The End of the Penny — and Why the Nickel Could Be Next
WASHINGTON — The United States Mint struck the final circulating one-cent coin on November 12, 2025, ending 232 years of penny production. The coin will remain legal tender, but no new pennies will enter general circulation.
According to the Mint, it cost 3.69 cents to produce and distribute each penny during Fiscal Year 2024 — more than three times the coin’s face value. Ending production is expected to save taxpayers about $56 million per year.
Mint officials said the decision was driven by rising material costs, declining cash use, and an estimated 300 billion pennies already in circulation — far more than needed for everyday transactions.
The move follows years of debate over whether the penny still has a place in modern commerce. Many countries, including Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, have already eliminated their lowest-value coins, rounding transactions to the nearest five or ten cents.
While the penny is ending, attention is now shifting to the five-cent coin. The nickel currently costs 13.78 cents to make, nearly three times its face value. The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond has noted that every dollar in nickels issued results in a loss of about $1.75 due to production costs.
With the penny gone, the nickel becomes the lowest-value coin still in production — and the most expensive relative to its worth. Economists argue that eliminating the nickel would further reduce waste, simplify cash transactions, and save millions more in taxpayer dollars.
At the same time, Treasury analysts are also studying whether higher-value coins could make sense for the future. The U.S. Government Accountability Office has reported that replacing the $1 bill with a $1 coin could save taxpayers between $4.4 and $13.8 billion over 30 years. Coins last about 30 years in circulation, while paper bills wear out in less than six.
Some experts suggest that $5 or even $10 coins could eventually follow the same logic. Though more expensive to produce initially, their durability would make them far more cost-effective in the long term. The main obstacle is public acceptance — Americans have repeatedly favored paper bills over coins. Previous attempts, including the Susan B. Anthony, Sacagawea, and Presidential dollar coins, never gained widespread use.
Still, as inflation reduces the buying power of lower-value bills and digital payments continue to grow, moving toward higher-denomination coins could become both practical and financially beneficial.
Existing pennies and nickels will remain legal tender for the foreseeable future, but as cash use declines and production costs climb, both the smallest and possibly even some of the largest denominations may soon face a modern overhaul.
