According to a story in today’s New York Times, it costs 1.4¢ to make a penny (.8¢ for the metal, mostly zinc, and .6¢ for the production). The mint is producing pennies this year at an annual rate of 9 billion.
So, to put it another way, the taxpayers are going to take a $36 million loss on pennies.
Why not eliminate the penny (and the nickel) and round everything to the tenth of a dollar?
Except for gasoline, of course, which should still be priced in tenths of a cent.