You’ve probably looked at that copper-colored disc sitting in your cup holder and wondered why it’s even there. It feels worthless. Honestly, it basically is. If you’ve been asking "did they quit making pennies," the answer is a bit more complicated than a simple yes or no. The short version? No, the United States Mint is still pumping them out by the billions. But that doesn't mean people aren't trying to kill it off.
Walking into a grocery store today feels like a time-travel experiment where the currency hasn't caught up to the prices. In 2024 and 2025, the U.S. Mint produced billions of pennies despite the fact that each one costs way more than a cent to manufacture. It's a weird financial paradox. We are literally losing money to make money.
The cost of keeping the penny alive
The math is brutal. According to the U.S. Mint’s 2023 Annual Report, it costs about 3.07 cents to produce a single penny. Think about that for a second. The government is paying three cents to give you one cent. If any private business ran their operations this way, they’d be bankrupt within a week.
Why is it so expensive? Mostly because of the price of zinc. Since 1982, the penny hasn't been mostly copper; it’s actually 97.5% zinc with a thin copper plating. When the price of raw metals spikes on the global market, the "seigniorage"—the difference between the face value of money and the cost to produce it—goes deep into the red. In 2023 alone, the Mint lost over $90 million just making pennies.
Some people argue we should just switch metals. Maybe steel? We did that in 1943 during World War II because copper was needed for shell casings. But steel pennies messed up vending machines and looked too much like dimes. It was a mess. Today, lobbyists for the zinc industry, specifically groups like Americans for Common Sense Redesign (which is backed by Jarden Zinc Products), fight hard to keep the penny in production. They argue that if we get rid of the penny, prices will be rounded up, hurting the poor.
Canada already did it: A look at the "Penny-less" life
Our neighbors to the north already pulled the trigger. Canada stopped distributing the penny in 2013. If you go to Toronto today and buy a coffee for $2.02, and you're paying cash, they just round it down to $2.00. If it’s $2.03, they round up to $2.05.
👉 See also: E-commerce Meaning: It Is Way More Than Just Buying Stuff on Amazon
It’s called "symmetric rounding."
Digital transactions—debit cards, credit cards, Apple Pay—stay exactly the same down to the cent. The world didn't end. Inflation didn't skyrocket. People just stopped having heavy pockets.
Other countries like Australia, New Zealand, and several European nations using the Euro have also ditched their smallest denominations. The U.S. is a bit of an outlier here. We have a weird emotional attachment to Abraham Lincoln’s face on that tiny coin. It's sentimental, sure, but sentimentality is getting expensive.
The "Rounding Tax" myth vs. reality
The biggest fear people have about the question "did they quit making pennies" is that businesses will use it as an excuse to gouge customers. This is often called the "Rounding Tax."
Economist Robert Whaples from Wake Forest University has studied this extensively. His research suggests that rounding is actually a wash. Sometimes you lose two cents, sometimes you gain two cents. Over a year of shopping, the average consumer would likely lose or gain only a few pennies in total.
✨ Don't miss: Shangri-La Asia Interim Report 2024 PDF: What Most People Get Wrong
Moreover, since most of us pay with cards or phones now, the penny is becoming irrelevant anyway. The Mint continues to produce them because banks demand them to facilitate cash transactions, but the velocity of the penny—how often it actually moves from hand to hand—is at an all-time low. Most pennies end up in jars, under couch cushions, or literally in the trash.
Why the U.S. Mint hasn't stopped yet
So, if it loses money and other countries have proven it's unnecessary, why hasn't the U.S. quit making pennies?
Politics.
It’s not just the zinc lobby. It’s also the logistical nightmare of the U.S. Treasury. To officially retire the penny, Congress has to pass a law. There have been several attempts, like the COINS Act (Currency Overhaul for an Industrious Nation), but they usually die in committee. Politicians are terrified of being the person who "raised prices" on the working class, even if that’s not actually what happens when you remove a coin.
There is also the charity factor. Organizations like The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society have historically relied on "Penny Drives." These small donations add up to millions of dollars for cancer research. If the penny disappears, those micro-donations might vanish too, although most charities are now shifting toward "round-up" features on digital apps.
🔗 Read more: Private Credit News Today: Why the Golden Age is Getting a Reality Check
Interesting facts about the modern penny:
- The penny has been around since 1793.
- Before 1982, they were 95% copper. If you find one from 1981 or earlier, it’s actually worth about 2-3 cents just for the metal content.
- It is technically illegal to melt down pennies for their raw metal value.
- The U.S. military actually stopped using pennies at overseas bases years ago because they were too heavy to transport.
The future of the one-cent piece
Will they ever quit making pennies? Eventually, they'll have to. The gap between the cost of production and the value of the coin is widening every year. At some point, the fiscal irresponsibility becomes too loud to ignore.
We are moving toward a cashless society anyway. In a world of Bitcoin, Venmo, and contactless tapping, the physical penny is a relic of a 19th-century economy. It’s a copper-plated ghost.
If you're sitting on a mountain of pennies, you might want to cash them in sooner rather than later. Not because they'll lose their legal tender status—the government almost always honors old currency—but because they are taking up physical space for no financial gain.
How to handle your current penny hoard
If you're tired of the clutter but the government won't stop the presses, you have a few practical options. Don't just throw them away; that's literally throwing money in the bin, however small the amount.
- Use a Coinstar, but be smart. Coinstar machines usually take a huge cut (around 11-12%). However, if you choose the "eGift Card" option, they usually waive the fee entirely. You can get a 100% value gift card for Amazon or Starbucks.
- Self-checkout lanes. This is the "pro-tip" for getting rid of loose change without being "that person" at a teller window. Most grocery store self-checkouts have a coin slot. You can dump a handful of pennies in to lower your bill before paying the rest with a card.
- Deposit at a credit union. Many local credit unions still have free coin-counting machines for members. Big banks like Chase or Bank of America have largely removed these, but smaller local institutions still see them as a way to get people in the door.
- Check for "Key Dates." Before you dump them, look for 1943 steel pennies (silver in color) or any "Wheaties" (pennies from 1909-1958 with wheat stalks on the back). While most aren't worth a fortune, some rare mint marks can be worth hundreds or even thousands of dollars to collectors.
The penny persists not because it's useful, but because of inertia. We've used them for over 200 years, and breaking a habit that old is hard for a government. But for the individual, the penny has already effectively quit being money. It’s just a shiny, circular burden.
Keep an eye on the next U.S. Mint budget proposal. As inflation continues to eat away at the purchasing power of a cent, the argument for keeping it becomes more absurd by the day. For now, they haven't quit making them, but the clock is definitely ticking on Lincoln's smallest monument.