Penny Makes No Sense

                  Seeing as how this is the 204th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth this year, and with the motion picture "Lincoln"hoping many of its 12 Academy Award nominations become Oscars later last month, now seems the ideal time to talk about getting rid of Lincoln.
                  Not Honest Abe, but rather the coin that bears his likeness.
                  A penny for your thoughts here:  Why do we need the penny anymore?  Other than slipping one beneath a wobbly vase to steady it or dropping a handful of the copper-colored coins into the soil to increase the pH to help hydrangeas, what's the point?  Who even bothers to bend down to pick one up off the sidewalk anymore?  How many merchants accept handfuls of them as payment without first flashing the jingle-jangle patron a sneer?  Penny candy?  Today, that's nostalgic rather than realistic.
                 Other than separating pennies from silver coins in your pocket and tossing them into a large jar, where after five years you might have collected enough of them to buy a week's worth of groceries, why are they even still around?
                When I spot one on our kitchen floor, I honestly don't know what to do with it.  Do I put it in my pocket?  In the words of former Eagles running back Ricky Watters, "For who? For what?"
                While a penny in 1909 could buy items from a postcard to a few eggs, today it can't even buy itself.  In 2006, a penny began to cost the U.S. government more to produce than it is actually worth.  According to the U.S. Mint's annual report, each penny costs 2.4 cents to make.
                The difference between the value of a currency and its production costs is called seigniorage.  In nearly 34 years in the newspaper business, this is the first time I've ever written that word.  Much like a pesky penny, I'm sure I'll never use it again.
               With nearly fivebillion pennies minted in 2012, the U.S. spent almost $120 million to produce less than $50 million of circulating currency.  Talk about fiscal irresponsibility.
               For those who think it's un-American to stop production of the penny, consider this: the Department of Defense abolished the use of pennies at overseas military bases more than 30 years ago, and only New Jersey, which shares with New York a tunnel named after Lincoln, and Illinois, known as the Land of Lincoln, accept them at toll booths.
              I'm not alone in thinking it makes sense to eliminate the cent.  Twice over the past 23 years, bills were introduced in Congress that would have ceased production of the penny, but each time the measure was not approved.
             Other countries have come to their senses about the penny.  Many foreign nations, including Australia, Great Britain, Brazil, Mexico and most of Scandinavia, have eliminated their most minor denominations with almost no impact on commerce or consumer confidence in the monetary system.  They've simply rounded prices off to the nearest nickel or equivalent coin.  New Zealand got rid of its penny a d two-penny coins without incident back in 1989.  All of this change with change took place without any major problems.  This month, Canada officially ceased distributing its one-cent coin.
            The penny is a thing of the past.  However, had the elimination of the coin been executed many years ago, I can only imagine the major impact it might have created.
            I doubt Bing Crosby's classic song would've been as memorable had it been titled, "Quarters from Heaven."
           Would the Beatles' "Penny Lane" have sounded as magnificent had Paul McCartney sung, "Nickel Lane is in my ears and in my eyes"?
           Dime Loafers would sound out of step.
           The silver dollar arcade?
           Could you be nickel wise and pound foolish?
           You can't use pennies in a gumball machine.  You can't use them to buy soda from a vending machine.  You can't get anyone to lean down and pick one up off the sidewalk.
           I challenge you to give me one good reason to continue production of the penny.
           You can't.