NIce Link NumisEd. Very informative.
IMHO the US should stop producing 1 cent coins for circulation now, and 5 cent coins some time in the future. A candy bar costing well over a dollar today used to be 5 cents when I was a 12 yr old paperboy.
Pennies are useless. They are zinc now, BC the mint knows zinc deteriorates over time, and peeps don't spend them.