Take a penny, trash a penny: Americans toss $62M in coins every year (2024)

FAQs

Take a penny, trash a penny: Americans toss $62M in coins every year? ›

Dive Brief: Covanta estimates that U.S. residents throw away an estimated $61.8 million in coins every year by dropping them, vacuuming them up or otherwise losing them, as reported by Bloomberg. The company itself recovers about $360,000 in coins per year through magnets and other equipment.

How much is being extracted at facilities around the country? Oyin Adedoyin: Well, Reworld, the waste management facility that I visited, estimates that Americans throw away up to $68 million worth of coins each year.

The Department of Treasury estimates $62 million worth of pennies — or 8 percent of what is produced — is “lost” each year. They end up at the bottom of desk drawers, in sofa cushions, hoarded in jars, or simply discarded in trash by people who perceive their value is of little worth.

Americans toss as much as $68 million worth of change each year, according to Reworld. The sustainable-waste processing company is on a treasure-hunt to find it. The company says that in the seven years since it started the effort, it has collected at least $10 million worth of coins.

FAQs on Throwing Money Away

In the United States, it is illegal to damage or destroy currency, and while the law may not say directly that it is illegal to throw money away, tossing any U.S. currency in the trash will likely be treated as destroying the money.

The person from whom you take the money does not need to be nearby for it to be considered theft. They could have been gone for days, but the money is still theirs in the eyes of the law. So taking any money you find on the ground or at a checkout lane may be construed as theft.

Those who favor keeping the penny believe the penny plays an important role in keeping down the costs of the goods and services we buy. If there were no pennies, stores and restaurants would round up to the nearest nickel. This means consumers would end up paying $0.55 for something that should cost only $0.51.

Lincoln replaced the image of Lady Liberty, which was on the penny from its start in 1793 after the Coins Act of 1792 established the Mint. The Mint has since announced it would stop penny production in 2023. Taxpayers lost $83.6 million in producing pennies, according to the Mint's annual report.

Today, approximately 150 billion pennies of the 288 billion in circulation are estimated to be in use.

Where do people lose the most change? ›

Look in the couch cushions, washer and dryer, old coat pockets, pants pockets, dresser drawers, backpacks and suitcases, old wallets and purses as well as tool and toy boxes. You can always find dropped coins in any automobile.

Money Metals Exchange

In an article published by the Wall Street Journal, Reworld, a Pennsylvania waste management facility, claimed that Americans toss about $68 million worth of coins every year. “Coins are as good as junk for many Americans,” the WSJ proclaimed.

Covanta estimates that U.S. residents throw away an estimated $61.8 million in coins every year by dropping them, vacuuming them up or otherwise losing them, as reported by Bloomberg.

Morgan Dollar or Peace Dollar

The Morgan Dollar was minted from 1878 to 1904, and again in 1921, and is the most collected U.S. coin of all time. The Peace Dollar, minted from 1921 to 1935, succeeded the Morgan Dollar and is just as unique and valuable.

For coins, there are about 28 billion in general circulation.