The American penny has been in circulation since 1792. It will be discontinued because it is too expensive to make.

The federal government made its final order of penny blanks this month — the first step to end the production of the 1-cent coin, a spokesperson for the Treasury Department confirmed to USA TODAY.

Treasury Department will take pennies out of circulation next year. Costly nickels, however, could cancel out savings.

But older pennies are worth their weight in copper. Pennies made before 1982 are worth about 3 cents a piece. Although you can sell them to a coin shop, you can’t melt them down. Since pennies are still legal tender, it’s a felony to melt them for profit.

The United States Mint is ready to launch the next $1 coin in its American Innovation series, honoring NASA's retired space shuttle.

The U.S. Mint took top honors in "Best Circulating Coin" at the 2025 Mint Directors Conference for the work on the Jovita Idár issue in the American Women quarter dollar series.

There is currently no official plan to recall pennies, and financial institutions are expected to continue accepting them. While pennies will remain legal tender, they will gradually disappear from circulation, which is expected to impact product pricing.

The U.S. Treasury is discontinuing the penny, finalizing its last order for the coin due to its high production cost. Cash transactions will be rou