Honestly, how many folks really use pennies anymore? Do you even bother to carry pennies in your pocket or purse? How many do you have hidden away at home in an old canning jar, cigar box, or coffee can? When you see a penny on the ground, do you even bother to bend down and pick it up? Truth is, most people overlook pennies and use higher denominations – and that’s if they use coins at all!

The hardworking American penny has been issued every single year – save for one – since the fledgling United States Mint first opened its doors in 1793. The denomination has had plenty of time to earn a cult following among coin enthusiasts in its centuries-long history – transforming from large coppers to small Flying Eagles, Indian Heads and ubiquitous Lincolns – the cent is the backbone of many collections. 

Numismatics aside, is the penny even relevant in today’s economy? Many other countries have altogether eliminated low-denomination coinage: Australia, Brazil, Finland, Israel, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and Britain, saving their governments both time and production costs. Heck, even Canada – our next-door neighbor – minted its final pennies more than a decade ago!

The old saying, “a penny saved is a penny earned” no longer holds water. In the U.S. of A., the issue of getting rid of the one cent piece is a perennial penny-pinching discussion that has once again become cent-sational news. The U.S. Mint reported that in fiscal year 2024 the cost to produce a single penny was 3.69¢ – over three times its face value! It was recently estimated that 240 billion small denomination pieces are currently in circulation, with billions more typically produced each year. Further supporting the call for the penny’s end are concerns over the environmental impacts of mining pollution, energy consumption, waste and transportation – all for a coin that many of us leave at the cash register for the next customer to use! Will the sum of these arguments sound the death knell of the beloved penny? 

Pennies are a longstanding favorite of collectors, many of whom cite the cent as the coin that started it all. It’s not too late to delve into 232 years of American history if you are not yet a cent collector. If production of the U.S. coin does indeed end there will certainly be renewed interest in pennies of the past.