Prettier than ever
March 15, 2008 (Saturday)
Last year, the U.S. mint put 7,401,200,000 pennies into circulation. You may know that some of those pennies cost 1.4 cents to produce, the price fluctuating throughout the year, making an average of 1.23 cents to produce a coin worth 1 cent.
Before you decide to melt your hoarded pennies and sell the metal, keep in mind that the penny has been 97.5% zinc and 2.5% copper since 1982, with the copper being used only as a coating. And you might like to remember that it is now illegal to melt them down. The penalty is up to five years in prison.
Didja ever say, “that must have cost a pretty penny?” I suppose it’s prettier than ever now.
But so is most everything else. Gasoline now costs a pretty penny. So does coffee. And milk. Gold, that was regulated at $35 per ounce for decades, hit over $1000 this week, and oil went way past the magic $100 per barrel that many have feared.
Want some good news about all this? I have some. It’s straight from Jesus: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21 NIV).