Any plans for a new penny in the near future?

Factual Questions
1

The discussion on the value of Lincoln wheat cents:
http://boards.straightdope.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/006779.html

made me realize–the Lincoln penny will hit its 100th anniversary in 2009. Does anyone know of any plans to change or revamp it, as per the “new” quarters, or might 2009 be the year to retire the Lincoln cent–and pennies entirely?

2

Yeah, they could come up with the Bill Clinton penny. Both sides would be a “head”.

…send lawyers, guns, and money…

       Warren Zevon
3

I dont forsee the removal of the penny from our system of coinage. Simply put, the government makes an absolute killing on pennys. I dont recall the ammount that the government makes, but when I visited the mint in Denver a few years ago, we were quoted some insane amount. Anyone happen to have the figure off the top of their head, or know where to find it?

Kinooning it up for 20 years and counting

4

Does it make sense to keep minting pennies?

Gypsy: Tom, I don’t get you.
Tom Servo: Nobody does. I’m the wind, baby.

5

Hey, I’m still waiting for the sackie to become common! (I kinda like the George Washington-as-a-cool-guy commercials.)

6

Regarding the OP, there will be some sort of commemoration of the 200th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth in 2009. There is currently a 15-member “Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission” (established 2-25-00) looking into ways to commemorate the bicentennial. maybe a stamp, maybe a different penny design for 2009.

7

Alphagene’s data is correct according to a friend at the mint.

If you cut a newer penny in half, you’ll see it is only copper coated and that it has a zinc (?) interior. This was done a while back because of the rising cost of copper.

I heard the government wants to kill off the penny, but people won’t stand for it. The idea of rounding up prices to eliminate the penny makes people think they’re being cheated incrementally. But in Greece, inflation and the relative devaluation of the Drachma has made the one Drachma virtually worthless (today it’s 348 Drs. to to $1 US), and it’s virtually impossible to get a one Drachma coin in all of Athens. They are in any case virtually impossible to find even if you’ve got one as they are about a quarter of an inch in diameter.