And they say there is no inflation....

 

When it costs more than a penny to make a make a 5% copper 95% zinc penny, you know inflation is rearing its head.

 

Did you know the head of the U.S. Mint a few years back, Ed Moy, used what he said were his powers under title 18, USC, and made melting pennies a felony?  Who owns your money?  You or the government?  Why must you lose money using something worth more than a penny for only a penny?

 

Did you know it is illegal to take more than $50 in nickels out of the country when you travel?  You see, the copper in a nickel (they are mostly copper, you know) alone is worth roughly $80 overseas, so the U.S. Mint got a regulation passed that is a currency control.  When I was younger, currency controls were things other, poorer, less well governed countries did, like Albania.

 

I’ve got a hint for those of you out there who think this means nothing...it means the Treasury and the unknown, unelected and unaccountable men who run the Federal Reserve (a private bank cartel given monopoly powers by the Congress) are stealing from your paycheck and your retirement by inflating the currency.  That nest egg you put away for your golden years?  It will buy you a cup of coffee someday.  I hope you can still flip burgers at 80.  You’re gonna have to.

 

Ernest Hemmingway had it right when he said, “The first panacea for a mismanaged nation is inflation of the currency; the second is war. Both bring a temporary prosperity; both bring a permanent ruin. But both are the refuge of political and economic opportunists.
Ernest Hemingway

 

Couldn’t have said it better myself.

 

Regards

Pete

http://skewnews.com/penny-and-nickel-coins-to-be-phased-out-in-2013/

 

Penny and Nickel Coins to be Phased Out in 2013

News

by Henry Wallen

Earlier this week Canada announced that they would be phasing out their penny coin. On the heels of the Canadian announcement, U.S. Treasury Secretary, Tim Giethner stated in a press conference today that the U.S. Mint will remove the penny and nickel coins from circulation, starting early in January 2013.

Due to the rising costs of zinc and production related expenses, the U.S. Mint now spends 4.8 cents to make a penny. And the cost of copper and nickel have inflated the cost to create a nickel coin to 16.2 cents.

Gone in 2013

In 2011, the U.S. mint made over 4.9 billion pennies, at a cost of $118 million to make. That is $236 million to produce only $49 million worth of pennies, a loss of $187 million in minting costs. Minting the nickel coin also represents a significant loss in revenue.

By comparison, the dime (which costs 9.2 cents to mint) and the quarter (21.31 cents) are economically more feasible, and will continue in circulation through 2013. However, according to Giethner, the dime may be in jeopardy as early as 2014.

Once the phase out of pennies and nickels begins, merchants must be equipped to round all transactions to the nearest ten-cent increment.

If something costs $1.53, for instance, it will be rounded down to $1.50, and a transaction for $1.55 or higher will be rounded up to $1.60. Credit card, debit and check payments would also be subject to the rounding rule. It is expected that the rounding will not result in higher costs for purchases or losses for merchants.

Pennies and nickels will continue to hold their inherent cash value, and they can be traded in at financial institutions. Banks will then return the coins to the mint for recycling into their base materials. By mid 2013 it is expected that the penny and nickel will both be mostly removed from the U.S. economy.

H/T TO PB, LIBERTARIAN