Use of existing pennies in transactions is expected to continue until the end of their lifespan some three decades from now.
But the addition of new pennies is now a moot point as the Department of Treasury has struck a final five pennies, putting an end to a coin that was first authorized during George Washington’s presidency.
Earlier this year the Treasury Department announced that it was winding down the production of the penny, noting that it cost around 3.6 cents to make every one cent coin, up from 1.3 cents a decade ago.
A report issued last year by the U.S. Mint determined that the cost of making a penny has outpaced its street value for nearly two decades. In 2024, more than 3.2 billion pennies were produced.
Treasury Department officials have said that discontinuing pennies, which are composed of zinc and copper plating, will save taxpayers an estimated $85 million annually. In May, the New York Times reported that “there will be additional savings once the facilities used to produce pennies are converted for other purposes.”
The American Bankers Association has issued a statement noting that “existing pennies remain legal tender, and banks will continue to accept and process them.”
But the statement added that “as availability declines, some banks and merchants may run low or out of pennies, potentially affecting cash transactions that rely on exact change.”
Legislation that is currently under review in the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs will require, if ultimately passed by the full Congress, that all stores round out transactions to the nearest 5 cents.
That would mean, by way of example, that a $5.31 transaction will cost $5.30, while a $6.89 transaction will be rounded out to $6.90.
November 18, 2025
By Garry Boulard
Photo courtesy of Unsplash
