The U.S. Mint struck its final penny Wednesday at its Philadelphia facility, ending more than two centuries of production that first started in 1793.
U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach pressed the button to mint the last coin, saying “God bless America, and we’re going to save the taxpayers $56 million” just before the final penny rolled off the production line.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent attended the historic event.
The move follows President Donald Trump’s February order to stop penny production. “For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents,” Trump wrote in an online post. “This is so wasteful!”
The Treasury Department expects to save $56 million annually by ending production. Each penny costs nearly 3.69 cents to make, more than triple its face value. The U.S. Mint reported losing $85.3 million on penny production in fiscal year 2024.
“Given the rapid modernization of the American wallet, the Department of the Treasury and President Trump no longer believe the continued production of the penny is fiscally responsible or necessary to meet the demands of the American public,” Derek Theurer, acting Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, said.
Pennies will still remain legal tender, Beach told reporters.
“Although today we say goodbye to our copper one-cent coin, let me be crystal clear, the penny remains legal tender.” An estimated 250 billion pennies still circulate across the United States, according to the American Bankers Association.
The penny was among the first coins produced after Congress passed the Coinage Act in 1792. The half-cent, discontinued in 1857, remains the only other U.S. coin to be eliminated from production.
Retailers face challenges as existing penny supplies dwindle. Some banks began rationing pennies in recent weeks.
Some retailers have rounded prices down to avoid shortchanging customers, while others asked shoppers to bring exact change. The National Association of Convenience Stores and other retail groups recently wrote to Congress requesting legislation to address questions about rounding cash transactions.