The U.S. Treasury Division will mint its final penny this afternoon. FOX Enterprise’ Edward Lawrence with the most recent.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent struck the ultimate 5 pennies on Wednesday — every bearing a uncommon omega mark — ending U.S. penny manufacturing and creating collectors’ gadgets that might fetch hundreds of thousands at public sale.
The penny, first licensed underneath the Coinage Act of 1792, was just lately discontinued as a consequence of rising manufacturing prices during the last decade. The tiny coin now prices almost 4 cents to make however is just price one cent.
Whereas consultants estimated the public sale worth of the ultimate copper-colored tokens between $2 million and $5 million, in response to USA Immediately, different coin collectors stated the estimates appear unrealistic.
Treasurer of the US Brandon Seashore holds the final penny stamped on the U.S. Mint Nov. 12, 2025 in Philadelphia. Seashore pressed the ultimate pennies at an occasion held on the website. The pressed pennies bear a particular “Omega” and won’t be put in (Matthew Hatcher/Getty Pictures / Getty Pictures)
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Philadelphia-area numismatist Richard Weaver, proprietor of Broomall’s Delaware Valley Uncommon Coin Firm, informed phillymag.com when U.S. Treasurer Brandon Seashore posed for a photograph holding one of many last pennies, he could have broken it.
“For those who have a look at that photograph, he’s holding the penny together with his fingers on the coin,” Weaver informed the outlet. “You simply don’t do this. Copper could be very reactive to sweat and the oils of the pores and skin, and any severe collector goes to take this photograph into consideration.”
Weaver hypothesized that for the reason that pennies had been made for a ceremonial objective and can by no means enter circulation, their worth could lower.
“You see, they had been made for this objective,” Weaver stated. “They had been made to be uncommon. If you see folks paying within the hundreds of thousands for cash, they’re paying for cash which can be 100 or 200 years previous, of which solely a handful are recognized to exist and which have survived for thus a few years with out anybody making them for that objective in 1933 or 1794.”
U.S. Treasurer Brandon Seashore and a mint employee, Mathew Primavera, place the final penny to be struck into the machine on the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025. ( Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Put up through Getty Pictures / Getty Pictures)
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Officers with the U.S. Division of the Treasury stated the uncommon handful of cash will probably be auctioned by the federal government at a later date, although it has not but been introduced.
President Donald Trump in February introduced plans to halt manufacturing of the one-cent cash.
“For much too lengthy, the US has minted pennies which accurately price us greater than 2 cents,” Trump wrote in a Fact Social submit. “That is so wasteful! I’ve instructed my Secretary of the U.S. Treasury to cease producing new pennies.”
U.S. Treasurer Brandon Seashore holds the final penny stamped on the U.S. Mint Nov. 12, 2025, in Philadelphia. (Matthew Hatcher/Getty Pictures / Getty Pictures)
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In fiscal 12 months 2024, the penny accounted for 57% of the Mint’s complete circulating coin manufacturing of 5.61 billion cash.
Primarily based on the latest estimates, the U.S. Mint expects to save lots of roughly $56 million per 12 months in manufacturing prices by nixing the coin, in response to its web site.
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The penny can nonetheless be used for transactions, and people in circulation will proceed to be dealt with till the top of their 30-year lifespan.
The Mint stated it’ll additionally proceed to supply collector variations of the penny in restricted portions.
