General Discussion

Phasing out the penny could result in needing to make more nickels, and the US Treasury Department loses far more money on every nickel than it does on every penny.

“Without the penny, the volume of nickels in circulation would have to rise to fill the gap in small-value transactions. Far from saving money, eliminating the penny shifts and amplifies the financial burden,” said American for Common Cents, a pro-penny group funded primarily by Artazn, the company that has the contract to provide the blanks used to make pennies.

One reason that the government has to make so many pennies every year is a large percentage of them don’t remain in circulation. They are stashed in penny jars or junk drawers at home. Or they fall on the ground and people don’t even bother to pick them up.

An estimated 66 to 74 percent of the pennies produced by the U.S. Mint vanish from active circulation after reaching consumers, primarily due to hoarding in jars and general loss. While the U.S. Mint's official lifespan for a coin is 30 years, a large majority of pennies are effectively removed from daily commerce much sooner. A 2022 government analysis estimated that about 60% of all circulating pennies are stashed in homes.