Ask500

http://consumerist.com/2010/02/us-mint-redesigns-penny.html

How much do "we" pay them? +1

Though getting rid of the penny is almost impossible, we shouldn't spend a lot in recreating the coin. simply mint the coin like it's been minted for the last 20 years. I totally understand the 2009 being the 200th birthday of Abe, but let's leave it there. Who in their right mind is going to counterfeit a penny.

The penny should go away. The value of a half-penny when it was first introduced (then the smallest denomination) was equivalent to about 5 cents today; thus a dime or 10 cents is today's equivalent of the penny.

You don't lose money/value by getting rid of it, things just round off. Up and down. If you did, why not have a half-cent or 1/4th cent?

I'd drop both the penny and the dime. Make the nickel the smallest denomination. Keep the quarter and dollar coins, redesign the half-dollar to be smaller and phase out the dollar bill. That would leave a system very similar to what we have now, but with values raised approximately 5 times per denomination equivalent.

Its called saving jobs.