Overview
- The last circulating pennies were struck November 12 at the Philadelphia Mint, and existing cents remain legal tender as the Mint continues limited collector issues.
- Treasury officials attribute the phase-out to costs outstripping value, citing Congressional Research Service data that each penny cost nearly four cents to produce.
- A small set of ceremonial pennies bearing an omega mark will be auctioned by the government at a later date, with outside estimates in the low millions that some numismatists dispute.
- Retailers have begun adapting cash handling, posting signs requesting exact change, inviting penny turn-ins, or rounding cash totals to the nearest nickel.
- Most pennies carry no premium over face value, experts note, and melting coins is illegal while post-1982 cents are copper-plated zinc rather than solid copper.