Quote:The last ever pennies were minted today in the U.S.
Why the U.S. said goodbye to the penny — for good
Christian Saclao
Wed, November 12, 2025 at 7:57 PM EST

The familiar clink of pennies hitting change jars has officially gone silent. For the first time in over two centuries, the United States Mint has pressed its final batch of one-cent coins — marking the end of an era many Americans never imagined would come. But what drove the U.S. to pull the plug on the nation’s most basic unit of currency?

U.S. Mint retires 1-cent coin after 230 years

The U.S. Mint officially brought an end to penny production on Wednesday, retiring the 1-cent coin that has been part of American life for 230 years.

“God bless America, and we’re going to save the taxpayers $56 million,” Treasurer Brandon Beach declared at the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia before pressing the button that struck the final penny.

The last batch was carefully placed on display for journalists, with a few coins set to be auctioned off.

Officials noted that most production had already ceased over the summer, but the final minting carried a sense of ceremony. Workers stood silently on the factory floor as the last coins rolled out, and when the final pennies emerged, the room erupted in applause and cheers.

Billions of pennies will remain in circulation and continue to be accepted as legal tender, but no new ones will ever be made. As Beach pointed out, the last time the U.S. discontinued a coin was in 1857, when the half-cent met its end.

Why the U.S. Mint stopped making pennies

Rising costs and a dwindling value prompted President Donald Trump to order the end of the penny. The 1-cent coin had become largely symbolic, no longer reflecting its worth in everyday transactions.

“For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents,” Trump wrote in an online post in February. “This is so wasteful!”

When first introduced in 1793, a single penny could purchase a biscuit, a candle, or a piece of candy. Today, most pennies are relegated to jars or drawers, and each one costs nearly four cents to produce.

Supporters of retiring the coin pointed to several benefits: cutting production costs, speeding up transactions at cash registers, and following the example of other countries that have phased out their lowest-denomination coins. Canada, for instance, discontinued its penny in 2012.

Criticism surrounding the penny’s phaseout

As the production of pennies drew to a close, some retailers raised concerns over the sudden shortage and the lack of official guidance on handling transactions. Many said the phaseout felt abrupt and left businesses scrambling for solutions.

Some stores began rounding prices down to avoid shortchanging customers, while others asked shoppers to bring exact change. A few took a more inventive approach, offering small prizes, like a free drink, in exchange for piles of pennies.

“We have been advocating abolition of the penny for 30 years. But this is not the way we wanted it to go,” said Jeff Lenard of the National Association of Convenience Stores last month, reflecting the frustration among business owners.

The penny’s enduring legacy

Despite their obsolete monetary value, pennies hold a special place in the hearts of collectors and historians as tangible pieces of American history. Frank Holt, an emeritus professor at the University of Houston who has studied coinage, expressed regret over their retirement.

“We put mottoes on them and self-identifiers, and we decide — in the case of the United States — which dead persons are most important to us and should be commemorated,” he said. “They reflect our politics, our religion, our art, our sense of ourselves, our ideals, our aspirations.”

Beyond historical significance, many Americans cherish pennies for sentimental reasons, seeing them as symbols of luck or simply enjoying them as collectibles.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/last...46141.html

I’ve been throwing them away for years now.

about time ... the nickel is gainin' on it...

Ha! Rounding up more taxes. Pennies of taxes equals billions more revenue to state, local and federal governments. It’s always about the money no matter how small the amount seems.

(11-12-2025 09:38 PM)Was SoMs Eagle Wrote:  Ha! Rounding up more taxes. Pennies of taxes equals billions more revenue to state, local and federal governments. It’s always about the money no matter how small the amount seems.

in the fiat and accounting purposing, they can count to the nth ... decimals with units of infinity are amazing ... but why would ya...

I used to have one of these ... I wonder if'n I can get a buffalo in return ... hell, the sumbiatch may still be in the attic somewhere ...

(11-12-2025 09:14 PM)BartlettTigerFan Wrote:  I’ve been throwing them away for years now.

I've been throwing them all into a plastic water jug along with all of my change at the end of the day. About once or twice a year I'll cash them in. I used to use an actual glass water bottle, but I let it get too full once and could barely pick it up. When I did, the whole bottom broke out of it.

I generally end up with anywhere from 400 to 800 bucks depending on how full I let it get. That's usually enough to offset the cost of a new pistola without feeling like I had to reach in my wallet and pay for it, even though I did, but it was a little at a time.

Edit: And I'm nowhere near as much of a change hoarder as my younger brother. He has Winchester ammo boxes, water bottles, and a few other bins into which he has been throwing change for years. He probably has 10k in change. It would fill a wheelbarrow. And that doesn't even take into account the number of one-dollar bills he's hoarded. I have almost 800 in one-dollar bills alone myself. Like my change, any leftover ones go into another jar at the end of the day. But he's a collector. He buys old toy trucks, refurbishes them, and then when it's time to put them on ebay he sticks them on a shelf somewhere. He must have 100k worth of collectibles, including old toys and collectible knives and various other items. He's never been married and has no children, so his toys are his babies.

(11-13-2025 07:35 AM)TigerBlue4Ever Wrote:  

(11-12-2025 09:14 PM)BartlettTigerFan Wrote:  I’ve been throwing them away for years now.

I've been throwing them all into a plastic water jug along with all of my change at the end of the day. About once or twice a year I'll cash them in. I used to use an actual glass water bottle, but I let it get too full once and could barely pick it up. When I did, the whole bottom broke out of it.

