With the push of a button at the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia on Wednesday, the United States officially ended production of the one-cent coin, closing a 232-year chapter in the nation’s monetary history.
Treasury officials oversaw the minting of the final five pennies, a special batch created months after the Mint halted regular high-speed production. The last coins, bearing President Abraham Lincoln’s familiar profile and a distinctive omega mark above his shoulder, are classified as circulating cents but will never enter everyday commerce. Instead, they will be auctioned, with proceeds going to the federal government, under tight security from Mint police.
The move follows an order earlier this year from President Trump directing the Treasury Department to stop making pennies. Each coin, made from copper and zinc, costs significantly more than its face value to produce — 3.7 cents per penny. With the Mint striking more than three billion pennies as recently as fiscal 2024, Treasury estimates annual savings of about $56 million from ending mass production. Special issues for collectors will continue.
Pennies debuted in 1793 with a Liberty design that was quickly replaced after public controversy, and Lincoln has appeared on the coin since 1909. His image will remain on the $5 bill even as the cent disappears from Mint presses.
Economic and technological shifts hastened the demise of the penny. Rising prices over the past two centuries have eroded the value of one cent, while electronic and card-based payments have become increasingly dominant. The Federal Reserve reports that cash accounted for just 16% of payments in 2023, down from 31% in 2016, with cash use concentrated among lower-income and older Americans.
Roughly 300 billion pennies are estimated to exist, and they will remain legal tender. But many no longer circulate in practice, accumulating in jars, drawers and coin buckets. Retailers report that pennies have become increasingly scarce in recent months, complicating cash transactions.
Businesses say they are caught between dwindling supplies of coins and legal barriers to simple fixes such as rounding. Federal rules bar SNAP retailers from charging different prices to food-assistance customers, and some state laws restrict rounding practices, making uniform solutions difficult. Industry groups are urging Congress to explicitly authorize rounding up or down to the nearest five cents to keep checkout lines moving.
Other countries, including Canada, phased out their lowest-denomination coins more gradually. In the U.S., the abrupt end of production has already led to fewer Federal Reserve locations supplying pennies, creating ripple effects at fast-food outlets and convenience stores.
Soucre: WSJ