It is the end of an era for America’s smallest coin. On Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will strike the nation’s final penny in a ceremonial minting, an event that marks the official halt to new one-cent production after more than 230 years in circulation.
The penny’s origins trace to the Coinage Act of 1792, which established the U.S. Mint and the early denominations that helped knit a young nation’s economy together.
The decision follows a months-long policy process that accelerated in February, when President Donald Trump said the administration would stop minting new pennies, citing the cost of producing a coin worth one cent that costs several cents to make. Treasury officials have since completed the reviews needed to wind down the program and set a final date for production.
Why the penny is being retired
Manufacturing economics drove the move. Each penny now costs about 3.69 cents to produce and distribute, a result of higher metal prices, labor, transport and overhead. That gap has persisted for years, pushing the Mint’s unit cost for the coin well above its face value.
Ending production is projected to save roughly $56 million per year, a modest line item in the federal ledger but a meaningful cut to the Mint’s recurring losses on the denomination.
You may like: Tesla investors approve Musk’s $1T pay package
Consumer behavior has also shifted. As digital payments and card transactions climbed, demand for low-value coins fell. The Mint’s shipments of circulating coins dropped sharply in fiscal 2024, and pennies accounted for the majority of pieces even as overall coin demand eased. Policymakers concluded that the existing supply of one-cent coins is far more than commerce requires.
What changes for shoppers and businesses
The penny is not being banned, recalled or devalued. Existing one-cent coins will remain legal tender. Americans can still use them in cash transactions, deposit them at banks or keep them in change jars and collections.
The government is simply stopping new production, which means the stock already in the economy will gradually satisfy day-to-day needs.
Retailers that accept cash will continue to make change to the cent as long as pennies are available, and electronic payments are unaffected. If cash-only rounding becomes necessary in the future, state and local practices would guide how merchants round totals, typically to the nearest five cents.
Countries such as Canada adopted similar rounding rules after retiring their one-cent coin, and studies there found little impact on consumers when transactions were averaged across millions of purchases.
The scale of the supply already in circulation
Even with production ending, there is no immediate shortage risk. Treasury estimates put the number of pennies already in existence at roughly 300 billion, a stock that officials say far exceeds what commerce requires.
In fiscal 2024, pennies represented about 57 percent of the Mint’s 5.61 billion circulating coins, a share that reflects how often pennies are requested even as many end up in drawers, vehicles and coin rolls rather than returning to active circulation.
Pennies are currently produced at the Philadelphia and Denver facilities. A typical U.S. coin can circulate for 20 to 30 years before it wears out, which means one-cent pieces minted over the past decade will remain spendable for a long time. As coins return through banks and armored carriers, the Federal Reserve will continue to recirculate usable pennies and cull damaged ones.
What to expect at the Mint
The ceremonial final strike is set for the Philadelphia Mint, the nation’s oldest coin facility. The event will feature the last rolling of a full production press for one-cent planchets, quality checks and the final acceptance that moves the coin into the vault.
The Mint will retain archival examples for the National Numismatic Collection and agency records, and a limited number of commemorative sets are expected for museums and educational partners.
Mint officials say production lines will be rebalanced to focus on other denominations and on bullion and numismatic programs. Halting the penny allows the Mint to reduce changeover time on presses and trim materials purchases associated with one-cent planchets, which are primarily zinc with a thin copper coating. Procurement teams have already notified suppliers and logistics partners of the change.
