As of November 2025, the penny has formally been discontinued, meaning the minting of all pennies has been shut down by the U.S. government.

Passed by our current president Donald Trump all the way back in January 2025, the demise of pennies can be attributed to the rising cost in minting them versus their actual worth. According to the 2024 annual report of the U.S. Mint, the cost per penny was roughly 3.69 cents. 

“I think that it’ll probably save the government a lot of money because now they don’t have to mint all these pennies, which are basically useless,” said Samuel Fischer (11).

This decline can also be attributed to the rise in standard pricing, making the penny practically useless to the American spender in modern day markets, which have risen dramatically in the previous few years. 

The history of the penny stems all the way back to its creation in 1972, and first featured Abraham Lincoln on it in 1909 in celebration of the 16th president’s birthday. Now, in 2025, the penny is officially done. 

But what effect will this have on the average person?

The death of the penny will have little to no effect on the wallets of millions, as according to the American Banking Association, there are still approximately 250 billion pennies around the U.S.

“I think on the average person this is going to have very little effect because pennies are still circulating around globally considering there’s still so many of them,” said Fischer.

Similarly, the nickel also costs a heavy amount to produce, leading many to speculate that the penny’s older brother could be next. 

The official end of the penny making has sparked debate among many, but economically, this decision will save the U.S. government and the U.S. Mint a lot of money, and will see little to no effect on the average American, who likely won’t even realize this decision has been made due to the vast amount of pennies in circulation around the U.S.

“I’m kind of conflicted because on the one hand, you can use pennies to pay for small things, but on the other, pennies are really useless and don’t contribute to anything” said Fischer.