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U.S. Strikes Final Circulating Penny in Philadelphia

Treasury ended minting because each coin costs nearly four cents to make, with $56 million in yearly savings projected.

Freshly-made pennies sit in a bin at the U.S. Mint in Denver on Aug. 15, 2007.
GLENVIEW, IL - JULY 06: Pennies are displayed at Glenview Coin & Collectibles July 6, 2006 in Glenview, Illinois. Reportedly due to manufacturing costs, the US Mint may be contemplating discontinuing the penny. (Photo by Tim Boyle/Getty Images)
FILE - Pennies sit in a penny press machine at the American Dream mall, March 2, 2025, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)
FILE - A sign in a Kwik Trip store shows the store will no longer be using pennies to give change, Oct. 23, 2025, in Yorkville, Wis. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, File)

Overview

  • Pennies remain legal tender, with hundreds of billions already in circulation even as Federal Reserve coin terminals curtail penny services and banks report localized shortages.
  • Treasury cites a per-coin cost of about 3.69 cents and estimates roughly $56 million in annual material savings from halting production.
  • Retailers and banks describe a patchwork of stopgaps, including rounding cash totals to the nearest nickel or requesting exact change, which collides with exact-change laws in several states and program rules such as SNAP.
  • Trade groups are urging Congress to set uniform rounding rules to reduce legal exposure and tax-compliance risks as coin distribution bottlenecks complicate cash transactions.
  • The Mint will continue limited collector issues of the cent, though any savings could be trimmed if nickel minting rises, given nickels cost about 13.8 to 14 cents to produce.