PHILADELPHIA — The United States plans to strike its last penny for circulation, part of an effort to retire the coin that has been used over 200 years and now costs more to produce than it is worth.
At an event on Wednesday, Nov. 12, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach will mark the striking of the "final circulating penny," the end of production for a coin that's been used since the 1790s. The Treasurer and Secretary are set to formally stamp the last circulating penny on Wednesday afternoon around 2 p.m.
While the penny "remains legal tender and will retain its value indefinitely," according to the Treasury Department, the humble one-cent coin will no longer be minted. There are currently an estimated 300 billion pennies in circulation — "far exceeding the amount needed for commerce," Treasury said in a statement.
However, since the penny's retirement was announced months ago, though, some retailers have said there is already a shortage of pennies complicating their cash-based transactions. Kroger, Home Depot, Walmart, McDonald's and others are among the businesses reporting problems.
Bessent and Beach will gather at the United States Mint in Philadelphia, just across from the National Constitution Center and a few short blocks from Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, to mark the end of the penny's production.
