If you’ve got a stash of old pennies hiding in your couch cushions 🛋️, under your car seat 🚗, or collecting dust in a jar somewhere 🪣 . . . you might wanna hang onto them! They could soon become collectors’ items. 👀
Back in February, President Trump directed the Treasury Department to end penny production, citing the high cost of making them. And yesterday — history was made — as the final U.S. penny rolled off the minting line in Philadelphia, where pennies have been produced since 1793! 🏛️
Originally made from pure copper 🟠, pennies have been mostly zinc since 1982, with just a thin copper coating. But the cost to make one has gotten ridiculous — it takes 3.7 cents to produce a single penny. 😬
Billions of pennies will remain in circulation 💵 and still count as legal tender, but no new ones will be made. Some stores have already started rounding transactions to the nearest five cents if you’re paying cash — not always rounding up, but rounding either way. 🔄
Of course, this move isn’t without controversy. Critics say it pushes us closer to a cashless society, which could hurt people who rely on cash instead of cards or digital payments. 💳🚫
Oh, and here’s the kicker: eliminating pennies could actually increase our reliance on nickels . . . which ALSO cost more to make than they’re worth — 13.8 cents each! 🤯
So yeah — hold on to those pennies, folks. They just might be the last of their kind. 🪙💔