Stephen Hilger/Bloomberg via Getty Images (factory); Shutterstock.com (falling pennies)

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The End of the Penny

September 8, 2025
By Brian Fitzgerald

The U.S. Mint has been making pennies since George Washington was president. But it won’t be making the one-cent coin for much longer. In May, the Mint placed its final order for the materials needed to make pennies.

Why put an end to pennies? The cost has a lot to do with it. Pennies are made from zinc and copper. The price of both metals has gone up in recent years. Coins that are worth one cent each now cost nearly four cents to make. The U.S. government says it will save about $56 million per year by no longer buying zinc and copper to make pennies.

The U.S. Mint made 3.2 billion pennies last year. That’s about 100 pennies each second.

Also, the penny isn’t as useful as it was in the past. There are tens of billions of pennies in circulation in the U.S. But Americans use these coins far less than they do other coins. Instead, pennies often end up in change jars or lost between couch cushions.  

The U.S. government expects to stop putting pennies into circulation in early 2026. People will still be able to use the pennies they have to buy things. But at some point, stores will have to round their prices to the nearest nickel. That might require minting more nickels. Making the five-cent coin is even more expensive than making pennies. It costs nearly 14 cents!

Did You Know . . . ?

Heritage Auctions (first penny); Lost Dutchman Rare Coins (Lincoln penny)
  • When the U.S. Mint was created in 1792, one of the first coins it made was the one-cent coin.
  • The first penny design (bottom) looked different from a modern cent (top). It showed an image of a lady with flowing hair, who stood for liberty.
  • Abraham Lincoln has been shown on the obverse (heads) side of the penny since 1909. He was the first real person to appear on a U.S. coin in circulation.
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