What Can You Do With A Penny?

With all the talk this week about the demise of the penny, I decided to do a little digging and find out what pennies might actually be good for beyond their monetary worth. After all, there was a time during our great grandparents' life, when you could actually buy things like candy with a penny! But today, what can you do with a penny?

So, we all heard the news that President Trump declared penny production wasteful. And, I've wondered about that for years myself. I hardly ever use cash for purchases. But, in those rare circumstances, it's used for the odd price tag. Without the penny, how do you pay for an item that costs $5.06? Would prices just need to all be rounded to even amounts? And, what does it actually cost to make a penny?

I saw a story on WCNC that explored that question. According to the story, each one cent penny costs 3.69 cents to make. And 2024 was the 19th consecutive year that the cost of penny production was more than the value. So, yes, it makes no sense to continue making them.

But, there's still plenty in circulation. So, what can you do with a penny? Well, a quick search gave us some suggestions. How about checking your tire tread by inserting the penny? Or, one of my favorite girl tasks when I lived alone...it turned a screw when I had no other option. You could possibly use it as a spacer for laying tile. Or, often times it's put into the hem of a curtain to keep them from flying around...especially a shower curtain.

For you flower enthusiasts, I heard you can put it in the bottom of a vase to keep flowers fresh. And, when all else fails, put a penny under the uneven wobbly table leg.

And, before you toss them, make sure you don't have a rare penny. Those can be worth a lot. For example, the 1969 S Doubled Die Observe Penny can fetch tens of thousands of dollars.

So, there you go. When you ask yourself, 'what can you do with a penny?' there are options!