Pennies
The penny is discontinued: what it means for your coins
Independent site, not the US Mint or the Treasury. Official decisions are those published by the Mint.
Type a number of pennies: the tool shows what they are worth as money, what the Mint spent to make them and the metal inside.
What your pennies cost the Mint to make
Face value
$5
| Cost to make at 3.69¢ each | $18.45 |
| Cost ten years earlier at 1.42¢ | $7.10 |
| Zinc and copper inside | $5.36 |
Unit costs from the US Mint (penny FAQs). Pennies remain legal tender after the end of production.
The United States Mint struck its final circulating one-cent coin at Philadelphia on November 12, 2025, ending a 232-year production run, according to its press release. The Mint’s penny FAQs explain that the Secretary of the Treasury decided to suspend production after determining that new cents were no longer needed, a power given by 31 U.S.C. 5111(a) and 5112. The cost of making each penny had risen from 1.42 to 3.69 cents over a decade, and the Mint expects to save about $56,000,000 a year. Pennies remain legal tender, shops may still price in one-cent steps, an estimated 300 billion are in circulation, and collector versions continue in limited numbers. Melting pennies is still banned. For an ordinary cent, nothing about its value changes.
Copper and zinc in a jar of pennies
Metal in the jar
$17.30
| Face value | $10 |
| 200 copper cents | $8.73 |
| 800 zinc cents | $8.57 |
Melting or treating pennies for their metal is banned by 31 CFR Part 82, with fines up to $10,000. Both kinds were struck in 1982.
Mintages, metals and prices read by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
What the Mint announced
On November 12, 2025, the Treasurer of the United States struck the final circulating cent during a ceremony at the Philadelphia Mint. The Mint’s press release gives the essentials: the penny, first authorized by the Coinage Act of 1792, ends a 232-year run as a circulating coin; economic and production factors combined with changing consumer behavior made continued production unsustainable; the penny remains legal tender; and the Mint will continue to produce numismatic versions in limited quantities for historical and collector purposes.
The legal basis is short. Under 31 U.S.C. 5112 and section 5111(a), the Secretary of the Treasury mints and issues one-cent coins in the amounts needed to meet the needs of the United States. The Mint’s penny FAQs say that the Secretary may therefore suspend production upon determining that new coins are no longer needed, and that until now no Secretary had made that determination.
The numbers behind the decision
| Figure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to make one penny, a decade earlier | 1.42¢ | Mint FAQs |
| Cost to make one penny, latest estimate | 3.69¢ | Mint FAQs |
| Pennies produced in fiscal 2024 | about 3.2 billion | Mint FAQs |
| Share of all circulating coins made in fiscal 2024 | 57% of 5.61 billion | Mint FAQs |
| Expected yearly savings | $56,000,000 | Mint FAQs |
| Pennies estimated in circulation | 300 billion | Mint press release |
| Typical lifespan of a coin | 30 years | GAO-19-300, cited by the Mint |
The Mint says the rising cost influenced the decision: a coin that costs more than three cents to make and is worth one is a loss on every piece. Pennies were still more than half of all circulating coins the Mint produced in fiscal 2024, so the decision removes most of the Mint’s circulating coin volume in a single step. The tool at the top of this page applies these unit costs to any number of pennies.
The lifespan figure explains why stopping production does not create a shortage overnight. According to the Government Accountability Office report the Mint cites, a coin typically lasts about 30 years, and the stock already in circulation is described as far exceeding what commerce needs.
What changes for the pennies you hold
Very little. A penny is still worth one cent in a shop and keeps its metal: about 1.1¢ for a zinc cent dated 1983 or later and about 4.4¢ for a copper one dated 1981 or earlier, at prices read on October 27, 2026. The small tool below works out the split for a jar. The ban on melting under 31 CFR Part 82 stays in force, so the copper remains a figure to know rather than money to collect.
For collectors, the end of production closes the series of circulating Lincoln cents that began in 1909. It does not make ordinary recent cents scarce, since billions of each recent year exist, but it does mean that the list of dates and mint marks is now complete. The Lincoln Memorial and Shield cent page gives the figures by year.
Rounding and everyday change
The Mint’s statements are about production, not about how prices are paid. They say that businesses can keep pricing in one-cent steps and that pennies may still be used. How cash totals are rounded when pennies are scarce in a till is a matter for each business and for any future rule, and this site will add it here only when an official text sets it out. Card and electronic payments are unaffected in any case. If you have a jar, the page on saving pennies helps decide whether to spend, deposit or sort it.