Overview
- The Penny Exchange runs Nov. 1 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 200-plus Giant Eagle and Market District stores, with gift cards worth twice the value of pennies exchanged.
- Participants must bring at least 50 cents in pennies for a $1 gift card, with a cap of $100 in pennies per transaction for a $200 card.
- Giant Eagle says the effort helps maintain exact change for cash transactions as the Treasury phases out penny production and the Federal Reserve restricts distributions.
- The penny costs more to make than it’s worth, with reporting putting 2024 production at about 3.7 cents per coin and the U.S. Mint projecting $66 million in savings from discontinuation in FY2026.
- Retailers are adapting with coin drives and rounding policies, including Sheetz’s 100-pennies-for-a-drink offer, Kroger urging exact change, and some McDonald’s locations rounding to the nearest nickel as others report shortages after some Fed sites halted penny orders in late September.