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This question takes us back. Back to all those times we stood at a vending machine, staring at a 65-cent candy bar, with two quarters, two nickels, and five pennies burning a hole in our pocket. We vowed to investigate the vending industry's anti-penny stance. So, Nick, thanks for the reminder. Here's what we turned up... Industry sites like Vending Solutions offered few clues. Instead, we decided to visit the last bastion of angry and anonymous rants -- the Internet message board. Not surprisingly, many snackers have wondered the same thing, and though we weren't able to locate an official reason for the penny's banishment, we did find a few theories. The most sensible theory is quite simple. Because vending machines sell items in five-cent increments, it would be more trouble than it's worth to accept pennies. However, according to this post from MetaFilter, penny-friendly vending machines, especially stamp machines, do exist. Regardless, perhaps the penny's lack of mainstream acceptance is really a good thing. Imagine buying a candy bar and getting 35 pennies in change.
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