Americans for Common Cents

Last updated
Americans for Common Cents
AbbreviationACC
Formation1990 (1990)
Type Interest group
Headquarters Washington, D.C.
Executive director
Mark Weller
Website pennies.org

Americans for Common Cents is an organization based in Washington, D.C. that lobbies in favor of keeping the United States penny in circulation. It was established in 1990. [1] The organization has conducted surveys and organized advertising campaigns in support of the continuing production of the penny. Its executive director, Mark Weller, has argued that eliminating the penny would lead to retailers rounding prices mainly up, not down, leading to inflation, but has offered little evidence to support this assertion. [2]

Contents

History

The organization was established in 1990. That year, they commissioned a study which concluded that if the penny were eliminated, rounding purchases up to the nearest five cents could cost consumers $1.5 billion over a five-year period. [3] In 2000, the organization asked Raymond Lombra to conduct a study on the effects of eliminating the penny on the rounding of prices. Lombra did so, and his study estimated that consumers would pay an extra $600 million per year in rounded-up costs were the penny to be eliminated. [4] This averages to $1.94 per American based on a population of 309 million in 2010. [5]

In 2006, the organization joined Virgin Mobile and Kevin Federline to launch a publicity campaign in support of the penny, in which Federline emerged from a red truck wearing an Abraham Lincoln mask. A Virgin representative said Federline became interested in this topic because he likes text messaging. [6]

Funding

Americans for Common Cents receives funding from about 40 separate organizations, [7] including Jarden Zinc Products, the company that sells zinc coin blanks to the U.S. Mint. [8] In 2012, Weller, a lobbyist, was paid $340,000 by Jarden Zinc to discuss issues relating to minting with members of Congress and the US Mint. [9] Weller has acknowledged this funding, saying that “We make no secret that one of our major sponsors is a company that makes the zinc ‘blanks’ for pennies." [10]

Surveys

In 1990, the organization commissioned a survey which found that 62% of Americans opposed eliminating the penny. [11] They commissioned another survey in 2012 which came to a similar conclusion; namely, that about two-thirds of Americans supported keeping the penny. [12]

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Euro coins</span> One of eight denominations from 1c to €2

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penny</span> Unit of currency in various countries

A penny is a coin or a unit of currency in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius, it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. Presently, it is the formal name of the British penny (abbr. p) and the de facto name of the American one-cent coin (abbr. ¢) as well as the informal Irish designation of the 1 cent euro coin (abbr. c). Due to inflation, pennies have lost virtually all their purchasing power and are often viewed as an expensive burden to merchants, banks, government mints and the public in general.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penny (United States coin)</span> Lowest-value physical American currency

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">1943 steel cent</span> U.S. currency

1943 steel cents are U.S. one-cent coins that were struck in steel due to wartime shortages of copper. The Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco mints each produced these 1943 Lincoln cents. The unique composition of the coin has led to various nicknames, such as wartime cent, steel war penny, zinc cent and steelie. The 1943 steel cent features the same Victor David Brenner design for the Lincoln cent which had been in use since 1909.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nickel (United States coin)</span> Current denomination of United States currency

A nickel, sometimes mistakenly called a nickle, is a five-cent coin struck by the United States Mint. Composed of cupronickel, the piece has been issued since 1866. Its diameter is 0.835 inches (21.21 mm) and its thickness is 0.077 inches (1.95 mm).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mint (facility)</span> Industrial facility that manufactures coins that can be used as currency

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penny (Canadian coin)</span> Coin worth one cent

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penny debate in the United States</span> Potential abolition of the United States penny

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2 euro cent coin</span> Coin with value of one-fiftieth of a euro

The 2 euro cent coin (€0.02) has a value of one-fiftieth of a euro and is composed of copper-plated steel. All euro coins have a common reverse and country-specific (national) obverse. The coin has been used since 2002 and was not redesigned in 2007 as were the higher-value coins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1974 aluminum cent</span> Proposed American coin

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coin roll hunting</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Withdrawal of low-denomination coins</span> Removal of low-denomination coins from production or circulation

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Raymond Eugene "Ray" Lombra is an American economist and professor at Penn State University, where he is also the senior advisor to the Dean.

References

  1. Boye, Roger (29 April 1990). "Americans For Common Cents Calls For Penny-wise Policy". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  2. Mitchell, Dan (11 April 2012). "Don't mess with the penny lobby". Fortune. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  3. Williams, Geoff (14 February 2013). "The American Penny: How It's Stuck Around All These Years". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  4. Associated Press (9 December 2000). "Economist: The Penny Just Makes 'Cents'". The Victoria Advocate. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  5. Resident Population Data. "Resident Population Data – 2010 Census". www.census.gov. Retrieved February 22, 2013.
  6. Brady, Jonann (21 June 2006). "K-Fed Pleads for Pennies". ABC News. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  7. Hagenbaugh, Barbara (6 July 2006). "A penny saved could become a penny spurned". USA Today. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  8. "U.S. Penny to Be Kept as Canada Bids Coin Farewell". ABC News. 30 March 2012. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  9. Weinberg, Ali (19 February 2013). "Penny pinching: Can Obama manage elimination of one-cent coin?". NBC News. Archived from the original on 17 January 2022. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  10. Harper, Jennifer (13 February 2009). "Do pennies still make sense?". Washington Times. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  11. Benjaminson, Wendy (24 May 1990). "Americans Getting Centimental About the Penny". Associated Press. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  12. Ingraham, Christopher (10 March 2014). "Taxpayers lost $105 million on pennies and nickels last year". Washington Post. Retrieved 31 October 2014.