Emancipate Your Pennies

Wondering what you can do to help the Penny Emancipation Coalition abolish circulation? Start by becoming better informed by researching the issue. Take a look at the provided links and then take matters into your own hands!

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Emancipate Your Pennies!

Pennies have been in use since 1789, a mere 13 years after the United States declared itself a free nation. For decades Americans and pennies co-existed in economic harmony. Even up through World War II the penny was respected as a valuable member of U.S. currency. It even experienced popularity and made appearances in popular culture. Pennies picked up off of the street were believed to bring the bearer good fortune.

Throughout this time, the penny maintained a stable value. Although normally referred to as "one cent," or one-hundredth of a dollar, it was also given a barter value. For example, in the classic film Casablanca, the penny was declared to have a value equal to that of one thought. Later on it was determined that two pennies put together were worth one developed opinion, hence the phrase, "My two cents."

Since 1944, however, there has been a drastic economic change in the United States. Inflation has caused the penny to lose value dramatically. One penny at the end of World War II had the value of eleven pennies in 2005¹, the difference of a whole dime.

As a result, Americans no longer bend over to pick misplaced pennies off the street, and the mere buying of another person's thought has risen to the point where no one is willing to pay the price. "My two cents" has become "My twenty-two cents," which makes no sense at all.

The Penny Emancipation Coalition is a group advocating the immediate abolition of the penny. We believe that the penny, no longer earning the respect of the average American consumer, should be freed from its minting and liberated from its circulation.

Inside this site, you will find more information about why the penny should be emancipated, how the abolition can be accomplished, and what you can do to help the cause. Our purpose is to show you that the penny is too small a price to pay!

¹According to The Inflation Calculator