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A penny is "worth" one cent in that it is the value it represents. However, it can be exchanged many times contributing value in each exchange. Also, there are many other coins that likely cost less to mint than they are "worth". I think you need to look at the overall cost of minting for all coins and blend it together to get a more accurate view.

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That's along the lines of what I was thinking too. The cost of making a penny isn't really material to the fact that it's worth 1 cent. That'd only be relevant if pennies were used one time, which then would be an issue.

But pennies are re-used multiple times. So a cost of two cents is fine when you consider that.

Now a better question to ask is what are the transactional costs of maintaining prices that require pennies (as oppose to, say, 5 cent increments). Those costs are the better ones to look at, I think.

But pennies are re-used multiple times. So a cost of two cents is fine when you consider that.

Right, until you get to the point where the metal inside a penny is worth so much more than the face value that it becomes worthwhile for somebody to start melting them down. Luckily that doesn't seem to be the case yet (at least not with the new-denomination pennies).

They're still pointless coins, though. Get rid of them.

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