End of an era: US ceases production of the penny after 230 years
US discontinues penny production after 230 years: economic and historical impact of the decision
The last penny. Put like that, it sounds like the title of a book, or perhaps one of those films that come out of Hollywood and smash the box office. Instead, it is just a piece of history about to unfold. Because the United States is about to mint the last small copper coin with the face of Abraham Lincoln, which has accompanied two centuries of history.
As of Thursday, 13 November, the Philadelphia Mint will mint the last one-cent series after more than 230 years of uninterrupted production. The end of an era and of a national symbol that has become financially unsustainable.
Clearly, the coins will remain in circulation (a withdrawal from the market has not yet been decided). But the decision has already triggered changes. Several chains and small shops have started to round up their prices. A signal that, slowly, pennies will disappear from cash registers. A move that, according to recent estimates, could cost consumers around $6 million a year.
The US administration has already explained that the choice will serve to save public money. 'We will clean up waste from our nation's large budget, even if it's just one penny at a time,' Donald Trump had declared last February, when he first announced the plan.
Behind the move, there is first and foremost an economic issue: each penny now costs almost four cents to produce, more than double what it did ten years ago. And the Treasury Department estimates that eliminating production will save the state coffers about 56 million dollars a year.
