Is It Time To Kill The Penny?
As America experiences a coin shortage, Planet Money takes a look at the value of the penny.
by Greg Rosalsky
Jul 14, 2020
3 minutes
Editor's note: This is an excerpt of Planet Money's newsletter. You can sign up here.
Banks and laundromats are scrambling. Arcades and gumball machine operators are bracing for the worst. Grocery stores are rounding their prices to even dollars or rejecting cash altogether. The specter of the coin shortage lurks everywhere.
Blame COVID-19. The U.S. Mint cut back on coin production this spring to keep its workers safe. Meanwhile, the economy is constipated. "With the closure of the economy, the flow of coins through the economy has ... kind of
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