Penniless!

People pick them up for good luck. They’re tossed into fountains and valued by collectors. More than 3 billion pennies were made in 2024 alone. And on November 12, 2025, the United States Mint produced its final batch.

LAST ONE Brandon Beach, the U.S. treasurer, holds up the country’s last penny on November 12, 2025.

After 232 years, no new 1¢ coins will be made. Pennies are far from gone. About 250 billion of them are still in circulation. They’ll still be accepted as legal tender × tender a form of payment (noun) . But the U.S. is officially on its way to becoming penniless.

Government officials spent months winding down production. Discontinuing the coin will save money: Last May, the U.S. Mint said the cost of producing one penny is nearly four times its value. The government expects to save $56 million per year by not making the coins.

BIG MOMENT Cameras roll as Beach stamps the last penny, on November 12, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

History of the Coin

The penny was one of the first coins the U.S. minted. It used to be larger. It was made of pure copper. Now a penny measures just three-quarters of an inch across. It’s made almost entirely of zinc. It has copper plating × plating thin metal coating (noun) .

The U.S. Mint made pennies in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Denver, Colorado. In 2024, more than half of all coins minted were pennies.

THE END The last pennies are stamped with an omega symbol (behind Abraham Lincoln). They’ll be auctioned off.

Lawmakers have been trying to end the penny since 1989. In that year, Congress introduced a bill. It would have rounded cash transactions to the nearest nickel. It didn’t pass. In 2013, talking about the penny, President Barack Obama said, “We’re spending more money on something that people don’t actually use.” A decade later, a bill aimed at making the coin of cheaper material was introduced. It failed too.

In February 2025, President Donald Trump posted about the issue on social media. “For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2¢,” he wrote. “This is so wasteful!”

What Now?

The government will make versions of the penny in limited quantities. These will be for collectors and historical purposes.

The Retail Industry Leaders Association announced the results of a survey in November. The survey found that thousands of retailers are seeking advice. How should they handle cash transactions?

Canada stopped making its penny in 2012. The Canadian government told retailers to round cash transactions to the nearest 5¢. In October 2025, a group of U.S. trade associations urged Congress to offer similar guidance.

Businesses need help avoiding “hurdles that are being caused by the rapid loss of the U.S. penny,” the group wrote in a letter. Otherwise, the group said, it will become “challenging to legally engage in cash transactions.”

A Penny For Your Thoughts?

Which of these popular penny-related phrases do you know? Can you think of others?

In for a penny, in for a pound: Once you’ve started something, see it through.

He’s penny-wise, pound-foolish: He’s careful with small amounts but not large ones.

He turns up like a bad penny: He keeps coming back, unwanted.

It’s worth every penny: It’s totally worth the cost.

It cost a pretty penny: It was really expensive.

Aha! The penny dropped: I finally understood something.