Most people would not pay two cents for something worth one. But America's government spent $116m last year doing just that. The money-losing purchase was money itself: the penny, which has cost more than a cent to produce since 2006, due mainly to the price of zinc, the coin's primary ingredient. Steel is not much better, as Canada has learned. The government there recently ditched its steei-based penny. American politicians, while loth to take lessons from their northern neighbours, may have noticed. In an online forum on February 14th Barack Obama intimated that the penny was no longer change he believes in.
展开▼
