On November 12, 2025, at the United States Mint’s facility in Philadelphia, U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach stamped what will go down in history as the last circulating penny ever produced in America. The event marked the official end of the penny’s 232-year run as a coin made for everyday commerce. The Secretary of the Treasury determined that continued penny production was no longer necessary to meet the country’s needs, a decision driven largely by the rising cost of producing the coin, which had climbed to 3.69 cents per penny. That’s nearly four times what the coin is actually worth.
The U.S. penny – formally known as the one-cent coin – has been part of American life since the Coinage Act of 1792 first authorized it. The penny was one of the first coins the U.S. Mint ever produced. For most of that history, it cost less to make a penny than a penny was worth. That relationship flipped years ago, and the gap kept growing until the math became impossible to ignore.
The term “penny discontinued” is not quite accurate, so let’s be precise about what this means. While circulating production has stopped, the penny remains legal tender, and there are an estimated 300 billion pennies in circulation – far exceeding the amount needed for commerce. The coin isn’t gone. It’s just no longer being made in quantities for the public to use in stores.
Why the US Mint Finally Stopped Making Pennies
To understand why America is saying goodbye to the Lincoln cent, you have to look at where the money goes. Over the past 10 years, the total production cost of a penny rose from 1.3 cents to 3.69 cents. Those costs include materials, facilities, and overhead. The U.S. Mint projects an immediate annual savings of $56 million by stopping production.
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Think about that for a second. In 2024 alone, the U.S. Mint produced 3,225,200,000 pennies at a cost of 3.69 cents each, resulting in an annual loss to taxpayers of $85.3 million. That’s taxpayer money going out the door to manufacture a coin that most people throw into a junk drawer or leave sitting on a counter. Production costs rose primarily because of increasing zinc and copper prices – the main raw materials used to make modern pennies.
President Trump initiated the move in February 2025, framing it as part of a broader effort to improve government efficiency and reduce waste. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, working closely with President Trump, exercised legal authority to halt penny production as a step toward better stewardship of taxpayer dollars. The legal basis was straightforward: under federal law, the Secretary of the Treasury has the authority to mint and issue one-cent coins in amounts deemed necessary, and may therefore suspend production upon determining that new coins are no longer needed.
The broader picture supports this logic. Cash now makes up only 14% of consumer payments, down from 31% in 2016, according to Federal Reserve data. When most people pay by card or phone, the practical case for minting billions of tiny copper-colored coins every year gets weaker each year. Given the increasing number of non-cash transactions and the very low purchasing power of a single penny, the Department of the Treasury concluded that continued production was neither fiscally responsible nor necessary to meet the needs of commerce.
When Did the US Mint Stop Making Pennies?
The process happened in stages rather than all at once. On February 9, 2025, President Trump announced he had ordered Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to stop producing new pennies, citing unnecessary government spending. On May 22, 2025, the Treasury announced that the Mint had stopped purchasing penny planchets – the blank discs used to stamp coins – and that production would cease once the existing supply was exhausted.
By July 2025, the Mint struck just 400,000 Lincoln cents – only 0.1% of all circulating-quality coins produced for the month. The ceremonial final strike took place in November. The final batch is expected to enter circulation in early 2026. So if you spot a fresh 2025 penny in your change sometime this year, you’re actually holding the last of the line.
It’s worth noting that the Mint isn’t done with the penny entirely. The Mint will continue to produce numismatic (collector) versions of the penny in limited quantities for historical and collector purposes. These are special coins made for hobbyists and institutions, not for everyday spending.
What the Penny Phase Out Means at the Cash Register
Here’s the practical question most people have: if your grocery bill comes to $14.97 and pennies are fading from circulation, what happens?
With the penny removed from widespread use, cash transactions will likely be rounded to the nearest nickel. A common rounding rule works like this: if the final digit of a purchase ends in 3, 4, 8, or 9 cents, the total rounds up; if it ends in 1, 2, 6, or 7 cents, it rounds down. Transactions ending in 0 or 5 cents are not rounded at all.
Crucially, this rounding only applies to cash. Electronic payments – credit and debit card transactions – remain unaffected and will continue to be processed at exact amounts. If you pay by card, nothing changes. For the roughly 14% of transactions still done in cash, the rounding effect over time tends to average out. Studies from Canada, Australia, and New Zealand found no relationship between inflation trends and the removal of a nation’s smallest coins.
Some people worry this creates a hidden tax on cash users, particularly lower-income households who rely on physical currency more than others. However, research suggests lower-income households shouldn’t be more impacted by the elimination of the penny, because price rounding goes both ways, meaning the overall result is neutral even for cash transactions.
The U.S. now joins a growing list of countries that have phased out low-denomination coins, including Australia, which discontinued its 1-cent and 2-cent coins in 1992. Canada ceased penny production in 2012. After Canada eliminated pennies, daily commerce carried on with little trouble. In both Canada and Australia, people quickly adapted to nickel-rounding, and economists found no significant negative effects on consumers or businesses.
Charmy Harker, an Irvine, California-based coin dealer and collector known as “The Penny Lady,” told TODAY.com that she expects minimal disruption. “I think it was probably a long time coming, because Canada did away with them, I don’t know, 10, 12 years ago. And, to be honest, the public really didn’t even really notice. So, I think that it’s not going to have that much effect on commerce, at least.”
What Happens to Pennies After They Are Discontinued
The short answer: not much changes right away. Your penny jar still holds real money. The penny remains legal tender and may still be used for transactions. Businesses that choose to accept them must continue to honor their face value. The coin doesn’t expire.
