The West Wing1999

Josh Lyman:
Why?

Sam Seaborn:
Why?

Josh Lyman:
Yes.

Sam Seaborn:
Because this country is populated with unbalanced people. Many of whom find their way to Washington. As if the continent funnels them into this one spot.

Josh Lyman:
He wants to abolish the penny?

Sam Seaborn:
He doesn't want to abolish it, as much as he wants to give his boss a reason why we can't.

Josh Lyman:
Well, it's stupid.

Sam Seaborn:
Yeah, but the thing is... it isn't really.

Josh Lyman:
Really?

Sam Seaborn:
It turns out the majority of pennies don't circulate. They go in jars and sock drawers. Two-thirds of the pennies produced in the last 30 years have dropped out of circulation.

Josh Lyman:
You've been reading about this?

Sam Seaborn:
It's interesting.

Josh Lyman:
No, it's not.

Sam Seaborn:
The Mint gets letters with pennies taped on notebook paper. Letters from citizens who found the pennies on the street and mailed them back to the Treasury to help pay down the debt.

Josh Lyman:
It's almost hard to believe that plan hasn't worked.

Sam Seaborn:
It's also bad for the environment. Production requires the mining of millions of tons of copper and zinc each year.

Josh Lyman:
Zinc?

Sam Seaborn:
In 1982, they changed the composition to 97.5% zinc and only 2.5% copper.

Josh Lyman:
Sam?

Sam Seaborn:
I'm turning into one of the funnel people.