Why You Won’t Be Seeing Many New Pennies After This Year

The penny’s days are officially numbered.

The U.S. Treasury Department has placed its final order for penny blanks—the metal discs that are eventually minted into one-cent coins—marking the beginning of the end for the country’s 233-year-old copper coin. A Treasury spokesperson confirmed the decision to USA Today, though the department did not specify exactly when production would stop.

While the U.S. Mint will continue to strike pennies until the current inventory of blanks runs out, no more will be made after that. The timeline remains unclear, but it’s safe to say: the last penny has been planned.

The decision comes as production costs continue to outpace value. In fiscal year 2024, it cost 3.7 cents to make a single penny, up 20% from the previous year, according to the Mint. The spike was attributed in part to rising metal prices, particularly for zinc and copper.

At the same time, Americans are using less physical cash. According to the Federal Reserve, only 16% of consumer payments in 2023 were made with cash, further reducing demand for low-denomination coins.

Despite nostalgia and tradition, the economics are hard to ignore. The government produced 3.2 billion pennies in 2024, at a total cost of over $118 million, which is nearly quadruple the coin’s face value. And with the production of the nickel also exceeding its own value (13.8 cents per coin), some experts expect further changes to coinage policies in the future.

The penny has been a fixture of American currency since 1792, but its exit may come as a relief to many who see it as more of a nuisance than a necessity. For now, expect the familiar copper coin to hang around in circulation a bit longer, but not forever. It seems this change may change the way things are priced and possibly even taxed.

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