What will change is availability. With no new coins being made, the circulating supply will shrink as older pennies drop out of use. Some retailers have already reported penny shortages as production scaled down, according to Reuters. Banks in some regions have felt the pinch early. Over the coming years, the 300 billion pennies in circulation will gradually migrate into coin jars, collections, and keepsakes – and far fewer will make it back into the economy.
If you have a stash of pennies at home, now is actually a practical time to deal with them. Most banks are still actively accepting them, and coin-counting machines at grocery stores (like Coinstar) are still processing them. Keep in mind that Coinstar charges a fee – typically around 12% – unless you opt for a gift card. Before taking your coins to a bank, confirm they accept them and don’t charge any conversion fees, as policies vary widely between institutions. Many credit unions and regional banks will count coins for free for members.
One thing to avoid: getting caught up in the online hype. Sellers rushed to list boxes of 2025 pennies for $1,000 or more online, even though the circulating supply of 300 billion pennies far exceeds the amount needed for commerce. A 2025 penny is the final year of production, but it isn’t rare in any meaningful sense. Rarity in coin collecting is about scarcity, not sentiment. Common 2025 pennies are worth exactly one cent.
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Could Your Pennies Be Worth Real Money?
Here’s where things get genuinely interesting. Before you deposit that jar of loose change, it’s worth taking a few minutes to sort through it. Some pennies are legitimately valuable – and a few are extraordinarily so.
In 1943, the U.S. Mint switched from copper to zinc-coated steel for pennies due to wartime copper shortages. A tiny number of 1943 pennies were accidentally struck on leftover bronze planchets. Fewer than 20 are known to exist, making them one of the most valuable U.S. coins of any denomination. One example sold for $372,000 at auction. You can do a quick check at home: a 1943 steel penny will stick to a magnet. If yours doesn’t stick, it may be worth having it examined by a professional.
The 1909-S VDB is the most famous Lincoln Penny date. Only 484,000 were struck before the designer’s initials – V.D.B. – were removed, making it genuinely scarce. In good condition, this coin is typically valued at $700 or more, while the 1955 doubled die penny starts around $1,200.
The 1955 Doubled Die is arguably the most famous error coin in U.S. history. The doubling on the obverse – visible on “LIBERTY,” “IN GOD WE TRUST,” and the date – is dramatic enough to see without magnification. Approximately 20,000 to 24,000 are estimated to exist, making it rare enough to command serious prices but still obtainable for dedicated collectors.
Beyond error coins, there’s a simple metal consideration. Pennies minted in 1982 and earlier contain significantly more copper than modern coins. Today’s pennies are 97.5% zinc with a thin copper coating. Pre-1982 coins were 95% copper. With copper prices fluctuating, these older coins hold slightly more intrinsic value – though it’s still illegal to melt U.S. coins for their metal content. Melting, treating, or exporting pennies and nickels remains prohibited under federal regulations, with limited exceptions.
Most pennies are only worth face value, but coins with the right date, mint mark, error, rarity, and condition can be worth anywhere from a few dollars to thousands. Don’t clean any coin you think might be valuable – cleaning destroys the surface patina (the original natural coating) and dramatically reduces a coin’s worth to collectors. If you find something that looks interesting, take it to a reputable coin dealer or have it certified through a professional grading service like PCGS or NGC.
What Will Replace the Penny in the US?
Nothing. The nickel – the five-cent coin – steps in as the lowest practical denomination for cash transactions. There are currently no plans to eliminate the nickel, though at least one bill has already been introduced in Congress addressing this possibility. For now, the nickel fills the gap, and cash transactions simply round to the nearest five cents.
On April 30, 2025, Representatives Lisa McClain (R-MI) and Robert Garcia (D-CA) introduced the Common Cents Act, a bill to formalize the end of penny production for general circulation and require cash transactions to be rounded to the nearest nickel. That legislation would essentially codify what’s already happening in practice.
Some economists have raised a longer-term concern: the nickel itself costs more than five cents to produce. While pennies and nickels both have a negative profit per coin, dimes and quarters cost less to produce than they’re worth, creating positive revenue for the Mint. This means the nickel debate isn’t going away. But for now, Americans adjusting to a penny-free future have the nickel as their new floor.
The bigger shift is cultural. When the penny was first minted in 1793, it had meaningful purchasing power, equivalent to several dollars in today’s economy. But inflation has caused the penny to have almost no practical value in everyday transactions, with its buying power declining by over 97% since the late 18th century. The coin has been functionally worthless in commerce for years. Its end is really just official recognition of a reality that already existed.
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What This Means for You
The US Mint ending penny production after 232 years is one of those changes that sounds dramatic but plays out slowly. The penny remains legal tender, and the final batch won’t even enter full circulation until 2026. But with no new coins being made, the circulating supply will shrink as older pennies gradually drop out of use. You won’t wake up tomorrow and find pennies gone – but over the next several years, they’ll become harder to find, and businesses will increasingly price and round to the nearest nickel for cash purchases.
Here’s what to do right now. If you have loose pennies sitting in a jar, deposit them at your bank before any acceptance policies change. Sort through them quickly for pre-1982 coins, rare dates like 1909-S VDB, and any 1943 pennies that don’t stick to a magnet. David Rosenstrock, a certified financial planner with Wharton Wealth Planning, put it plainly: “Now is a good time to cash in your coins.” If you pay for most things by card, the penny phase-out will barely register in your daily life. If you’re a regular cash user, get familiar with the rounding rules and know that the effect over time should be roughly neutral – sometimes a few cents up, sometimes a few cents down. The Lincoln cent had a good run. 232 years is a long time for anything to last.
A.I. Disclaimer: This article was created with AI assistance and edited by a human for accuracy and clarity.
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