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Minting Pennies Cost More Than One Cent
Hey, how much is a penny worth? Before you say, "duh!" listen up. According to the United States Treasury, it actually costs more to make pennies and nickels than they are worth. Just a few years ago, when the United States Mint made money, it cost less than one cent to make a penny, and less than five cents to make a nickel. So minting new coins was good business. What happened? The price of the metal needed to make these coins has skyrocketed.
Nickel coins are made from the metals nickel and copper. Pennies are made from copper and zinc. Because copper and nickel are so expensive it costs the government 1.24 cents to make a penny and 7.5 cents to make a nickel. That may not sound like much, but the Mint makes billions of new coins every year. Last year, new pennies and nickels cost the government an extra $100 million!
The United States Congress is debating a bill that will challenge the Treasury Department to come up with money saving ideas for the penny and nickel. One solution may be to make pennies and nickels out of steel, which costs less than nickel and copper. That may keep the cost of money down. But it won't help lower the price of things you buy with it!
I'm Ben and that's what happened in our nation this week.
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