By Allison Peck | North Platte Post/Sandhills Post
PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 12, 2025 — The United States Mint officially ended production of the circulating one-cent coin on Wednesday, marking the end of a 232-year run. United States Treasurer Brandon Beach struck the final penny at a ceremonial event at the Mint’s Philadelphia facility, according to the Mint.
“Today the Mint celebrates 232 years of penny manufacturing,” said Kristie McNally, Acting Mint Director, in a statement from the Mint. “While general production concludes today, the penny’s legacy lives on. Its significance in America’s story will endure.”
The penny, first authorized under the Coinage Act of 1792, has been a fixture in U.S. commerce for more than two centuries. Economic and production factors, combined with changes in consumer behavior, have made continued production unsustainable. According to the U.S. Mint, the cost of producing a single penny has risen over the past decade from 1.42 cents to 3.69 cents.
In Fiscal Year 2024, the Mint produced and shipped approximately 3.2 billion pennies, representing about 57 percent of the Mint’s total circulating coin production of 5.61 billion coins, according to the Mint’s 2024 Annual Report. The Treasury estimates that ending production will save the federal government roughly $56 million annually.
Although circulating production has ceased, the penny remains legal tender. The Mint reports that there are an estimated 300 billion pennies already in circulation, far exceeding the quantity required for everyday commerce. Retailers and businesses may continue pricing goods and services in one-cent increments.
The Mint will continue to produce numismatic versions of the penny in limited quantities for collectors and historical purposes, according to the Mint.
The Secretary of the Treasury has the legal authority to mint coins as necessary, under 31 U.S.C. §§ 5111(a) and 5112, and the Mint has confirmed that suspending circulating penny production is within that authority. According to the 2024 Biennial Report to Congress, research into alternative metals for coins was suspended after the Secretary directed that the penny no longer be produced for circulation.
Former President Donald Trump, in a February 2025 post on his social media platform, said he instructed the Treasury Department to stop producing new pennies, calling the continued production wasteful and noting that each coin costs more to make than its face value. [Embed exact post here]
The U.S. Mint has published a Frequently Asked Questions document for more details on the penny’s retirement and its ongoing collector coin program.