In Washington, a city known for multi-billion-dollar budget deficits, some members of Congress and the Bush administration are near a meltdown over a much more modest figure: the old copper penny.

The government fears that citizens will melt U.S. pennies minted before 1982 to extract the copper, which, despite recent dips, has shot up in price over the past five years. In December the U.S. Mint banned any melting of pennies and nickels (nickel prices are up too), sidetracking one Ohio metals expert’s plan to cash in.

The government explained that it could cost more than $1 million a day to replace coins withdrawn from circulation to extract the metal. The increase in metal prices means the coins are now more expensive to make than they are worth. Walter Luhrman, of Jackson, Ohio, figures he’d net $1.5 million a year. Read Full Story

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