Is It Time to Retire the Penny?
Is it time for Abraham Lincoln to retire? The US Mint doesn’t think so.
To honor Lincoln’s 200th birthday, the US mint is going to issue 4 new versions of the Lincoln penny, each with the face of Lincoln on the front, as it has been for 100 years, but with 4 new designs on the back. The four designs are:
- The log home Lincoln was born in.
- Lincoln reading while sitting on a log.
- Lincoln speaking in front of the Illinois state capitol.
- The unfinished dome of the US capitol.
The Associated Press ran a segment on the new pennies, which ended up on the front page of Afternoon Rally today. It’s pretty interesting.
Of course, there is a lot of love for President Lincoln. After all, it was his signing of the Emancipation Proclomation that helped pave the way for President Obama’s election. But not everyone loves the one cent coin which carries his image.
The Washington Post asks if pennies still make sense, and a Chicago Tibune blog begged to retire the coin back in 2006. After all, the cent is more than just an annoyance these days, they cost more than a cent to produce, meaning we lose money every time we mint one. There’s even the group Citizens for Retiring The Penny, which says it is “non-partisan organization dedicated to educating the public on the advantages of retiring the penny from general circulation.”
Certainly any hopes of letting the coin go will have to wait at least until 2010, when the last of the new designs will have been released. After that, old Abe will have had a solid century run on the front of the penny. Not bad for a kid born in a single room cabin.
Do you think the penny should retire? Want to keep Honest Abe around? Let me know in the comments below…
