There is a dangerous possibility that the U.S. will no longer have its famous penny with Abe Lincoln on it.

"Waiting for Change" on p.p. 37-40 in the Feb. 4, 2013 Time Magazine points this out.

The penny was important to the monetary system of Great Britain. During the time of King Edward I, it was stamped with a cross. It was broken into four parts to make change.

John Sanburn, writer of "Waiting for Change," states that zinc is the metal used for making penny blanks. Zarden Zinc Products near Greenville, Tenn., has made them for the U.S. mints since 1982.

Those in favor of discontinuing the production of pennies say that the value of this coin has dropped to an all-time low. Back in 1913, it had 25 times the purchasing power that it has in 2013.

Dozens of countries have stopped minting pennies. Canada stopped minting pennies on May 4, 2012.

I was raised during the Depression. My family saved pennies in a jar for things we needed.

As a teacher, I taught students to round their answers off to the nearest penny. I wonder how they would react to rounding their answer off to the nearest nickel?

From personal experience, I know that a jar of pennies is very handy.

Helen Ruth Arnold,

Trenton, Nebraska