End of an era: Last ever ‘lucky’ penny pressed by US Mint

Why stop production now?

Quite simply, due to its rising cost. The cost of minting a penny had grown from 1.42 cents to 3.69 cents over the last decade. US President Donald Trump noted this in an online post, writing, “For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents. This is so wasteful!”

According to the US Mint, the penny accounted for 57% (3.2 billion) of the Mint’s total circulating coin production of 5.61 billion coins in FY 2024.

The coin once sufficed to purchase “penny candy” like gumballs from vending machines, or pay for parking tickets. Its utility has reduced considerably since then, while it remains of value to numismatists (coin collectors).

About the last batch of pennies

While the production of pennies for circulation ceased months ago, the US Mint planned to mint an unspecified number of pennies bearing an Omega symbol to mark the last of their kind to be auctioned off in December.

On Wednesday, 235 Omega-bearing pennies were minted – 232 to commemorate the lifespan of the penny, and three more for display at Treasury and other institutions, according to a Reuters report. The Mint also minted 235 gold pennies, according to the report.

The first and last of the Omega-bearing pennies are expected to fetch $100,000 in auction, according to US Mint Acting Director Kristie McNally. All the proceeds will be used to fund the Mint operations, and any excess will be transferred to the US Treasury.

The life of the penny

The American penny dates back to 1793 in Philadelphia. It was the brainchild of Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury, and the chief author of the Coinage Act.

Officially known as a cent, a penny represents one-hundredth of a dollar and has been the lowest face-value denomination of American currency.

The composition of the penny itself has changed over the centuries, with the first coin made entirely of copper to now being a composite of zinc and copper, following copper shortages during World War II.

Its front face depicted Lady Liberty in its first iteration, but came to bear an image of Abraham Lincoln for the rest of its life. The reverse of the coin went through several changes, bearing wheat stalks, the Lincoln Memorial, a wreath, and more recently, a Union shield.

Over the years, the penny has earned immense cultural status, becoming the going rate for a thought, to its association with luck: a “lucky penny” was believed to bestow its bearer good luck for 24 hours, while a “bad penny” turning up – be it a person or a situation – was unwelcome and quite often, inconvenient.

Are any other coins still in circulation?

It is important to note that an end to the minting of pennies does not put them out of circulation. About 250 billion pennies remain in circulation, The New York Times reported. The penny will continue to be accepted as legal tender, the US Mint said.

The last coin to be phased out was the half-penny in 1857. The nickel, dime, quarter, and relatively rare half-dollar and dollar coins remain in circulation.