After 232 years, the US penny is finally dead

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After 232 years, the US penny is finally dead

Daily Mail
By MARTHA WILLIAMS
12 November 2025



The American penny passed away on Wednesday in Philadelphia at the age of 232.

According to the Treasury Department, the causes were irrelevance and high cost.

No longer could a penny buy anything — not even penny candy. And with the expense of minting each coin exceeding three cents, the penny's fate was sealed by simple economics.

The final pennies were minted on Wednesday afternoon in the Pennsylvania city, where treasurer of the United States Brandon Beach struck the final, circulating one-cent coin.

'Today the Mint celebrates 232 years of penny manufacturing,' said Kristie McNally, acting mint director.

'While general production concludes today, the penny's legacy lives on. As its usage in commerce continues to evolve, its significance in America's story will endure.'

The penny has played an important roles in daily American life for a very long time —from the earliest days of the US economy up until now.

However, due to current consumer behavior and economic factors, continued production of the penny is unsustainable.

(more)
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/yourmoney/article-15285589/penny-dies-232-years.html

[DefiantMassRINO]

What about steel pennies, like they made during World War II?  What's the cost of striking those?

[mountaineer]

This is so stupid. Stores already are rounding purchases up to the nickel, which is great for them. They can make up to a free 4 cents on any purchase. Meanwhile, there must be eleventy-zillion pennies floating around the USA. Will people just hoard them now, if stores won't take them?

[berdie]

What about steel pennies, like they made during World War II?  What's the cost of striking those?

I have a lot of wheat pennies. I wonder if they will ever be worth anything?

[rustynail]

Bring back the

[libertybele]

This is so stupid. Stores already are rounding purchases up to the nickel, which is great for them. They can make up to a free 4 cents on any purchase. Meanwhile, there must be eleventy-zillion pennies floating around the USA. Will people just hoard them now, if stores won't take them?

Just another way to steal money. 

[Wingnut]

After 82 pennies were not copper.   Just a coating over some zink.   I plane to melt my old penny's down,  Looking on yuotube now on hot to do it.

[the OlLine Rebel]

This is so stupid. Stores already are rounding purchases up to the nickel, which is great for them. They can make up to a free 4 cents on any purchase. Meanwhile, there must be eleventy-zillion pennies floating around the USA. Will people just hoard them now, if stores won't take them?

Never seen this.  I'm still making checks today down to the cent.

And I recoil at this because we'd still be calculating 5-cent rounding, occupying still the hundredths place.  Better to cut it to the tenths place and leave it there.  Then only dimes might be needed.

[mountaineer]

Mr. M pays cash for most purchases. Today at Kroger he bought one item and used the self-checkout scanner. Instead of rounding up to $2.05 for a  $2.01 purchase,  the machine rounded down to $2.00. But at least no pennies were involved. 😜

[The_Reader_David]

This is so stupid. Stores already are rounding purchases up to the nickel, which is great for them. They can make up to a free 4 cents on any purchase. Meanwhile, there must be eleventy-zillion pennies floating around the USA. Will people just hoard them now, if stores won't take them?

We need legislation to force standard rounding practices (which is what was done in Australia when they abolished their penny): if you're 1 or 2 cent's over the 5 cent mark, it's dropped, if you're 3 or 4 over it's rounded up.  It's equivalent to having one of those "take a penny, leave a penny" trays, always stocked, but with participation enforced.

[The_Reader_David]

Never seen this.  I'm still making checks today down to the cent.

In other places where they abolished the corresponding coin (Australia and the Netherlands when they still had the guilder instead of the euro) rounding only applies (applied in the latter case) to cash transactions, check and electronic transfers still go down to the 1/100's of the main currency unit.

[Smokin Joe]

In other places where they abolished the corresponding coin (Australia and the Netherlands when they still had the guilder instead of the euro) rounding only applies (applied in the latter case) to cash transactions, check and electronic transfers still go down to the 1/100's of the main currency unit.

Well that may answer my question of how much 'extra' interest will be charged on loans, credit cards, or not put into accounts earning interest (not counting how that compounds over a series of cycles)  The fractions past the cent still add up to millions every year.

[verga]

I have a 5 Gallon jars that I have been tossing pennies into for years. I figured it would end up between 3 and 4 hundred dollars. gonna hold on it now.