Fifth Grade
Worksheets
A Pricey Penny
A penny is worth one cent. But did you know that it costs more than one cent to make a penny? On average it costs the U.S. about 1.7 cents to make a penny. Pennies are made of 97.5% zinc and 2.5% copper. As the cost of these metals rise, so does the cost of making pennies. The U.S. Mint makes billions of pennies each year. By doing so, it loses millions of dollars each year!
Edmund Moy is a former director of the U.S. Mint. He said the U.S. could cut some of their penny making costs.
