factbat.com

To pretend that it costs more to make a penny than the penny is worth is nonsense. The price of commodities required to make a penny or a nickel are being affected by the constant dilution of the money supply. As the dollar drops the commodity prices rise. It's not so much that the zinc and copper is more expensive but that the penny we are making now is only worth about 10% of it's value just fifty years ago.

To say that investors are pushing the market inflation is just a diversion. The real root of much of the economic instability is the practice of fractional reserve banking, including the credit market that has morphed out of it. Backlash and blowback from the credit industry has raised prices for all consumers, even those who pay with cash, because vendors are required to pay for the "privelege" of accepting credit cards for purchases. Now, many stores and government facilities will not even accept a debit card (essentially, cash) unless it has a credit card logo, and of course, your purchase price still has the added charge included.