The penny is no longer being minted for circulation, leaving businesses and consumers across the country to adapt as the iconic coin’s era ends. The U.S. Mint officially struck its final penny in November, citing rising manufacturing costs, nearly four cents per one-cent coin, and changing payment habits.
The transition poses challenges for cash-using customers and retail businesses.
“I prefer to use cash, which is very rare nowadays, and especially with change and pennies,” said customer Christopher Roberts. “Quite often numbers get rounded up. The importance of a penny is misunderstood.”
Not everyone will miss the extra change.
“I don’t like pennies anyway,” shopper Jim D’Angelo said. “They seem to be more of a nuisance … or you’re carrying all that extra change around.”
Local grocery chains such as Price Chopper and Market 32 are adjusting: as armored cars stop delivering pennies, the stores won’t be able to provide them in change much longer.
“We recently are not receiving pennies from our armored car service, so we will no longer be getting pennies in,” said Michele McKeever, the company’s director of customer service.
To sweeten the transition, Price Chopper is doubling penny exchanges, offering a $20 gift card for every $10 in pennies customers bring in.
Some shoppers, like Debra Vincent, plan to hold onto their pennies, hoping they’ll become collectors’ items. Meanwhile, Stewart’s Shops has adopted a “round up for you” model: if you’re owed one penny, you’ll get a nickel, turning small change into small perks.
For now, businesses will keep accepting pennies, encouraging people to spend what’s left in circulation. But as supplies dwindle, many anticipate a gradual shift toward rounding and more digital transactions.
“In a larger supermarket, I’ll probably pull out my card where normally I would pull out cash to avoid the inconvenience,” said Roberts.
The end of penny production marks a significant change in American cash culture; how it truly impacts day-to-day life will become clearer as the last of the pennies trickle out of registers and pockets.