A penny here and a penny there… those pennies begin to add up, but what happens when pennies are no longer available?
The US Mint in Philadelphia minted the final US 1-cent coin this month. The order to cease production came from office of the US President, as the cost to mint a single penny was nearly 4 cents.
While the penny is still an acceptable piece of US currency, the supply of pennies will diminish, and at some point, the coins may no longer be available to retailers for cash transactions.
Local bank president Mark Simmer says there are plenty of pennies.
There’s a couple of billion dollars in pennies in the US.
The change we’ve emptied from our pockets needs to be put to use or brought to the bank to make it back into the local economy.
Simmer also explained the federal government hasn’t given much guidance on the issue.
Asked the Treasury and Federal Reserve for a plan.
Some metropolitan areas are reporting shortages, and some retailers, even locally, are rounding on cash transactions.
