US Mint Pressed Its Final Penny Citing Rising Costs 

This week, a stalwart of the American economy will no longer be with us as the U.S. Mint pressed the final penny on Wednesday. 

According to The Guardian, the U.S. Mint cited the cost, along with the relative uselessness of the penny, as a reason for ending its production. To paraphrase one Kendrick Lamar, how much a penny cost? 

Believe it or not, it costs four cents to produce a penny. While the penny has a better cost-to-value ratio than the nickel, which costs 14 cents to produce, the expense doesn’t match the penny’s usefulness. The Treasury Department projects it will save $56 million in production costs per year by phasing out the penny. 

For 232 years, the penny was in circulation. Back in the day, a penny could get you a biscuit, some candy, maybe even a candle. These days, pennies are mostly useful as objects to pelt friends with, do magic tricks, and occasionally come in clutch as currency when paying with exact change at the dispensary. 

While the penny has a perceived lack of value, it’s still a necessity when it comes to cash transactions. Several retailers who have supported the end of the penny have been critical of the relatively abrupt way the Trump administration has gone about it. “We have been advocating the abolition of the penny for 30 years. But this is not the way we wanted it to go,” Jeff Lenard of the National Association of Convenience Stores told The Guardian. 

The federal government didn’t give retailers any guidance on how to handle penny shortages, so some stores have begun rounding prices down to avoid shortchanging customers, while others have asked customers to bring exact change if they’re paying with cash. Despite the penny going out of circulation, it’s still legal tender and can be used in transactions. 

I, for one, am going to miss the penny. While its value was minimal, it was still meaningful enough to toss in a wishing well, a fountain, and the occasional penny press machine at a theme park. This is really going to affect the luck stats for future generations, as finding a penny face up becomes more and more rare. It’s a shame they may also never know the joy of dumping a jar full of pennies into a Coinstar machine and getting a crisp $20 bill. 

Heck, it’s already hard enough to relate to Gen Z and Gen Alpha. Soon, they’re not going to know what I mean when I ask, “Penny for your thoughts?” Quite frankly, I find the penny to be the perfect valuation for someone else’s thoughts. You think I’m gonna offer a quarter or even a nickel to hear someone else’s thoughts, knowing there’s always the chance they’re going to tell me a hot dog is a sandwich? Not a chance. 

So today we pay our final respects to the penny. While you may no longer be in production, you will always be with us in our cupholders, countertops, and couch cushions. 

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