Re “So long, penny! Trump orders U.S. to ditch 1-cent coin after decades of complaints” (Feb. 10): Consider this solution to the penny problem. In 1943, copper became so dear that to the World War II effort, pennies were minted out of pot metal steel. Today, all U.S. currency is fiat money. Small change, including pennies, could be minted out of any metal, or even plastic. Why not pennies made of Lexan, a high-grade plastic that was used to make Electrolux vacuum cleaner bodies? The U.S. Mint could make a handy profit by manufacturing pennies and nickels for less than one cent each and circulating them at face value.
— John Gender, Winchester
