Treasury Department set to phase out the penny

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: CBS News

Updated on: May 22, 2025 / 11:22 AM EDT


The Treasury Department said it plans to stop manufacturing the penny, calling time one one of the first coins minted by the U.S. government.

The federal agency placed its final order for penny blanks this month, with the United States Mint slated to end manufacturing of the penny when that runs out, a Treasury official told CBS MoneyWatch. The blanks — flat, metal discs that the Mint turns into coins — will run out in early 2026, according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the news.

The penny, which dates from the early days of the U.S. Mint after its establishment in 1792, now costs more to manufacture than the coin is worth. The 1-cent coin cost about 3.7 cents to manufacture and distribute in 2024, according to the U.S. Mint's 2024 annual report. Ending production of the penny will save the Mint about $56 million in annual savings, the Treasury said on Thursday.

Despite their coppery look, pennies are mostly made of zinc, with their distinctive appearance coming from a copper overlay. Zinc's cost per metric ton is more than double what it was in 2000, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/treasury-penny-mint-to-stop-making-pennies/

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Breaking on multiple sources. They are really doing a pre-Memorial Day holiday news dump today!

The Mint here in Philly used to have a bust of Ben Franklin covered in 80,000 pennies. It was created in 1971 (a couple years after their "new" building opened in 1969). But as I just found out, it has been replaced with a new one. lol



They apparently had removed all the pennies from the old one, melted them, and used them to create the new one that was installed in 2007 at a different location outside of the fire station there (and the new one includes 1000 keys - I guess as part of the amalgam) -