Penny for your thoughts: Penny Discontinuation
One year ago from this day, an old economic currency was discontinued. The penny was used for many things like spare change or to get the odd number right. Why was the penny discontinued? What led up to the events,? Is it still usable? The resource contained in this article was the official Department of Treasury and Park View.
One reason that the penny was discontinued was the cost to manufacture it. The official government Department of Treasury states “Over the past 10 years, the total production cost of the penny has risen from 1.3 cents to 3.69 cents per penny,” this statement was made Dec. 23 2025. The Treasury also believes it is unnecessary to continue the production of the penny. The information states, “ Given the increasing number of non-cash transactions and the very low purchasing power of a single penny, the Department of the Treasury does not believe continued production is fiscally responsible or necessary to meet the needs of commerce in the United States.” This evidence proves that a penny is too much manufacture and it is unnecessary to produce.
What are the future pennies? Well it is untelling but more and likely it will slowly be forgotten until it is an urban myth that your grandpa says. The chances of something being remembered for such a long time will be astronomical unless we keep teaching it in schools. Also pennies will slowly be taken up and removed from circulation.
Well what led up to the events to the discontinuation of the penny. The price of the penny became more and more expensive over time until it became too expensive to continue to produce. As stated, “ These production costs include materials, facilities, and overhead. The U.S. Mint projects an immediate annual savings of $56 million in reduced material costs by stopping penny production.” This statement shows that the government will be saving $56 million dollars, and saving 179 million. This shows that they made the necessary precaution.
Will the pennies still be usable until the cycle out of the loop? Yes they are still usable as stated, “Yes, the penny will retain its full monetary value indefinitely. It will continue to be recognized as legal tender, allowing consumers to use pennies for cash transactions at businesses that choose to accept them, even after new pennies are no longer produced and distributed.” This statement shows that the penny will be in use but not production.
So to conclude the article, the evidence is clear even though it is a detrimental loss of the penny it was the right decision to make.
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