I read this week that the United States Mint will no longer produce pennies.
On Wednesday, Nov. 12, the last of the 1-cent coins came off the assembly line.
The penny’s demise was inevitable as it now costs nearly 4 cents to produce a single penny – and with fewer and fewer cash transactions, the penny is no longer in great demand.
But it once was.
There was a time when a penny would buy a stick of red licorice or a fireball that would peel the skin off the inside of your mouth. Pennies were treasured by youngsters and there was almost a limitless supply of penny candies.
I remember riding my bike to the local store buy a pack of cigarettes for my mom. They were something like 17 or 18 cents a pack and she often let me keep the change. I world stare at the candy counter struggling with my many choices.
Would it be a Mary Jane candy, or a pack of Fleer’s Bubble Gum? Or maybe some Fizzies or Tootsie Rolls. Dad’s Root Beer candies were good and so were Wax Drink Bottles. I also considered Butterscotch Hard Candy, Juju Fruits, Circus Peanuts, Root Beer Barrels, Non-Pariels, and Laffy Taffys. But how about Tootsie Roll Pops or BB Bats? Maybe Dum Dums or Wax Lips or Kits Taffys? What was a kid to do?
Today’s youngsters don’t have that problem because there is no such thing as penny candy and even if there were, modern parents would keep their offspring away from all those sweets.
Even though they are no longer manufactured, I think I’ll save a few old pennies just in case someone decides once again to offer penny candies.
