Readers Respond: Another reader offers his two cents

An article about a hardware store that eliminated the penny from point-of-sale transactions generated several comments from readers. Here’s another with an interesting historical perspective. 

“My father received a personal citation from President Franklin Roosevelt for his idea to mint pennies out of zinc, instead of copper; thus diverting the copper to ammunition for our troops. Bus and streetcar drivers hated those zinc pennies, as riders often mistook them for dimes and they jammed the fare boxes. Several weeks after my father passed away, I received a letter from a former infantryman from WWII who read of my dad's passing, who wanted to thank my father for probably saving his life. It seems that infantryman was saved by the fact his foe ran out of ammo, and he still had about 150 shells left to fight on. No one can be sure, but I thought about your articles on the passing of the penny and it's meaning to my family and that soldier.”

— William A. Keller

Keller Mfg. Co

dba Gardex

St. Louis, Mo.