Hardware Store Bans Pennies

Coconut Grove, FL (WIBX) - The owner of Shell Lumber in Coconut Grove is banishing the penny from his registers.

According to "The Miami Herald" Andy Haase says the one cent pieces just are not worth the trouble. His cash drawers have been "off by a penny" for just too long.

While posting a sign on his front door that reads, "No more pennies," he added that for cash sales the store rounds in favor of the customer.

Mr. Haase is not alone in his criticism of the copper coin. The government of Canada has also banished pennies and the Pentagon no longer ships them to military bases overseas.

Some say that the penny is still significant, however. Readers of Clifford Stoll's "The Cuckoo's Egg" will remember that tracking how major corporations were "off by a penny" resulted in putting an end to a major international hacking ring.

Ironically, if the penny does go away it will leap in value for collectors worldwide.