Govt. Losing Nearly Half a Cent Per Minted Penny...

New York Times FLOYD NORRIS April 22, 2006 at 10:01 AM

WHAT happens if a penny is worth more than 1 cent? That is an issue the United States Mint could soon face if the price of metals keeps rising. Already it costs the mint well more than a cent to make a penny.

This week the cost of the metals in a penny rose above 0.8 cents, more than twice the value of last fall. Because the government spends at least another six-tenths of a cent -- above and beyond the cost of the metal -- to make each penny, it will lose nearly half a cent on each new one it mints.

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