I generally end up with anywhere from 400 to 800 bucks depending on how full I let it get. That's usually enough to offset the cost of a new pistola without feeling like I had to reach in my wallet and pay for it, even though I did, but it was a little at a time.

I do the same with all my change ... I'm bettin' there's 3 hundo in the console right now with the truck unlocked ... a folger's plastic container usually goes for ~180.xx ... I've got 4 full ones ... the nieces and nephews will enjoy their uncle this Christmas ... once a ho, always a ho-ho-ho ...

I save nickels, dimes, and quarters. Pennies aren't worth the space they take up.

Good.

Eventually I won't need a jar on a desk or a cup holder in a car to dump them in.

(11-13-2025 08:05 AM)BartlettTigerFan Wrote:  I save nickels, dimes, and quarters. Pennies aren't worth the space they take up.

yeahhhhh ... when I get muh freshly ground cup o' joe for a buck-fiddy-nine (no starfks for stink), I told the counter attendant long ago, "honey, just give me the 'silvahhh'." ...

I don't know how you'd work out the logistics of such a thing, but it'd be neat if they came up with some system where we could round up all our transactions to the next nickel and give that money to some charitable entity.

(11-13-2025 09:47 AM)Redwingtom Wrote:  I don't know how you'd work out the logistics of such a thing, but it'd be neat if they came up with some system where we could round up all our transactions to the next nickel and give that money to some charitable entity.

the family dollar no longer takes pennies ... that happened a month ago....

it still doesn't change the allure of $0.x9...

businesses will round up, regardless ... it's accounting thingy...

what's really fonzies, is ewer DA will use a debit card and pay the 3.5% surcharge w/o thinking...

ignore me ... I can't help but laugh at ewes...

We all laugh at him.

(11-13-2025 08:05 AM)BartlettTigerFan Wrote:  I save nickels, dimes, and quarters. Pennies aren't worth the space they take up.

I don't know, if they're pre-1982, they have a lot of copper in them. Clean copper is going for over 3 bucks a pound now.

My younger brother has a 1995 Chevy pickup that he's barely driven in 20 years sitting in his driveway. It still runs. He still cranks it up about once a week, and he'll drive it around the block sometimes. This is a truck that restorers are looking for everywhere, but he won't sell it, and he won't fix it back up even though the body is as straight as the day it rolled off the assembly line.

Instead, he uses it as a receptacle for scrap copper. He works for a cabling company, so he ends up with a lot of scrap Cat5 and Cat6 cabling. That stuff isn't worth nearly as much as cleaned electrical wiring, though. I don't know where he comes up with it, but he probably has about 500 pounds of it sitting in his garage.

(11-13-2025 10:00 AM)BartlettTigerFan Wrote:  We all laugh at him.

Some of us even point and laugh.

(11-13-2025 10:14 AM)TigerBlue4Ever Wrote:  

(11-13-2025 08:05 AM)BartlettTigerFan Wrote:  I save nickels, dimes, and quarters. Pennies aren't worth the space they take up.

I don't know, if they're pre-1982, they have a lot of copper in them. Clean copper is going for over 3 bucks a pound now.

My younger brother has a 1995 Chevy pickup that he's barely driven in 20 years sitting in his driveway. It still runs. He still cranks it up about once a week, and he'll drive it around the block sometimes. This is a truck that restorers are looking for everywhere, but he won't sell it, and he won't fix it back up even though the body is as straight as the day it rolled off the assembly line.

Instead, he uses it as a receptacle for scrap copper. He works for a cabling company, so he ends up with a lot of scrap Cat5 and Cat6 cabling. That stuff isn't worth nearly as much as cleaned electrical wiring, though. I don't know where he comes up with it, but he probably has about 500 pounds of it sitting in his garage.

lol ... I drove my '90 chevy silverado to get coffee this morning ... that v8 350 w/o the catalytic (had it cut out moons ago for noise and extra HP ... he did it for the platinum .. no receipt ... ) still purrs like a .... well, a kitty with fangs ... don't tell cali and the Newsom contingent ...

Oh I look at the date before I throw them out.

I picked up a dime in a parking lot some years ago, I forget the date on it, but it was old. I looked it up and it was worth a little over $3. Now if I just had an ammo can full of them instead of just the one.

(11-13-2025 10:21 AM)BartlettTigerFan Wrote:  Oh I look at the date before I throw them out.

I picked up a dime in a parking lot some years ago, I forget the date on it, but it was old. I looked it up and it was worth a little over $3. Now if I just had an ammo can full of them instead of just the one.

you can feel the weight of mercury when you get one...

A penn.... a NICKEL for your thoughts on this.

I had some pennies that I took to the local tostada store. I was hoping I'd get rich with some coin. It's too much trouble checking all of them for deformities so I gave that up. I collect star paper notes now. I've got a rare one but I don't know how to sell it.

If a penny costs 4 cents to make, then make the penny smaller like they do in Mexico. They make this coin that is about the size of a babys button on their shirts. They're aluminum too, so make the pennies out of aluminum. There's scads of old airplanes in Tucson use the aluminum from them and that aluminum is great, it's duraluminum much stronger than regular aluminum.

I guess it's too simple a concept to come up with a viable solution...and I just gave them one. Who says a penny has to be copper, it could be any cheap metal, afterall, it's only worth a penny. A penny for your thoughts isn't what it used to be. Liberals are using todays pennies and their thinking ain't worth the brain waves that they create.