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The 1787 Fugio cent (top) was the first coin authorized by the U.S. government. Four new "tails" for the 2009 penny will pay tribute to Abraham Lincoln's life.
They are buried behind cushions, spit out by parking meters, and cursed by cashiers, yet pennies, apparently, are still loved by Americans. Hence the Treasury is issuing four new designs to honor the bicentennial of Lincoln's birth.
Yet all is not copacetic with the Lincoln cent, as it is officially known. The coins barely contain copper. Since 1982 they've been 97.5 percent zinc. With demand for zinc spiking, the seven billion pennies minted annually now cost well more than a cent each. Analysts say most pennies don't circulate after their fi rst transaction, ending up in drawers and jars, and that millions of tax dollars could be saved by abolishing the coin. Economists contend that rounding prices to the nearest nickel would be a wash for consumers, citing Australia and other nations that have dumped their smallest coins. So who's led the lobbying effort to protect the penny? Schoolkids? Lincoln loyalists? Guess again. It's the zinc industry.
—Peter Gwin
Photo: Rebecca Hale, NG Staff; Courtesy Richard Gross
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