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MORE ON THE DEATH OF THE CENTThe striking of the final one cent coins was big news this week, appearing in most major publications and spreading across social media. Len Augsburger also sent this New York Times piece. Thanks. Here's an excerpt - see the complete article online. -Editor The American penny died on Wednesday in Philadelphia. It was 232. The cause was irrelevance and expensiveness, the Treasury Department said. Nothing could be bought any more with a penny, not even penny candy. Moreover, the cost to mint the penny had risen to more than 3 cents, a financial absurdity that doomed the coin. The final pennies were minted on Wednesday afternoon in Philadelphia. Top Treasury officials were on hand for its final journey. No last words were recorded. With the penny's demise, coin enthusiasts' worried eyes now turn toward its longtime associate, the nickel. Its purchasing power has also shrunk to nearly nothing, and it costs more than a dime to make.
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And here's an excerpt from the Washington Post - see the complete article online. -Editor 
A Wreath Cent, of sorts The U.S. Mint made the last penny on Wednesday, ending the years-long farce of the government producing coins that cost more to make than they are worth. Well, not exactly. The Mint will continue pressing the nickel, which costs about 14 cents to make. And it's not clear what will happen now that the smallest denomination of coin will be out of production. President Donald Trump did not have the legal authority to cancel penny production unilaterally, as he has done. The task should have begun with Congress, not only for constitutional reasons but also for practical ones. Congressional deliberation would have facilitated solutions for the problems inherent in eliminating a coin that has existed since 1793. Retailers want a new law that would allow them to round prices to the nearest nickel for cash transactions, which probably would have been included in penny legislation. Also helpful would have been an incentive from the government to get the 114 billion pennies in circulation out of cupholders and into banks. Congressional action has stalled in the past over opposition from metal lobbyists since companies with federal minting contracts are key employers in certain House districts. But Trump has shown a remarkable ability to bend the will of Republican majorities in the House and Senate. Mild effort would have produced a better result and a better process.
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This Associated Press piece has photos worth checking out. Here are a couple that caught my eye. -Editor 
U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach, left, and Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Derek Theurer 
Now THAT's how to hold a coin. But it looks like it's already got grubby fingermarks on it. 
Here's one of the coin presses. The sign is what caught my eye - it pictures "Penny - Typical Defects (even the Mint calls it a penny!)." What do the operators do with this information?
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Len Augsburger asks: "Why do they all say "pressed" and not "struck?" Did they resurrect the screw press for these last few pieces?" Here are a couple more images from a photo gallery at the National Review. -Editor 
U.S. Mint employee places the last penny blank to be struck into a coining press 
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Kavan Ratnatunga writes: "I found this graph on the cost of production of a coin over the years from a Mint report interesting. Not sure if fixed costs are included, for if so the cost of production of Nickels will shoot up when the penny production is stopped." 
Great question. Now here's some speculation on what these last coins will be worth at auction. And aren't any being set aside for the National Numismatic Collection? -Editor So what happens to the last penny ever minted in the country, the one that Beach held up for the cameras? It turns out that the five final pennies made in Philadelphia were minted with a special omega mark on them. They'll remain uncirculated and go up for auction by the government at some unspecified time in the future. Details on that to come. Meanwhile, it begs the question: What will those pennies be worth? Some estimates out there put the auction value of each of the five pennies at anywhere from $2 million to $5 million, with the very last of the last pennies possibly hitting that $5 million mark. (And there's also the possibility that some obsessed collectors would be willing to pay even more if they could obtain all five, because why would you want just one when you could hoard them all like a good capitalist?) Philadelphia-area numismatist Richard Weaver, however, has his doubts. Weaver, owner of Broomall's Delaware Valley Rare Coin Company and the first guy in modern times to come across a 1943 Antimony Lincoln Cent and the only 1786 New Jersey three-pound Colonial note known to exist, opines that some of the estimates out there are likely to be overblown. And Beach himself, Weaver notes, may have devalued the last penny. "If you look at that photo, he is holding the penny with his fingers on the coin," Weaver told me, his voice tinged with incredulity. "You just don't do that. Copper is very reactive to sweat and the oils of the skin, and any serious collector is going to take this photo into consideration." On top of that, Weaver adds, he doesn't consider the last five pennies to be a true collector's dream. Yes, there are only five of them in existence, which might suggest rarity to us laypeople, but Weaver's not fully buying it. "You see, they were made for this purpose," he explains. "They were made to be rare. When you see people paying in the millions for coins, they are paying for coins that are 100 or 200 years old, of which only a handful are known to exist and that have survived for so many years without anyone making them for that purpose in 1933 or 1794." Then again, he admits, it's not easy to know what is going to happen at an auction, particularly with a coin has produced such big headlines. "One thing that is hard to predict with something like this is ego," Weaver says with a chuckle. "And there are a lot of egos out there these days."
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A couple weeks ago we discussed the Pittsburgh-area Giant Eagle supermarket's deal to accept pennies in return for a gift card worth double their face value. Now the Price Chopper stores are offering the same deal to their customers. -Editor A supermarket chain operating across several states in the Northeast is tackling the current penny shortage by hosting a "Double Exchange Day" for customers. Shoppers at Price Chopper and Market 32 stores, which can be found in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania and Vermont, are being asked to bring in loose or wrapped pennies in exchange for a Price Chopper gift card worth double the value of their change. "Exchanges must total a minimum of 50 cents (earning a $1 card) and may not exceed $100 (earning a $200 card)," reads a Price Chopper press release.
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To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
Finally, here are a couple videos. The first is a CNN report from the scene of the last striking. The second is a CBS News report including an interview with John Feigenbaum of Whitman in his role as Executive Director of the Professional Numismatists Guild (PNG). -Editor
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Wayne Homren, Editor The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org. To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com To subscribe go to: Subscribe All Rights Reserved. NBS Home Page Contact the NBS webmaster 
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