Now that (presumably) the last pennies have rolled out of the United States Mint, the time has come to decide what you should do with all your pennies.
It’s a question I know many people have been asking, especially since millions of Americans have stashes of pennies in piggy banks, coffee cans, baby food jars, and in myriad other places.
The United States has been facing a penny coin shortage as a result of the U.S. Mint no longer making pennies. Yet, retailers and other establishments are trying to figure out what to do about keeping enough pennies in stock for cashiers to make change.
This situation goes back to early 2025, when President Donald J. Trump ordered the U.S. Treasury Secretary act to eliminate the penny from circulation. While the president cannot fully abolish the penny by executive action alone, the Treasury and Federal Reserve followed suit and stopped ordering new pennies for circulation, effectively ending production of the denomination for circulation.
This does not necessarily mean the U.S. Mint will permanently and forever stop making pennies. There may come a time in the future that the U.S. Treasury might decide to order more pennies for circulation — if the government is still authorized to make one-cent coins at that time.
Also, officials at the U.S. Mint, within guidelines handed down by the U.S. Treasury and existing United States law, may elect to continue striking small numbers of pennies to sell to the public in special collector’s sets or other product offerings.
When all is said and done, it would take an act of Congress to officially eliminate the penny – and that hasn’t happened yet. Even if it did, hundreds of billions of pennies would likely remain in public hands. As long as the cent remains legal tender (which is likely even if the denomination is officially discontinued by an act of Congress), pennies can still be spent as money.
And as the nation grapples with the end of the penny production for circulation, more and more people asking questions like:
- “What should I do with my pennies?”
- “Should I spend my pennies?”
- “Should I keep my pennies?”
- “Which pennies are worth keeping?”
Here are my 3 recommendations (and what I’ve been doing)…
#1 – Save The Copper Pennies
Whether you decide to spend or save your pennies, I suggest you at least consider hanging on to your copper pennies.
Their intrinsic copper value makes them worth more than just one cent each. In most cases, a bronze penny (which is 95% copper) has a metal content value of 3 to 5 cents apiece!
There’s just one catch: you can’t legally melt pennies in the United States. So, that means you can’t just melt down all of your bronze pennies and attempt to cash in the melted bullion for cash money.
What CAN you do to make money off your copper pennies?
You can sell them to coin dealers or other collectors who buy copper pennies on a speculative basis; in other words, they’re buying old copper pennies in case the day arrives when they can legally melt pennies or find another buyer who wants to purchase them.
Find a coin dealer near you.
#2 – Look For Errors & Varieties On Zinc Pennies
Zinc pennies are worth much closer to their one-cent face value than copper pennies are.
But before you go spending your Zincolns (or zinc Lincoln cents), you’re really going to want to check them out for valuable errors and varieties worth money first.
Some of the most valuable zinc Lincoln pennies you can find include:
- 1983 doubled die Lincoln penny — $250+
- 1984 doubled ear Lincoln penny — $170+
- 1992 and 1992-D Close AM Lincoln pennies — $2,000+
- 1995 doubled die Lincoln penny — $25+
- 1998 Wide AM Lincoln penny — $10+
- 1999 Wide AM Lincoln penny — $100+
- 2000 Wide AM Lincoln penny — $10+
Here’s how to identify errors on your coins.
#3 – Cash In Your Zinc Pennies Worth Face Value
Once you’ve saved your copper pennies, held aside any zinc pennies with errors and varieties, and kept anything else you might want for your penny collection, the next thing to do? Cash in your zinc Lincoln cents!
And the good news is that you still might make more than face value by turning in your zinc Lincoln cents. There’s been such a desperate need for pennies in circulation that many establishments are incentivizing people to spend pennies with bonuses.
For example, as of this writing, convenience-store chain Sheetz was offering free self-serve drinks to anyone who exchanges $1 in pennies. Other convenience-store chains — like Kwik Trip and Love’s Travel Stops — were rounding down all cash transactions to the nearest nickel, saving customers money.
Check and see if these deals are still going on when you read this article. Or, perhaps other cool offers will be going on if you cash in your pennies or other pocket change coins!
