A penny today costs between 1.4 and 1.7 cents to mint.  The coin is largely zinc now, the mining of which  causes great environmental degradation.  Billions (4.6 billion, I think) are minted each year, but most are stashed in jars and cans, not really "in circulation."  A penny does not buy a machine gumball any longer; in fact the only machine it interacts with is the machines to SORT PENNIES before placing them in paper rolls.  It is legal for businesses to refuse to accept pennies, as in "Here are four hundred pennies to pay for my hamburger today."  (Thanks, but no thanks.)  Pennies pose great risk of poisoning from the zinc; the coating dissolves with stomach acid, and the zinc leaches out.  Think how many pennies are swallowed by kids!  They are easily plucked up by kids off the floor or ground:  they are so worthless, most people won't bend over to pick one up.

Many nations have ceased the production of pennies, and use instead a round-up, round-down to the nearest nickel method.  In 2002 Rep. Jim Kolbe of Arizona introduced the Legal Tender Modernization Act, calling for, among other things, the elimination of the penny.  The bill was roundly defeated.  Their reasoning?  Tradition!  And some idea that rounding up or down will not work---because of sales taxes!  Now if you think it through, that's just silly.  Any rounding-up or down would break even, 50% one way, 50% the other way.  A business computes its sales taxes on paper; it's an AGGREGATE AMOUNT, they don't have to actually hold the pennies to figure out what they owe.

So I say poop on the penny.  Since Congress, in its infinite wisdom, won't quit minting them, I perform this silly act of disobedience and disrespect to the penny:  I use it for driveway gravel.  Each time I bundle the coins in our change jar, I roll all the other coins, scoop the pennies into a bowl, and scatter them in the driveway.  I confess the practice does cause some concern for guests.  I just tell them they can have any of the crusty old coins they would like; "Help yourselves." 

What do you do with them?