Why Does The US Mint So Many Billions Of Coins Every Year?

People could still spend just as much cash without pennies and nickels!

Because billions of coins end up in change jars and trash cans, never to be seen again. This especially applies to the cents. Notice that mintage numbers were lower during the recession as people cashed in their change jars.


And that profit was even greater when the dollar coins were still being minted for circulation.

The mint and the BEP, mint coinage and print bills according to demand by the Federal Reserve Banks. It is up to the Federal Reserve banks to make sure there is a sufficient supply of coins and currency to meet the demand of the U.S. populus. Obviously, for whatever reason, the demand is there.







It is always completely astounding is people's (especially young people) total and complete willingness in allowing their complete financial history and present financial activities to be tracked and stored by numerous companies on numerous data bases around the world. Cash is anonymous, debit cards are an Orwellian nightmare.

Every place you go, everything you buy, every last little thing you do during the day is tracked and stored through your debit card. Using your debit card subjects your entire day to day life to scrutiny and is only one secret subpoena away from being complete government knowledge.

I have nothing to hide, but I am certainly not about to turn my entire everyday life over to the possible scrutiny of the Gov't. Banks are a necessary evil, the IRS is a necessary evil, but the gov't doesn't need to know that I bought a large black coffee, traveled down I90 toll road to work, stopped at Hess for gas, ate lunch at Taco Bell , stop on the way home to buy a new package of boxer/briefs at Wal Mart before stopping at Wegmans for dinner before arriving home for the night.

That is why people use cash.

My take:

I feel like the public is never going to accept the dollar coin, unless the dollar bill is flat out killed.

Are people going to complain? Yes. But are they going to riot and go on strike until the dollar bill returns? Probably not. They're going to use it since it's going to be the only thing available, and it'll become the norm.

taxes was just an example. It could be your car payment or water bill. The argument was not about taxes, it was that an expense doesn't just get cancelled by income. An expense reduces income.

It does harm to taxpayers in that we are spending 100 million on pennies and nickels we probably don't need that could go elsewhere. Or on the reverse, we are paying 100 million more in taxes collectively than we could be because the govt still thinks we want these coins. (Of course we wouldn't really get lower taxes, but you know what I mean!)

I get what you are saying, the Mint is not a net loss, but it is still operating less efficiently than it could.

It's impossible to throw millions of dollars in the trash each year and then say no one is losing anything. everytime they make a penny everyone is a little poorer. Everytime some spends a penny we are all a little poorer. Everytime we have to make another truck or railroad car to haul more pennies we are all a little poorer. everytime they smelt more zinc in Tennessee we are all a little poorer and breathe a little worse air with a little more CO2 in it.

If only there were a real champion of the enviroment rather than a city full of opportunists and adherents of the status quo.

Right on! This is exactly what Canada did. Last time I checked, they did not succumb to civil war or collapse. They are still up there and generally happy.



Quoted for truth. Well said.



Beat me to it.