noncents

When I heard that the US mint struck the last penny, I was nonplussed. Does this mean I can’t ask someone, “A penny for your thoughts”? Can I no longer be penny-wise, pound-foolish or register when a penny drops?

What about pricing things at $9.99 – will that become $9.95? And when we eliminate the penny from our spending or pricing, aren’t we also eliminating the other four cents that we ordinarily count up to the next coin, the nickel? Where do those four cents go?

I’m sure there will be many more ways to parse the passing of the penny but in the end it all comes down to attachment.

Because money, for one thing, is simply an agreement we make. Taking away the penny doesn’t change the value of the widget or the hour worked. It simply changes the way we measure those things. As for the words and phrases we use, removing the penny from circulation (which will take a very long time, indeed) doesn’t change the meaning of the idiom. You still dial a phone number, do you not? You still  tune in to listen to a podcast or radio station, or bite the bullet to endure something painful, or hit the sack at the end of a long day. Before cars came along, the streets were where people walked. They resented having to make room for these silly monstrosities.

So, things change. They always change. I’m a little sad about the penny going the way of the horseless carriage or the radio dial. But the truth is that it feels like a bigger change than it actually is. I will be okay eventually; I’ll adapt. It’s the adapting that’s the hard part – the clinging, the letting go. It’s always that.

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11/17/2025