U.S. Mint
Customer Care Center
801 9th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20220
Dear Sir or Madam:
I recently learned that the price of making a penny has exceeded the value of the penny itself. This has created quite a predicament, as retailers apparently rely on the coppery coins to make change. What can be done? Prices are always set with a tricky “99” tagged on to make the item seem cheaper than it is. Tax percentages are always changing. I have noticed, however, that gasoline is, for some reason, priced with a 9/10 of a cent at the end, and no station has ever offered me any tenths of pennies as change.
At the mint you do not deal with checks, I suppose, but someone informed me that a check can be written on virtually anything as long as it has all the pertinent information on it. This gave me an idea. You could allow people to make their own pennies! You would have to provide certain ground rules and guidelines, of course. You wouldn’t want to let people make pennies out of anything that will melt, or is edible, or too large to put in one’s pocket. But why not use marbles or small shells? I have a few buttons that will just sit in their little bowl unless they are put to good use. How about dry beans? Is that where the term “bean counter” came from?
People would also have to agree not to use more than four items at once. People might otherwise attempt to make entire purchases with their homemade money. That might lead to bartering, and eventually people would not need money at all. Then you guys would be out of a job!
You’re the experts. I bet you can work the kinks out of this plan and put it into practice. I am going to start designing my pennies today. I think it will be best to cut them from fabric. Light and portable.
Truly,
Liz Mann
