As citizens of the U.S. and other nations increasingly adopt online solutions for payments, debate swirls over whether currency, especially coins, is needed at all. Cash was used for just 16% of in-person transactions in 2023, down from 26% in 2019, prompting calls for an economy based almost exclusively on online transactions or cryptocurrencies. With regard to coins, debate in the U.S. usually centers on the one cent piece. Detractors note that at 3 cents per, they are costly to make, racking up a loss of $86 million in 2023 alone; they comprise zinc and copper, whose mining and industrial use can have negative environmental and health impacts; they have virtually no standalone purchasing power; they’re heavy, with a dollar’s worth weighing about half a pound; and they’re underused, with an estimated 240 billion of them languishing in couches, jars, sidewalks, old clothing and elsewhere. COVID-19 intensified the debate, as coins became scarce when people stopped spending them at places like laundromats, banks, restaurants and shops. “The pandemic has made it much easier to imagine a world without coins, and already reinvigorated the movement to get rid of pennies. For banks, credit card companies and some Bitcoin advocates, the demise of each unit of cash would be welcome news,” the New York Times reported in November 2020. No new coins were minted in the United Kingdom in 2024, officials having decided that the estimated 27 billion coins in circulation were sufficient. New Zealand, Canada and other countries have dispensed with their lowest value coins altogether over the years. But pennies, which the U.S. Mint makes in Denver and Philadelphia, have their supporters too. Some argue that several American charities rely on penny donations. Others point out that eliminating coins or currency can burden people...