On Nov. 12, the United States Mint produced the final batch of the one-cent coin, the penny. The currency was first minted in 1793 and bears the face of the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, on one side. After 232 years, the one-cent coin has been discontinued.
“God bless America, and we’re going to save the taxpayers $56 million,” Treasurer Brandon Beach said at the Mint before pressing the button to end the penny’s manufacturing.
Beach, a President Donald Trump appointee, credited Trump’s “commonsense agenda” for eliminating the coin.
The U.S. government has attempted to rid the nation of the penny since 1989 and now, 36 years later, the penny is finally facing its demise.
The reason for eliminating the coin lies in the elimination of unnecessary government spending. Producing the one-cent coin costs the Mint $192 billion annually, which accounts for 4% of the Mint’s annual budget.
Production of pennies has been winding down since February when Trump ordered Beach to halt production. Trump has centered his decision on the production of pennies as wasteful for the U.S.
“For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents,“ Trump said on Truth Social. "This is so wasteful! I have instructed my Secretary of the US Treasury to stop producing new pennies. Let's rip the waste out of our great nation's budget, even if it's a penny at a time.”
Maybe it’s the nostalgia of being young and using a penny to purchase candy or add to a piggy bank, or maybe it's the appreciation of the very coin’s history, but the removal of the penny feels like a dismal goodbye to part of everyday life for Americans.
However, pennies are not disappearing overnight and will be around for a bit longer. There are still 250 million in circulation across the country. While the Mint has halted production, businesses, banks and citizens will still have access to the coins until there are none left. In the meantime, pennies are still legal tender and can be used to buy goods or services.
The banking industry strongly encourages people to utilize the remaining pennies they have, whether in piggy banks or floating around in back pockets. Utilizing remaining pennies helps to ease the slowdown and can aid the transition toward a penny-less country.
However, the disappearance of pennies is already impacting retailers and banks across the country. Many report that without pennies, retailers have begun rounding cash transactions down, costing cents each time. It’s a small amount in the moment, but is likely to grow in costs as pennies grow more scarce.
The lack of pennies will continue to challenge retailers, but consumers will also see the effects as prices are expected to be rounded to the nearest five cents, keeping purchases simple without the penny. Despite these changes, there remains no clear guidance from the federal government on how businesses or banks should navigate a penny-less nation.
Despite the concerns from retailers and consumers, the long-term question of who will actually eliminate the pennies remains unsolved. It’s unclear whether Trump has the power to end the use of the penny. If in the future it becomes a consideration, Congress holds the power in making decisions regarding currency speculations, including the size and metal content of coins.
In 1857, Congress discontinued the half-cent coin, which was the last time a U.S. coin’s production was ended. The coin was seen as unpopular, and the high cost of copper made large cents and half-cents expensive to produce. Today, the penny is facing a similar fate.
Whether history will repeat itself remains up to Congress, but the economic pressures continue to push the penny toward the same fate as the half-cent coin. If the penny does officially fade out, its legacy will live on in jars, couch cushions and the familiar saying: “a penny for your thoughts,” a reminder of the coin that served more value in nostalgia and sentiment than in spending.
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