The penny and the nickel cost the country as a whole more money to keep into existence. Because of materials and manufacturing costs, it costs more than one cent to make (source http://bit.ly/1dnpwX8) and far more than 5 cents to create a nickel (source http://cnnmon.ie/1dnqpix). Millions of dollars per year are spent by the government to subsidize the existence of these coins which could otherwise be used to help create jobs. Furthermore, the daily retail workers of America spend countless total hours handling them. The opportunity cost at stake are the many gross hours that could be utilized for productivity for the companies employing these workers (source http://wapo.st/1gF8ALE). Replace these with dimes and 50 cent pieces.
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