Eliminate Pennies: Rare Coin Expert Michael Fuljenz Wins National Writing Award

The acclaimed professional numismatist advocated for years that it does not make “cents” to continue producing pennies.

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK, UNITED STATES, August 27, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Nationally known rare coin expert Dr. Michael Fuljenz, president of Universal Coin & Bullion (www.UniversalCoin.com) in Beaumont, Texas, frequently writes about gold and silver. But his timely story about eliminating copper pennies earned him a major award at the recent 2025 World’s Fair of Money (www.WorldsFairofMoney.com) in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

The Numismatic Literary Guild (www.NLGonline.org) presented Fuljenz with the prestigious James L. Miller Award for the best story of the year. He received the honor for his article, “Eliminate? Future of the Cent,” published in January 2025 simultaneously as the cover stories in editions of Coin World and COINage magazines. The story appeared weeks before President Trump issued his executive order to halt production of U.S. one-cent denomination coins.

“America has cut its lower denomination coins often in the past,” wrote Fuljenz. “We used to have the half-cent, two-cent, three-cent, and 20-cent coins. If you have any of these coins, they likely have a significant numismatic value. As for the penny, it made sense when it was first struck in 1793, but not now, over 230 years later.”

Fuljenz began writing about reasons for eliminating one-cent coins a decade ago. He now points out that while pennies are currently 97.5% zinc and only 2.5% copper to save money, it still costs about 4 cents to make each one.

“It’s no wonder the zinc lobby is the most powerful force behind continued penny production… We are long overdue in following the lead of many other countries that have successfully eliminated their lowest denomination paper money and coins,” he stated in the award-winning story.

Among the countries that eliminated low-denomination coins are Australia, Canada, Finland, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and Sweden.

“One argument for keeping the penny is reverence for President Abraham Lincoln, but fear not, Honest Abe’s face remains on a larger canvas, the $5 bill,” explained Fuljenz.

“The Numismatic Literary Guild (NLG) was established in 1968. Our nonprofit organization is composed of the top coin and precious metals writers and freelancers, editors, reporters, bloggers, and content producers,” explained NLG Executive Director Jerry Jordan. “The important Miller Award is posthumously named after Jim Miller, an esteemed magazine publisher and long-time NLG benefactor.”

The independently judged literary awards are presented at the annual World’s Fair of Money events conducted around the country by the American Numismatic Association (www.money.org).

“This in-depth article was vitally important in educating people about the cost of our nation’s currency. Dr. Fuljenz has long believed that eliminating the penny could save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars over time, and shortly after his in-depth, highly researched work appeared in Coin World, President Trump issued his executive order,” said Jordan.

Known as America's Gold Expert^®, Michael Fuljenz has won over 70 national and regional awards and honors for his consumer education and protection work in rare coins and precious metals.

Michael Fuljenz
Universal Coin & Bullion
Vickie@UniversalCoin.com

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