In 1984, the new wave band Talking Heads came out with their seminal live album called Stop Making Sense. The U.S. Treasury, meanwhile, at the behest of President Donald Trump, has officially stopped making cents.
After 232 years, the last U.S. penny was minted on Wednesday in Philadelphia.
Although change has come, that doesn’t mean that every last red cent will suddenly disappear, though:
The last penny has been minted. There are still 300 billion pennies in circulation and the U.S. Treasurer tells me we will not run out. #USMint225 pic.twitter.com/AYvmssnnbP
— Edward Lawrence (@EdwardLawrence) November 12, 2025
They’ve been around since 1793. Why stop now? One main reason is that they’re simply not worth the cost, as Trump pointed out in February:
For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents. This is so wasteful! I have instructed my Secretary of the US Treasury to stop producing new pennies. Let's rip the waste out of our great nations budget, even if it's a penny at a…
— Commentary Donald J. Trump Posts From Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) February 10, 2025
Let's rip the waste out of our great nations budget, even if it's a penny at a time.
READ MORE: DOGE: A Nickel Ain't Worth a Dime Anymore, but Every Penny Costs the Taxpayers Three Cents
A Penny for Your Thoughts? Trump Orders US Treasury to Suspend Production of the Cent
Some stores are already rounding up transactions to the nearest nickel in anticipation of penny shortages. The copper coins (actually, mostly zinc these days) are almost as old as the republic itself:
Pennies were among the first coins introduced by the U.S. Mint, a bureau of the Treasury Department, more than 230 years ago.
The cost of making both coins has increased over the past two decades. Some of that is attributed to the rise in raw material prices of copper, nickel and zinc.
Higher metal prices result in higher production costs. If production costs get too high, the seigniorage – the difference between a coin’s face value and the cost of putting it into circulation – make the coin worth less than what it costs to make it.
Back in the day, however, a mere penny might get you a biscuit, some sweets, or even a candle (which would have been an important item indeed in 1793).
U.S. Treasurer tells me there are more than 300 billion pennies in circulation. He says we use about 9 billion pennies each year. At that rate we would run out of pennies in about 33 years. This video shows the last pennies ever minted . #Penny #USMint225 pic.twitter.com/LUdvgGOp6p
— Edward Lawrence (@EdwardLawrence) November 12, 2025
They just plain cost a chunk of change to produce, though:
Pennies cost about $56 million per year to make, according to the Treasury Department.
But the penny isn’t even the least cost-effective currency out there – nickels cost around a whopping 14 cents to produce.
Dimes, meanwhile, are a steal at 6 cents, and quarters around 15 cents.
Although some will doubtless be saddened by the end of an American institution, I confess I will not be. I find pennies to be frankly annoying, and the only time you need them is when you don’t happen to have any. They clutter up the coin holder in your car, they pile up somewhere in a corner of your desk drawer, or – if you do carry them around with you – they create an unsightly and heavy look to your pocket.
Their one main use over the last many years, for me at least, is to bring the pile into the change machine in the grocery store to exchange them for a dollar or two.
That being said, I still have affection for them out of nostalgia, and even if production has now stopped, pennies will remain in our lives for the foreseeable future. Perhaps you will still be able to get a penny for your thoughts, but my guess is that after years of Bidenflation, you should charge a nickel or a dime at least.
Good luck, penny, and thanks for the memories.
Goodbye, penny. 👋 The U.S. Mint says it is stopping the production of pennies, a historic move more than two centuries after the one-cent coin entered circulation.
— Yahoo News (@YahooNews) November 12, 2025
The last penny was stamped at the Philadelphia U.S. Mint during an event on Nov. 12. https://t.co/3XffAwFPvV pic.twitter.com/7liF0Mc9D4
Editor’s Note: After more than 40 days of screwing Americans, a few Dems have finally caved. The Schumer Shutdown was never about principle—just inflicting pain for political points.
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