Treasury announces penny production will end in the United States
The United States will officially end production of the penny this month for the first time in 233 years, according to a statement from the Treasury Department.
America’s iconic penny, beloved by millions of Americans for its copper surface and folk symbolism until it faded into obscurity in coin purses, died on November 12, 2025. It had a history of 232 years.
In its heyday, it was ubiquitous, the American embodiment of grit, humility, and frugality. They jingled lightly in pockets and purses, proudly rubbing shoulders with contemporary currency, and pouncing on gumballs and the occasional grocery item.
But in the end, they end up fading from the spotlight, like the screen stars of the decades whose phones stopped ringing long ago, plagued by doubts about their self-worth.
Decades of inflation took a toll on this humble coin. A year after its charter by the newly established United States Mint, it breathed its last in Philadelphia, where it was born in 1793. On Wednesday afternoon, the U.S. Mint officially stamped what will be the last penny in circulation in the country in a ceremony celebrating symbols of the nation’s spirit: the lunch pail, the piggy bank and the American Dream.
No other U.S. coin has been in circulation longer.
“The penny is a symbolic coin of America,” said Gabriel Massie, an economics professor at American University. “It’s the end of an era.”
At its peak, Penny wielded immense influence. Being thrown into a fountain had the potential to answer unfulfilled wishes. Every penny saved was equal to every penny earned. As a way to honor the dead, they were pinched, stuffed into loafers, and placed over graves. If you give to a person’s thoughts, you can withdraw your two cents and your profits will be doubled.
Caroline Turco, assistant curator at the American Numismatic Society’s Numismatic Museum in Colorado Springs, Colorado, said that whenever she finds a penny on the street, she still remembers the rhyme: “If you find a penny and pick it up, you’ll have good luck all day long.”
Penny’s influence was so strong that numerous sales pitches relied on marketing psychology built solely on Penny’s absence. Why pay $10 when you can pay $9.99?
The one penny was chartered by the Continental Congress in 1787 and was reinvented many times over the years, succeeding its one-cent predecessor designed by Benjamin Franklin until the creation of the Mint in 1792. It was made of pure copper and depicted a woman with flowing hair, symbolizing freedom.
The name reflects the country’s colonial roots and comes from the British word “pence,” which America’s founding fathers disposed of along with the British monarchy.
In 1857, the penny became a more modest size, contained 12% nickel, and incorporated a flying eagle design on its face. Two years later, the design was replaced by an image of Liberty wearing an eagle feather headdress.
The penny face we know today, depicting Abraham Lincoln’s head, was first minted in 1909. A pair of wheatsheaves originally adorned the tail until it was changed 50 years later to depict the Lincoln Memorial.
But even to those closest to her, it was becoming clear that things were changing for Penny. Its spending power has decreased. They could barely afford a stick of bubble gum, and were as poor as the beggars of the Great Depression, who scoured the streets for bubble gum by the light of streetlamps.
Eventually, signs of its end began to appear. By 1982, as metal prices rose and the penny’s popularity among the general public began to wane, the penny’s once-copper features were replaced by the cheaper zinc. In 1990, politicians began to suggest that perhaps every penny of time was spent in a nutshell. It was simply too expensive to make.
In other words, it had no value in itself.
“The penny was doomed because of rising metal prices,” Massie said. “This meant that it would eventually be phased out.”
Over time, some people reported seeing pennies lying around in dark corners of desk drawers and glove compartments, relegated to canning jars and coffee containers, or discarded on convenience store counters. Unused and unnecessary, it was hidden under the couch cushions. This became Penny’s sad existence.
Even when the Penny underwent a final redesign in 2010, with the tail side replaced by a Union shield, the whole affair had the sentimental glow of a farewell tour. Eventually, the inflationary tendencies that had long plagued Penny’s well-being became unbearably heavy.
According to the U.S. Mint’s 2024 report, the cost to produce a 1-cent coin was 3.7 cents, an increase of 20% from the previous year. Additionally, Americans are now using less cash overall, preferring digital payments and credit cards.
The U.S. Treasury recently declared that the penny is “no longer needed to meet the needs of the United States.”
In February 2025, President Donald Trump ordered the department to stop producing pennies, and in May the Mint ordered the last set of penny blanks. Wednesday’s action brings the penny into the ranks of older U.S. banknotes that have expired, including the half-cent (d. 1857) and three-cent trime (d. 1873).
Turco, of the Numismatic Society Museum, said the penny “should be remembered as an economic necessity that no longer really functions in the economy. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t an important item. It’s had an incredible impact on our culture.”
The penny is survived by the nickel, dime, and quarter.
