Whatcha thinking about?

I've been thinking about lots of things:  pain, friendship (or betrayal), neighbors, walking, noise, avoiding certain people, food in the cafe, picking up on cues from other people, languages, immigrants I know (a couple across the hall, among others here) and wondering it these immigrants are in danger of being tossed out of the country, Chinese New Year (2025 is the Year of the Snake), and now pennies.  I just learned that April 1st is not just April Fools Day; it’s also National One Cent Day.  (Should I have waited until April to share that?)  I also learned that pennies may soon become a relic of the past.  Donald Trump wants the United States to quit making them.  Instead of asking "Whatcha thinking about?" maybe I should have said, "A penny for your thoughts."

My thoughts then drifted to another coin I've heard about, and I wondered if readers think my thoughts are worth "a plugged nickel."  I'm old, but maybe you've never heard of a plugged nickel and wonder how much is a plugged nickel is worth.  It's worth absolutely nothing.  A plugged nickel is a nickel coin that has had its center disc, or "plug," removed, making it worth less than its face value.  The term is used to describe something that is worthless.

Early US coins were made by adding a small silver disc to the center of a blank metal coin before striking it.  This increased the coin's metal value to match its face value.  However, over time, the plug was sometimes removed, making the coin worth less.  People would check their change after a transaction to make sure they didn't receive a plugged nickel.  So the phrase "not worth a plugged nickel" is used to describe something that is worthless.

Now I wonder if nickels as well as pennies are about to become worthless.