According to Coinflation, the melt value of a copper penny is $0.0184856 . So the two pennies in the picture are worth $0.036 in copper. They are worth about three times the value of my upvote.

The mint announced plans to phase out the penny by 2022. I think they will keep minting them as long as they are needed. The main reason we still have them is because state sales tax tables force stores to calculate to the penny.

BTW, if I wait another twenty minutes and upvote your reply; I think my upvote will be worth enough that it isn't lost as STEEM DUST. If I am correct, I can start upvoting comments.