After more than 230 years in circulation, the United States government has announced that the US Mint will cease production of new pennies. The US Department of the Treasury recently announced that the production of this coin will end in early 2026, marking the end of a seemingly small yet significant piece of American history.
The one-cent coin was first introduced in 1792. Historically, the penny was made almost entirely of copper, but as copper prices increased, its use in the penny’s alloy has been declining. Over the course of more than two centuries, the penny’s appearance and composition have undergone numerous changes. Most notably, in 1909, President Abraham Lincoln’s portrait was added to the coin’s obverse (front) to commemorate the hundredth anniversary of his birth. This made the penny the first US coin to feature a real person. In 1943, during World War II, the Mint manufactured steel pennies to preserve copper for the war effort. Today, new pennies are made of approximately 98% zinc with a thin copper coating, symbolizing nearly two and a half centuries of American tradition.
Rising production costs have impacted the penny’s end. The government spends almost four cents to manufacture and distribute a single penny, meaning the Mint loses money every time a penny is made. Ending penny production is estimated to result in future annual savings of $56 million.
The penny itself has become significantly less practical. With the rise of credit cards and digital payments, about 41% of Americans don’t use cash in a typical week, which is a steep rise from 29% in 2018. Even when people do use cash, pennies often end up stored away because they are viewed as inconvenient. Of the 240 billion pennies in possession of consumers today, around 114 billion pennies are in active circulation.
The government ordered the last batch of penny material in 2025 to stamp the final coins in 2026. The penny will remain a legal tender perpetually, meaning that people can still use the pennies that they already possess, and retailers and banks will accept them for years to come. Once pennies start to disappear, cash transactions will be rounded to the nearest five cents, while credit and debit transactions will still calculate exact amounts.
The end of the penny is more than the retirement of a coin. It symbolizes how much our economy and daily habits have changed over time. As the cost of materials rises and consumers use more digital payments, saying goodbye to the penny is a practical shift. There may be nostalgia about losing a familiar piece of history, but this is progress towards a more efficient and cost-effective future.