What to do with your pennies now that minting is ending

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The Reality Behind Penny Production's Final Days
There are ongoing discussions about potentially ending penny production, potentially leading to an "immediate annual savings of $56 million in reduced material costs." The decision comes after years of losing money on every single penny minted. Each penny costs approximately 2.72 cents to produce according to recent U.S. Mint data – more than triple its face value – while the combined losses from penny and nickel production drained $103 million last year alone. There have been proposals from various officials to consider ending penny production due to cost concerns.

Your Pennies Will Still Be Legal Tender

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Existing pennies will continue to be worth their face value and be considered legal tender, even after production ends, as only Congress holds the power to completely remove a form of currency from circulation. More than 114 billion pennies are currently in circulation, with some estimates suggesting roughly 240 billion pennies exist nationwide. This enormous stockpile means pennies won't disappear overnight.

Most are rarely used, instead gathering dust in dresser-top coffee cans and forgotten in pants pockets, though the phase-out may require stores to round prices up or down to the nearest nickel.

 

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Pricing Changes Are Coming Soon

When there's not enough pennies to use in everyday cash transactions, businesses will need to start rounding up or down to the nearest 5 cents. Cash transactions will likely be rounded to the nearest nickel with the penny's removal, where if the final digit of a purchase ends in 3, 4, 8 or 9 cents, the total will be rounded up, and if it ends in 1, 2, 6 or 7 cents, it will be rounded down. Cashless transactions will still be priced at exact change, and cash accounts for approximately 14-16% of all payments according to Federal Reserve data.

The good news is research suggests this rounding will have virtually no impact on consumers overall.

 

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Start Collecting Your 2025 Pennies Now

Right now, the 2025 penny is reselling for anywhere from 50 cents to a dollar, with resellers usually listing them as 50-coin rolls for around $50 at a time. Current production numbers for 2025 pennies have not been officially released, making 2025 potentially the final year of U.S. penny production. Coin dealers are buying rolls of 2025 pennies for anywhere from 3 to more than 10 times their face value.

The limited mintage and historical significance as potentially the last pennies ever made creates immediate collector interest.

 

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Check Banks for Fresh 2025 Pennies

The best way to find 2025 pennies is directly through a bank, where you can request them to sell you the coins they have on hand and possibly have them put in an order to the Federal Reserve on your behalf. You'll probably want to go to multiple locations, and it would be ideal to have an account with the bank already, though because of the tremendous profit potential and low risk, many are recommending taking advantage of this opportunity. Even if the market doesn't develop as expected, you can always return the coins to banks at face value.

 

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Look Through Your Change for Valuable Old Pennies

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Pennies made before 1982 are worth about 3 cents a piece due to their copper content. The most valuable pennies include the 1943-D Lincoln Bronze Wheat Penny worth $2.3 million in mint condition and the 1944 S-Steel Wheat Penny worth $1.1 million in mint condition. Early years from 1909 to 1919 include rare pennies like the 1909-S VDB and 1914-D, while the 1920s and 1930s produced many low-mintage coins including the 1922 Plain penny and 1931-S penny.

According to GOBankingRates, the most valuable pennies are those produced during low-minting years including 1931, 1933, 1939 and 1955.

 

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Consider Donating Your Spare Pennies

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Local charities, schools, and community causes often accept spare change, and a handful of pennies may not seem like much, but together, they can add up. Gates Little, CEO of altLINE and The Southern Bank Company, suggests asking charities if they could use your coins, as some accept penny donations, with Ronald McDonald House Charities having a Pennies with a Purpose program. If you decide to use a Coinstar machine, you can choose the option to have those extra pennies donated to charity rather than take the exchanged money for yourself.

 

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Use Pennies for Practical Household Purposes

To take a quick measurement when you have no ruler on hand, simply use a penny, as a penny's diameter is exactly 3⁄4 inch, so you can make your necessary estimate by using the coin as a marker. If your dog has a habit of barking at everything, you can wash out an old soda can, drop 5 to 10 pennies inside, seal with tape, and shake it when he barks – he'll find the sound unsettling and stop immediately, learning to quit barking entirely after a few times. For crooked drapes that need fixing, instead of buying store-bought drapery weights, you can tuck a few pennies inside the bottom hem.

 

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Understand the Investment Risks

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With nearly a billion one-cent coins minted this year and 420 billion pennies in circulation, the 2025 penny is unlikely to become rare, however the possibility that 2025 might be the final year of producing the penny has raised its historical appeal. What happens when all the hubbub around the 2025 penny subsides and people aren't as motivated to buy them anymore, or if a bunch of people begin selling them all at once, penny values could go down, so nobody really knows what 2025 penny values will be in the future. However, if you purchase rolls of 2025 pennies and the market doesn't materialize, you can exchange your pennies at the bank for cash.

 

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Store Your Pennies Properly for Future Value

With production ending, today's common penny might become tomorrow's nostalgic keepsake - or even a collector's item. You gain an edge if the pennies are uncirculated, in mint condition and have the year stamped on the packaging. The best advice may be to buy 2025 pennies if you like Lincoln cents and intend to build or complete a set of them, because that way if values go down, at least you'll still have a complete set of pennies to show off.

Keep them in protective holders or rolls to maintain their condition.

 

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Watch for Error Coins and Varieties

Error coins like double dies or off-center strikes can be worth $25-$2,000+ depending on the error type. Uncirculated examples already trade above face value, with 2025-S proofs selling for $41, while San Francisco proof pennies command significant premiums as uncirculated coins. A quick Google search can give you an idea of whether the coin you have is rare and if it could be worth anything, but if you have questions, you can reach out to the American Numismatic Association.

Professional coin grading services can authenticate valuable specimens.

 

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Consider the Broader Economic Impact

According to a 2025 Federal Reserve study, cash transactions in 2024 dropped to only 14% of transactions, with persons aged 55 and older using cash for 19% of transactions, while those aged 18-24 used cash at only 10%. Representative John Rose suggested that phasing out the penny could increase demand for nickels, though minting nickels is also a money-loser for the government since the five-cent coins cost about 14 cents each, but Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent believes the administration can break even on nickel production by changing the composition of the coins. The penny's elimination represents a significant shift in American commerce and currency.

The end of penny production marks a historic moment after more than two centuries of American coinage. While your existing pennies will remain perfectly valid currency, the smart move is understanding both their immediate practical uses and potential future value. Whether you're collecting 2025 pennies as historical artifacts, donating spare change to charity, or simply using them for household hacks, these humble copper-plated coins still have plenty of life left in them.

 

[D24OHA]

Giant Eagle is giving customers 2X their value in a gift card (must be at least $0.50 and no more than $100)

Giant Eagle wants pennies. And it's giving away gift cards worth double in exchange

Giant Eagle wants your pennies. And it's giving out gift cards worth double your pennies one day only.

www.usatoday.com