Since No New Pennies Will Be Minted, Does That Mean They’ll Go Up in Value?

The last batch of pennies ever minted in the United States was made in Philadelphia. These one-cent denomination coins have been produced in the City of Brotherly Love since 1793.

Donald Trump announced that halting the manufacturing processes of these coins would save US taxpayers a lot of money, due to their lack of prevalent use over the last few decades.

So, does that mean pennies will be worth more in the future?

Unless another US administration decides to bring pennies back, then it's highly unlikely that any new 1-cent coins will ever come off a printing press again.

So will that mean that this'll create a coin-collecting market niche, now that by default, the supply of pennies will be capped at a specific amount, never to be surpassed again?

Probably not. After all, there are around $250 billion pennies in circulation according to the U.S. Mint.

And there have been instances of other now-canceled tender denominations that haven't shot up in value, like the $2 bill. However, certain years, markers, or imperfections could spike their value, as is the case with most collectibles.

It might be difficult for some to think that there will be a world without pennies. But then again, how many folks actually dig through their pockets in order to pay for items in exact change?

Sure, they could be great for pranks, like getting back at a towing service by paying the fee entirely in pennies, like this classic internet legend did.

They're also great as an impromptu replacement for a flathead screwdriver. The Farmers Bank also listed a number of other uses for these barely used coins.

Stabilizing wobbly chairs and tables, adding weight to curtains, checking the depth of your tire tread, using them as tile spacers, and even making cold packs or a quick pair of tap dancing shoes.

But is that worth the $56 million it costs US taxpayers each and every year? 6 ABC Action News wrote that U.S. Treasurer Beach cited the aforementioned annual expenditure cost after striking the new final penny in the country's history.

Previously, the half-cent was decommissioned in 1857. President Trump issued the order to get rid of pennies after highlighting how it costs more to produce the coins than their actual value as legal tender.

"For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents. This is so wasteful," Trump penned on social media in February of 2025.

ABC went on to state that there are other coins circulating in the US that also cost more to make than their current value.

Nickels cost almost 14 cents to make. Dimes: six cents, and quarters cost around 15 cents.

And while there are some of us who couldn't care less if pennies go the way of the Dodo, there are some who are sad to see them go, like Professor Frank Holt at the University of Houston.

He explains why: "We put mottos on them and self-identifiers, and we decide — in the case of the United States — which dead persons are most important to us and should be commemorated. They reflect our politics, our religion, our art, our sense of ourselves, our ideals, our aspirations."

They will still be legal tender moving forward despite being defunct. Much like the "Golden Dollar" Sacagawea coin that was introduced in 2000, they're an acceptable form of legal tender for transactions.

And anyone who rode light rails and Path trains in NJ who used cash to pay for their tickets in the 2010s was probably miffed to get a bunch of these spewed from kiosks after breaking a $20 bill.

But these coins were nonetheless still used and are an acceptable form of legal tender today. With hundreds of billions of pennies hanging out in drivers' car cupholders or in vigilantes' socks, you'll probably still see them around.

Things just might get tricky for businesses trying to give cash customers exact change for their transactions.