Letter: U.S. needs to make pennies worth $1

Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2006 | 7:37 a.m.

According to the July 27 Las Vegas Sun, Congress is considering yet another bill to eliminate the obsolete penny coin by rounding off retail prices to the nearest nickel.

Here's a better idea: Congress should make a law declaring that at midnight on New Year's Eve, all pennies in circulation will be recognized as the new dollar coin, legal tender. This would stop the penny littering problem and would finally solve the Treasury Department's failed attempts at getting Americans to use a dollar coin instead of a dollar bill.

As an added bonus, we all could take that coffee can full of pennies we have stashed in our bedroom closets and buy a new car. Win-Win!

Dan West, Las Vegas

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