Several months ago it was noted on the news that some mid-western states were suffering from a shortage of pennies. In my life time I don't recall when coinage shortages have ever been an issue.

This shortage has begun to spread to the West coast. The other day I was at my local grocery store when I noticed a sign that said " due to a national shortage of pennies we ask that customers please return their coins for redemption".

I have a few possible conclusions to this notice truely means.

1. some guy at marketing was looking at a way to increase store volume.

2. the US mint has converted some of their penny making presses in order to supply the increased demand for 1/10th OZ gold coins.

3. Warren Buffett is attempting to covertly corner the world market on copper.

4. Y2k preppers are hoarding their stashes of pennies in order to cash them in when the mega deflationary cash crash comes

5. In some fashion this is a sign of the tremndous stress that the FED is experiencing in trying to keep the true nature of our monetary problems under wrap.

-- banker (hokanson@teleport.com), June 30, 1999

Answers

my local bank in northern ny told me the same thing when i brought in about $60 worth of old pennies. man, were they glad to see me!

-- lou (lanny1@ix.netcom.com), June 30, 1999.

Dear "Banker",

First learn how to spell monetary. THEN quit posting silly scenarios that you know absolutely nothing about. The last thing anybody wants to be concerned with is having to lug tons of worthless pennies around. Trust me. And Buffett has much larger fish to fry. Please be quiet. Lurk all you like but please be QUIET!!!! (Just a suggesti

-- corrine (corrine@iwaynet.net), June 30, 1999.

Corrine,

What are you afraid of?

This is the second time in a row that you try to silence people in regards to discussions of banks.

-- Rickjohn (rickjohn1@yahoo.com), June 30, 1999.

Ricky

Not afraid of anything. Made my preps and have my plans. There's just a lot of silly shit being thrown about that needs to be addressed,

Kisses corrin

-- corrine l (corrine@iwaynet.net), June 30, 1999.

This is a non-crisis. Simply round all prices to the nearest $.05. They should have done this along time ago.

-- Joe O (ozarkjoe@yahoo.com), June 30, 1999.

How about people are just keeping the change they receive putting it in their piggy banks rather than returning it to use. That's what I am doing right now. I collect ones and coins all the time, cashing bigger bills. Always looking for a way to not 'stress' the system and figured this would be one way of avoiding that.

One dollar bills are the most plentiful of denominations of paper money. Everyone sayz pennies are worthless. I collect this stuff and I'm sure that alot of folks around the country have this in the back of their minds and are doing this quietly as well regardless of whether they are preping in other ways or not.

One day was at a restraunt. The waiteress asked if it was OK that she gave me ones for change. I said 'Oh, that's OK I collect ones'. She looked at me kinda funny with a hint of recognition in her eye. There are alot of folks who do not have any money to put in the bank. They operate at break even all the time (30% of the bank acounts in this country are less than $300 all the time I recall). There are alot of folks who do not have any bank account at all. If these people do any saving it is likely to be cash of small denomination and coins, even pennies.

Alot of country folks know hard times. They know how to hedge their meager resources. I would not be surprised to hear that this is going on all over the country.

-- .. . ... (dit@dot.dash), June 30, 1999.

Corrine: what would you read, if everybody was quiet?

Gotta admit, that's the first time I've ever seen anybody flat-out ask another poster to nicely stop posting and lurk. Original.

-- lisa (lisa@work.now), June 30, 1999.

Joe O: Or, they could make the dollar (and thus the penny) worth something again. :)

Yes, I've notice very occassional shortages, also, in Southern California.

Actually, copper is a very useful metal. Governments make money off the "seigniorage" of coins (Seigniorage is the difference between the face value of the coin and the actual value of the metal in the coin.) As inflation continues, the government's profit decreases, then disappears as the value of the metal, measured in terms of the face value, increases. Does anyone know the value of the copper today, in a penny? If the value is near the same, or more, than the face value, there is an incentive for private individuals to horde -- and melt the coins for scrap. Or for shell casings (alloyed with zinc to make brass). And an incentive for the government to stop coining them.

Inflation is under control, you say? You must be believing government pronouncements. (Now, after Y2K -- inflation/deflation -- who knows?)

-- A (A@AisA.com), June 30, 1999.

Or are pennies aluminum nowadays? I don't know. I don't sweat the small stuff.

-- A (A@AisA.com), June 30, 1999.

Corrine, I checked my limited resources and have not been able to find anything on Warren B. frying large fish. I think it important to look for tongue in cheek before inserting foot in mouth. Say ahhhhhhhh.

Banker, most pennies are only copper clad. Some '82 and all previous (with some exceptions) are copper. Good day.

-- Daryl (rushmore@dailypost.com), June 30, 1999.

Copper in pennies? Scratch one and see what color it really is!

-- Not Again! (Seenit@ww2.com), June 30, 1999.

I'm assuming Daryl is right -- pennies now just copper-clad (aluminum). If so, that means that any OLD (all copper) pennies (older than 1982) ARE probably worth more melted than their face value.

BTW -- same thing happened with the silver coins back in the 1960s.

Isn't it great to have an honest government?

-- A (A@AisA.com), June 30, 1999.

daryl

ok i'll bite aahhhh. now please explain what your post meant. i'm a little slow.

kudos to larry and the other daryl

-- corrine l (corrine@iwaynet.net), June 30, 1999.

If the pennies now are copper-plated zinc (instead of aluminum), is it in the correct proportions for shell casings (brass)?

-- A (A@AisA.com), June 30, 1999.

Dear Banker, Cultural ignorance again !!What's a penny worth? Is it a cent ? (For what it is worth here in UK 100 pennies = #1.00.)

-- Chris (griffen@globalnet.co.uk), June 30, 1999.

Dear Corrine 1

This post was just a local observation, you sure get hooked easy.

Is it possible that the shortage of pennies is reflection of a possible greater problem. What if people began to do the same thing with their paper money as Y2K approaches by stuffing it under a matress. "Dear customer, our credit machines no longer work, could you please return your currencies so that we can remain in business."

If their is a cash crisis then distribution of currencies from the Fed storehouses to my local grocery store would present many inefficiencies. In some areas there would be over supplies and other areas their would be shortages.

-- banker (hokanson@teleport.com), June 30, 1999.

banker i'm sorry about my earlier post. please go back to worrying about pennies. you risk a stroke worrying about dollars and plastic.

a full piggy bank kiss to ya kid

-- corrine l (corrine@iwaynet.net), June 30, 1999.

banker,

FWIW, I suggest that the penny problem is simply a result of the value of the dollar having gradually declined so much that many people regard pennies as not worth the bother. Instead of carrying them to have handy for making payment, people stash them somewhere, and let the retailers "make change" (now there's an ambiguous phrase) to the cent.

In other words, I very much doubt that penny shortages are in any way a result of Y2K concerns.

Jerry

-- Jerry B (skeptic76@erols.com), June 30, 1999.

Chris, a penny is a cent, which is worth 1/100 of a dollar. Actually penny is a slang term which is not used by the US mint, and usually not by the rest of the government.

-- (y2kbiker@worldnet.att.net), July 01, 1999.

bike, glad you cleared that up. i wouldn't want to be talking about pennies and not be understood by anybody in the government. a tip of the cap buddy. you just saved me from a huge embarrassment.

Penny for your thoughts.

-- corrine l (corrine@iwaynet.net), July 01, 1999.