Americans for Common Cents (ACC) conducts research and provides information to Congress and the Executive Branch on the value and benefits of the penny.

October 24, 2018 FatroCoins

Penny Polling

An overwhelming number of Americans want to keep the penny. National polling over the last 25 years by Gallup, AP, Coinstar and other organizations show that between two-thirds and three-quarters of Americans want to keep the penny.

A poll conducted by Americans for Common Cents in 2019 found over two-thirds (68%) of those surveyed favor keeping the penny in circulation. The results were consistent with a 2014 poll that showed 68% of Americans support the penny and a 2012 poll that showed 66% of Americans favor keeping the penny.

Americans understand that eliminating the penny would lead to a rounding process and cost them hundreds of millions of dollars in higher prices. The 2019 ACC poll results from Opinion Research Corporation showed that:

  • Over two-thirds of adults (68%) favor keeping the penny in circulation
  • Nearly two-thirds of Americans (64%) oppose abolishing the penny and establishing a price rounding system
  • 65% of those surveyed were concerned merchants might use price rounding to raise prices without the penny.

These results confirm the strong and unwavering support the penny continues to receive from Americans.

National polling over the past two decades has consistently shown that between two-thirds and three-fourths of Americans support keeping the cent in circulation.

A Gallup Organization poll in 1990 and Opinion Research Corporation surveys conducted in 1995, 1996, 2001, 2006 and 2012 show Americans are persuaded by several factors, such as antipathy toward price rounding. And a 1992 CNN/Time survey conducted by Yankelovich found 74 percent of Americans support keeping the penny in circulation.

The importance of preserving the penny goes well beyond high public acceptance and historical significance. A 2006 Coinstar National Currency Poll found that public support spiked when people became educated about the issues around the penny, such as rounding at the cash register. Public support for the penny jumped to 79% in 2006, a time when Congress was discussing penny elimination.

Thus, polls conducted by Americans for Common Cents and independent polls such as those by Coinstar, USA Today, and CNN/Time show overwhelming public support for the penny.

Links of interest: