by Vicki Andis

Created on: August 11, 2008

Should we eliminate the penny? Should we eliminate apple pie and baseball? This query was very thought provoking to me. I previously have never given any thought to the question of eliminating the penny, because the penny has always been a part of my life. I thought about it for quite a while before writing this article, and decided that to eliminate the penny would be like taking away a part of my past.

How many of us have random jars or bowls, where we toss our pennies every evening before going to sleep? Anyone have a place inside their car where pennies seem to congregate? Even though the lowly penny doesn't seem like much, when saved for a lenghthy period of time they can add up. There have been many times when I have taken my pennies to one of those coin machines during times of financial hardship, and been able to afford to buy milk and bread. Sure, pennies aren't worth much, and you can't buy anything for a penny anymore, but when you save them they can add up. and make the difference between being hungry, and buying something to eat.

Getting rid of the penny would put an end to phrases like, "putting your two cents in", and "a penny for your thoughts". I will even go so far as to say that the penny is an American icon. There has never been a time that I have passed up a penny on the ground that is lying there face up, for we all know that finding a penny face up on the ground is good luck.

Those of us who are getting a bit older understand that the penny actually used to buy something. Remember penny candy? If you had a handful of pennies when the Helms Bakery truck came down your block, you could buy a popsicle, a bag of chips, and some penny candy.

If we eliminated the penny, how would we pay for our purchases with exact change? Most of the time my total at the check-out stand is an odd number, such as $1.47 or .63 cents. Would we have to adjust our prices so nothing ever came out less than a nickle?

Personally, I would be extremely sad to see the elimination of the penny. I think a better idea is to add up all of our unwanted pennies from time to time, and give the money to a deserving cause. Animals, abused children, starving countries, I can think of a lot of wonderful causes that could use the money.

To sum it up, eliminating the penny would be like eliminating a piece of our past, a part of the older generation's memories. Besides, if we eliminated the penny, what would happen to all of those empty jars sitting on our dressers?

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