The price of money.
So I understand it now costs almost 1.7 cents to produce a penny here in the U.S. But I also understand there are no plans to quit making those eight billion pennies each year. Why? I am not sure. Maybe it is just for sentimental value. The penny was the first American coin to use the likeness of a president on the side of the coin. And next year a new penny is being minted in celebration of the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday. I cannot think of anything that could be bought with a penny. There used to be a row of penny candy at the grocery store but no more. Even penny gum ball machines now usually cost a quarter.
Not to be outdone, the nickel now costs almost a dime to produce.
I am married and the mother of six (yes, six!) grown children. I live in western Washington where it does rain a lot but not as much as you think.