Coins Have Lost Their Value So Why Are We Continuing To Use Them?

Covanta Holding Corp. said in 2016 that Americans toss $62 million worth of coins in the trash each year. So why are coins still minted?

Transcript

00:00We've all been stuck with a pocket full of coins or had them pile up on our dressers.

00:05In fact, Covanta Holding Corp said in 2016, 62 million dollars worth of coins end up in

00:10the trash.

00:11So if they're getting tossed and don't seem very useful, why do we still have them?

00:15You might have heard that pennies cost more to make than they're actually worth.

00:18According to the United States Mint, one penny costs 1.82 cents to make as of 2017.

00:24But if we ditched pennies, costs of items would be rounded to the nearest nickel.

00:28And Americans for Common Sense say this could lead to a rounding tax when stores round prices

00:33up rather than down.

00:34Coins are made of metal that lasts for decades, while bills are made of cotton.

00:38The Federal Reserve say most bills last less than 8 years, so more always need to be printed.

00:43Former U.S. Mint directors Philip Deal and Edmund Moy wrote in a CNBC article that changing

00:48dollar bills to coins could save taxpayers up to $16.3 billion if paired with other currency

00:54reforms like making the nickel out of cheaper metal.

00:57According to a YouGov.poll, 51% of Americans were actually in favor of keeping the penny,

01:02and 71% would stop and pick up a penny if they saw one on the ground.

01:07Not to mention, charities like the Salvation Army and the Ronald McDonald House also make

01:11tons of money through penny drives.

01:13People are more likely to donate to these causes with unwanted coins.