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Politicians have occasionally called for the elimination of the penny, which costs 1.7 cents for the U.S. mint to manufacture.^[1] In 1989, Representatives James Hayes, of Louisiana, and Jim Kolbe, of Arizona, sponsored the Price Rounding Act in an attempt to eliminate the coin.

[edit] Who's Impacted

• Jarden (JAH), through its wholly owned subsidiary Jarden Zinc, is the largest producer of Zinc strip (used to make pennies) in North America, and the U.S. mint is a major customer. The company has opposed attempts to eliminate the penny through the lobbying organization Americans for Common Cents, which it sponsors.

• Coinstar (CSTR), through its network of machines installed in 15,000 grocery stores, lets people deposit their change into the machine, where it sorts it and returns cash currency to them. Coinstar keeps 8.9% of the transaction, and half of the 40 Billion coins it processes each year are pennies. Coinstar has opposed attempts to eliminate pennies, and since 1998 has sponsored an annual currency poll showing that Americans like pennies.^[2]

1. ↑ "Penny Dreadful", March 31 2008 New Yorker Magazine
2. ↑ "Penny Dreadful", March 31 2008 New Yorker Magazine