US presses final penny after more than 230 years

THE United States pressed its final circulating penny on Wednesday, in a move made to save money as the one-cent coin denomination became less relevant over time.

The last coin was struck in Philadelphia by US Treasurer Brandon Beach, officially ending the circulating penny’s 232-year production run.

“While general production concludes today, the penny’s legacy lives on,” said acting Mint director Kristie McNally in a statement.

For penny-pinchers - slang for frugal types - the coin will still remain legal tender, and there are around 300 billion pennies in circulation.

The end of production comes after President Donald Trump called on the Treasury in February to stop producing pennies, presenting it as an effort to slash government spending.

“For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents. This is so wasteful!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform at the time.

The penny was first authorised by the Coinage Act of 1792.

Early on pennies were made of pure copper, but today’s coins are smaller and made of copper-plated zinc, giving the so-called red cent its rosy hue.

In the past decade, the cost of making each coin rose from 1.42 cents to 3.69 cents, the Mint said Wednesday.

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Debates about the production cost of pennies are not new in the United States, and several efforts to end its production failed in Congress previously. AFP

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