Mint orders last batch of pennies
Digest more
Are your old pennies worth millions? Experts say you shouldn't bank on it. However, some wheat pennies could be worth hundreds; here's how to find out.
Everything is making less cents. The US Mint has placed its final order of penny blanks and will stop producing the coin when those run out by early next year — marking the beginning of the end for one of the oldest continually printed money pieces in America,
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.
The American penny will begin its slow fade into non-existence as the government plans stop making the U.S. currency next year.
Treasury Department will take pennies out of circulation next year. Costly nickels, however, could cancel out savings.
The United States Mint is ready to launch the next $1 coin in its American Innovation series, honoring NASA's retired space shuttle.
Per the latest U.S. Mint report, it costs less than six cents to make a dime ($0.0576). To make a quarter, it costs about 15 cents ($0.1468), and nearly 34 cents for a half-dollar ($0.3397).