Count me among those who think the penny is worthless in the single, and costly in the aggregate:

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Representative Jim Kolbe wants to do away with the penny – and for the second time has introduced legislation that would effectively kill it.

The Currency Overhaul for an Industrious Nation (COIN) Act would force the rounding off of all cash transactions to the nearest 5 cents, making the penny coin useless for everyday transactions.

The move is in part a reaction to the rising cost of zinc – the penny’s main ingredient – which at current prices brings the cost of making the coin to 1.4 cents each.

Kolbe (R-Arizona) introduced similar legislation in 2001 when prices for metals weren’t as high. The bill failed to pass or even to make it to a floor vote. Since then, however, zinc costs have nearly doubled.

Over half of the U.S. Mint’s coin production comes in the form of pennies, which are made of 97.5 percent zinc. The cost of producing the coin has risen from 0.97 cent per penny in 2005 to 1.4 cent per penny. At that rate, the Mint would spend some $44 million producing pennies this year, nearly $14 million more than in 2005.

As with the 2001 bill, the new one calls for rounding down any cash transaction that ends in in 1,2,6 and 7 cents; totals ending in 3,4,8, or 9 cents would round up.