Zinc is the cheap material though. It replaced copper (except for the foil outer), when copper was too expensive. If there was a suitable and even less expensi

Zinc is the cheap material though. It replaced copper (except for the foil outer), when copper was too expensive. If there was a suitable and even less expensive metal, I think it might be reasonable to switch again. But if we have to rebuild coin handling to use a plastic penny, I think it's necessary to consider the costs and benefits of a vastly different material versus the costs and benefits of abandoning pennies.