Circulation strikes: 168,249,120
Designer: Felix Schlag
Diameter: ±21.2 millimeters
Metal content:
Copper - 75%
Nickel - 25%
Weight: ±5 grams
Edge: Plain
Mintmark: "D" (for Denver) below the date on the obverse
Value: $0.40 (MS-60) up to $1.00 (MS-65)
Five cents… ever notice that this is the smallest coin that vending machines will take? With the exception of the occasional, and increasingly rare old school gumball machine you can't find a machine that will take pennies. I don't know how long it's been like that. Once upon a time it may have been common for machines to take pennies, but for as long as I can remember the Nickel was the smallest coin you could use in a vending machine. And you don't hear anyone complain that prices in vending machines are rounded up, that they are somehow getting ripped off by the lack of one cent price increments. And someone is going to realize this… we've had vending machines in this country since 1888, even a completely coin operated restaurant (Horn & Hardart) that was in business from 1902 until 1962. One hundred and twenty years of vending machine use and no one complains that they can't use pennies...
2 comments:
...and with a name like wheatpennyjenny this makes me sad. you should never underestimate the power of a penny.
Well, I'm not advocating the demonetization of the Penny. It just struck me that the shift away from using the Penny already happened with vending machines, and it didn’t have the huge apocalyptic impact that I’ve heard some people forecast if/when the Penny is removed from general use.
For myself, I’m of two minds. On the one hand I like the Penny, I’m used to it. And being a bit of a traditionalist I appreciate fact that, in one form or another, it has been around for two hundred and fifteen years. On the other hand our economy has changed a lot over those same years, and the Penny just doesn’t make as much sense as it once did. (no pun intended)
Post a Comment