US Coins In Have Ridges

The United States Mint was created by Congress in 1792, tasked with creating and circulating official coinage. The Mint had the authority to convert any precious metals, like gold or silver, into standard coinage for anyone 's account with no charge. President George Washington and Secretary of Treasury Alexander Hamilton asked Congress to pass the Coinage Act of 1792, which established the dollar as the basic unit of money for the United States. The word “dollar” is prounounced from the German word “thaler”, which means “coin”. Because of the lack of silver and gold mines in the United States, currency from other countries was allowed to be used to buy and sell goods and services until 1857, when silver and gold mines started to generate sufficient metal. In 1863, the National Banking Act was signed by President Abraham Lincoln, making the dollar the sole currency of the United States.

To begin with, pennies aren't the only coins that cost too much to make. According to Jeff Sommer, who wrote the article “Penny Wise,or 2.4 Cents foolish?” he states “Each

It has come to my attention of how we use our money and noticed that pennies aren't being taken seriously. I realized while standing in the checking line, people would rather use dollar bills instead of the piggy bank of pennies in their possession, not only because of limited utility, for instance, pennies are generally not accepted in vending and bulk machines, but also because the act of producing the penny cost more than the actual penny itself. So I ask myself, "Why use pennies? Should they be eliminated?" The growing debate of whether or not the penny should be eliminated from all cash transaction is, personally, futile, when they, themselves, doesn't bother to use them.

The U.S. penny has been a standard in our currency system for almost as long as our country has existed as a sovereign nation, but due to inflation, production costs, and the changing times we live in, it is no longer a sustainable unit of currency and only serves to increase our national deficit and waste our time. When the penny was produced for the first time in 1792 by the U.S. Mint, it was made of pure copper, featured a woman with flowing hair, and was inscribed with the words “Liberty”. Since then, the design and composition have changed numerous times to reflect our changing nation. Despite its fading glory, the penny has been kept alive by numerous false lobbying fronts and a stubborn ideology, but

In source number 1 it says, “ We often throw them away in water fountains, throw them in jars, or refuse them as change.” This quote means why make a coin if all we do is throw them in jars, or refuse them as change, and just throw them in water fountains. Also, “We have penny drives to get rid of them sense people don’t want to get rid of quarters and dimes.” This quote says why make something if all we are doing with it is using them as loose change or just giving them away.

The penny has a lot of history, through the 200 years the penny changed design and value. Based on the article “The Ever-Changing Penny.” The first pennies were minted in 1857, they were very large, larger than a modern day quarter and had different images of the statue of liberty on the front(4). With this example, one can see,there were several visions for the penny before the final product of the Abraham Lincoln penny in 1909. The history of the penny reveals more than just a coin, it exposes a piece of american culture. The penny has influenced our language, giving us a number of idioms, such as “A penny for your thoughts” And “Not one red cent”(4). Despite its cultural influences the penny is under attack currently, the reason? Because making the penny also costs money, more than its worth,in 2011, it costs the U.S. more than 2.4 cents to produce the penny. The History of the One-Cent piece is a curious one. How long it will remain a part of your spending currency is yet

The penny, also known simply as the one-cent coin, was first made about 230 years ago in 1787. The first penny ever made was 100% copper and it was heavier and larger than the usual penny today. The design itself was suggested by the famous Benjamin Franklin ("A Brief History of the U.S. Cent”). Lately, people have talked about the idea of abolishing the penny, but others disagree. The penny should not be abolished.

The website www.moneycrashers.com says that the penny used to have actual value when America was young because things were cheaper. Inflation caused the half-penny, a coin the US stopped making in 1857, to be worth whole pennies today. To add on, pennies are hard to spend because they have such little value. Also, even vending machines and Parking meters don’t accept them anymore.

The famous counterfeiter, Benjamin Boyd, was caught red-handed in the making of the front of a 20 dollar bill. Boyd is a talented engraver, his best work was a five-dollar bill that some experts couldn’t tell was fake. Ben father was also an excellent engraver, and wanted his son to be skilled enough to take over the family business, so he set Ben up to study with one of the city's best engravers, and his name was Nat Kinsey. Little did Ben’s father know, Nat Kinsey also cut plates to print counterfeit money. Ben was tempted by the idea of making money and learned quickly from Kinsey. When Ben was twenty he cut his first two plates: the front and the back of a 20 dollar bill.

Plautus once said “You have to spend money to make money,” a quote made painfully true by the penny, a coin worth 1/100th of a dollar. The penny’s story starts in 1792 with the first U.S. Mint which produced the dime, quarter, nickel, penny and half penny which we will get back to later. Pennies were originally made of 100% copper, however, as prices of copper rose they soon started to make pennies out of 95% zinc and 3% copper, which is how they are made today. Soon after this, the raw material of pennies began to cost more than the penny itself was worth, therefore people began to melt them down and sell the material for profit. When this occurred, instead of the government getting rid of the pennies all together and being happy citizens where removing them from circulation they made melting the currency down illegal and continued producing 4 billion pennies a year! You can find these tiny useless coins anywhere from in your couch cushion to on the sidewalk. The reason we should stop minting pennies is that they cost money, waste time, are bad for the environment, and they are useless.

In 1811, when the first bank of the United States concluded, many banknotes were distributed, but banks were not keeping enough silver and gold to collect when requested. Large number of notes were handed out with different values and collections all at the same time as a result counterfeiting was easy. Congress handled and funded the second bank of the United States in 1816 which were allowed the state bank to issue money but its amount did not authorize

Pennies should no longer be made because they cost more money than its actual value. In source 3, states, “ A penny currently costs the United States government 2.4 cents to mint.” This shows that pennies cost more than there actually value. this show that because it says that they pay 2.4 cents to the mint to make pennies. In source, 3 it says,” Department of Defense agrees. … abolished the use of pennies at overseas military bases ... because pennies were considered “too heavy” and “not cost-effective to ship.” This shows that even the military finds the pennies useless also. In other words the military said that there too heavy and it's not cost effective to the ship. All in all, pennies should no longer be made because they cost more money than its actual value.

President Lincoln who is a great model of the USA, " would be ashamed to have his face on this specious specie"(Source C). Why would they put the face of a great president who did good things in the US on a piece of copper that has no value what so ever. He will feel no gratitude toward the country by repaying his hard work in a non-valuable piece of copper that should be helping but its really not. As years pass by, the economy is changing by how much money is worth by stating that, " you can't buy anything with a penny any more"(Source C). The penny was worth more back then but now you can't even buy a piece of gum with it. If the penny can't even buy a product why keep it around, its not like its being used. It can also be said that, " Two-thirds of them immediately drop out of circulation" (Source C). Meaning to say that approximately sixty-six percent of pennies disappear or just end up in a place where it will eventually be

How many pennies do you have just lying around the house, not being used? I can answer that, TOO MANY! The use of pennies should be discontinued in the United States. Pennies are more trouble than they are worth, literally. They are costing the United States more money than they are even worth.

It's a genuine coin from nineteen-ninety. See the name? The United States. It truly was real.