Dr. Michael Fuljenz, president of Universal Coin & Bullion in Beaumont
Nationally known rare coin expert Dr. Michael Fuljenz, president of Universal Coin & Bullion in Beaumont, frequently writes about gold and silver.
But his timely story on eliminating copper pennies earned him a major honor at the 2025 World’s Fair of Money in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
The Numismatic Literary Guild (NLG) presented Fuljenz with the prestigious James L. Miller Award for Best Story of the Year.
He received the honor for his article, “Eliminate? Future of the Cent,” published in January 2025 as the cover story in both Coin World and COINage magazines. The story appeared just weeks before President Donald Trump issued an executive order halting production of U.S. one-cent coins.
An earlier version of the article was submitted to Hearst Communications and published in the Beaumont Enterprise as a guest column.
It earned First Place honors in the 2024 Excellence in Media Awards from the Press Club of Southeast Texas.
“America has cut its lower-denomination coins often in the past,” Fuljenz wrote. “We used to have the half-cent, two-cent, three-cent, and 20-cent coins. If you have any of these coins, they likely have significant numismatic value. As for the penny, it made sense when it was first struck in 1793, but not now, over 230 years later.”
Fuljenz began writing about eliminating one-cent coins a decade ago.
He notes that while pennies are currently 97.5% zinc and only 2.5% copper to save money, it still costs about four cents to produce each coin.
“It’s no wonder the zinc lobby is the most powerful force behind continued penny production… We are long overdue in following the lead of many other countries that have successfully eliminated their lowest-denomination coins and paper money,” he stated in the award-winning story.
Countries that have eliminated low-denomination coins include Australia, Canada, Finland, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and Sweden.
“One argument for keeping the penny is reverence for President Abraham Lincoln, but fear not — Honest Abe’s face remains on a larger canvas, the $5 bill,” Fuljenz explained.
The NLG, established in 1968, is a nonprofit organization composed of top coin and precious metals writers, editors, reporters, bloggers, and content producers.
The Miller Award is named posthumously after Jim Miller, an esteemed magazine publisher and longtime NLG benefactor.
The independently judged literary awards are presented annually at the World’s Fair of Money, hosted by the American Numismatic Association.
Known as “America’s Gold Expert,” Fuljenz has won more than 70 national and regional awards for his work in consumer education and protection in rare coins and precious metals.
