Penny Hoarders Hope For The Day The Penny Dies
A pre-1982 penny has about 2 cents worth of copper in it. Some people hoard them, betting that the U.S. will kill the penny and then it will be legal to melt them down and they can make a killing.
Every year, the U.S. government loses money minting pennies. They cost around twice as much to make as they're worth. And some politicians and economists say we ought to just get rid of them. They want the U.S. to kill the penny, take it out of circulation. If that happens, a small group of people plan to make a bunch of money.
ZOE CHACE, BYLINE: Steve Wardak is one of those people. This guy is a big fan of the penny. He's never walked past a penny on the street and not picked it up. In fact, instead of taking his change to the bank and cashing it in for dollars, like most people do, Steve does the opposite. He takes paper money to his local bank in Pittsburgh and asks for pennies.
STEVE WARDAK: I have $50 that I don't need for anything else right now. So I'm going to in here to the PNC Bank and ask for two boxes of pennies.
