The last-ever penny has been minted in Philadelphia Wednesday

PHILADELPHIA — After 238 years in circulation, the American penny will officially pass away today following a prolonged decline in use. The final penny was minted Wednesday afternoon at the US Mint in Philadelphia, an event witnessed by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Treasurer Brandon Beach.

The penny’s demise comes as the cost to produce the coin—nearly four cents each—far outstrips its face value. While it once bought “penny candy,” filled parking meters, and paid toll booths, these days the penny mainly ends up in coin jars, junk drawers, or “take a penny/leave a penny” trays.

Outliving its sibling, the half-penny, by 168 years, the penny leaves behind a family of coins: the nickel, dime, quarter, and the rarely seen half-dollar and dollar coins. Despite no longer being minted, pennies will still be considered legal tender.

**Problems Despite a Long-Planned End**

For a coin regarded as obsolete, its removal from circulation is proving more complicated than anticipated—especially for retailers. Many merchants plan to round prices to the nearest nickel, often adding a penny or two to totals. Some businesses have asked customers to pay with pennies to maintain supply, but certain states prohibit rounding up or down by law.

Additionally, the US Mint may not see the expected savings. Increased demand for nickels, which are more expensive to make than pennies, could offset any cost reductions.

> **RELATED:** What will become of America’s 114 billion pennies once production stops?

“The government’s phase-out of the penny has been a bit chaotic,” said Mark Weller, executive director of Americans for Common Cents, a pro-penny group funded largely by Artazn—the company supplying the metal blanks for pennies. “By Christmas, problems for retailers lacking pennies will be more pronounced.”

Weller noted that countries like Canada, Australia, and Switzerland offered clear guidance after removing low-denomination coins. The United States has not. “We had a social media post by President Trump during Super Bowl Sunday, but no real plan,” he said, referencing the February announcement.

**Different Rounding Plans**

Kwik Trip, a family-owned convenience store chain operating in the Midwest, has chosen to round down cash transactions in locations where pennies are unavailable.

“There’s no way that we wanted to charge customers an extra two cents. We just didn’t think that was fair,” said John McHugh, company spokesperson. “It’s not their fault that there’s a penny shortage.”

With 20 million customers annually and 17% paying with cash, Kwik Trip expects the policy could cost them a couple million dollars each year.

Consumers will also bear extra costs. Rounding to the nearest nickel will amount to about $6 million yearly, according to a Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond study—an average of about five cents per household.

But rounding is not a nationwide solution. Four states—Delaware, Connecticut, Michigan, and Oregon—as well as major cities like New York, Philadelphia, Miami, and Washington, DC, require retailers to provide exact change.

Additionally, the federally funded food assistance program, SNAP, requires recipients to pay neither more nor less than other shoppers. Since SNAP is charged the exact amount via debit card, rounding down cash transactions could put retailers at legal risk, warns Jeff Lenard, spokesperson for the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS).

“Rounding down on all transactions presents several challenges beyond the average loss of two cents per transaction,” Lenard said. “We desperately need legislation allowing rounding so retailers can make proper change.”

NACS and fellow retail organizations have recently petitioned Congress for clarification.

**End of a ‘Wonderful Life’**

The penny was among America’s first coins, first struck in 1787—six years before the Mint’s founding. Benjamin Franklin is credited with designing the first penny, the Fugio cent. In 1909, on the centennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth, the penny became the first American coin to feature a president.

Its use and popularity have waned ever since. The Treasury Department estimates about 300 billion pennies remain in circulation, averaging less than $9 per American. Yet, most are “severely underutilized,” resulting in little public outcry over its end.

Joe Ditler, a 74-year-old writer and historian from Colorado, still keeps a cigar box of pennies passed down from his grandfather. He recalls flattening pennies on railroad tracks and using them in amusement park souvenir machines. Now, he rarely uses pennies for purchases, but often tosses them in tip jars.

“They bring back memories that have stayed with me all my life,” Ditler said. “The penny has had a wonderful life. But it’s probably time for it to go away.”
https://6abc.com/post/last-penny-being-minted-philadelphia-wednesday/18148058/

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