What if the penny went away? Josh, an avid penny collector, shares what it could mean for coin collectors… AND for consumers!
Is the U.S. government REALLY going to retire coins — specifically the U.S. penny? Josh discusses the potential end of the penny and what it could mean for coin collectors and consumers. He also shares his thoughts on this history of the penny and its future.
⚡TIMESTAMPS FROM THE VIDEO⚡
00:00 Intro: The End Of The Penny?
00:23 My Penny Collection Today
00:33 When I First Started Collecting Pennies
01:01 1941 Penny Value & Facts
01:14 Wheat Pennies To Look For
02:19 My Complete Lincoln Penny Set
02:32 Key Date Lincoln Pennies
03:23 2025 Pennies Might Be The Last For My Collection
03:45 Why Americans Are Trying To Get Rid Of The Penny
04:40 The U.S. Penny In American Culture
05:14 News About The US Mint To Stop Making Pennies
06:07 Technically, It’s A Cent NOT A Penny
06:51 How Much It Costs To Make A US Penny
07:37 WHY The Penny Is Important (IMO)
08:10 US Mint Is Making Its Last Batch Of Pennies
08:30 How “No More Pennies” Will Affect Consumers
10:03 Collecting Pennies Will Likely Increase
10:19 Penny Values May Increase
11:31 Summary: My Thoughts
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TRANSCRIPT:
Hey everybody, this is Josh with The Fun Times Guide and today I wanted to talk a bit about the penny. And specifically the END of the penny.
What’s all this talk about the US government getting rid of the penny? Why are they doing that? What does it mean for Americans? And what does it mean for coin collectors?
Well, here are my thoughts about it…
Well, here we see probably the most important part of my coin collection — and it is my collection of Lincoln cents.
I first got involved in the hobby formally back in 1992 when I was 11 years old. I’d come across a 1941 Lincoln wheat cent in my allowance change and thought, “Wow, that’s an old penny!”
It was, at the time, 51 years old. And at the age of 11, I already was well aware of World War II and my grandparents generation. They were born in the 1920s and 30s. They grew up and came of age during the Great Depression, World War II.
And so I made a connection really quickly with that 1941 penny, thinking, “Wow, this coin has seen a LOT of history!”
That was kind of my gateway into the hobby — was from finding the 1941 Lincoln wheat cent.
And I… I mean… I had seen MANY wheat cents before that time. I remember as a kid I used to count pennies. I used to save them up for Lego sets. And I remember saving, gosh… so many pennies and other coins to buy Super Mario Brothers 3 when it first came out in 1990.
And I remember, gosh… I rolled SO many pennies trying to save just whatever I could for those things — Lego blocks and video games and Brio wooden railway sets.
But by the age of 11, I had become aware of coin collecting as a hobby. I had a cousin who at the time was REALLY into coins. And I think that kind of exposed me to numismatics. And I think that’s why when I came across the 1941 Lincoln wheat cent that it just really intrigued me — and I dove into the hobby. I was all in!
And I began looking for other wheat cents and coins that were unusual and novel. And so I’ll always have a very special connection to the penny.
And as you see here, I mean, I’ve completed a basic Dansco set of Lincoln cents. I got the 1909-S VDB wheat cent — kind of the holy grail for, gosh… so many collectors.
And you know, the other “keys” as well.
And then I ventured into some of the most important varieties — like the 1955 double die Lincoln cent, 1972 double die. Each kinda the “big” doubled die for the respective subtypes.
The ’55 double die for the wheat cent series and then the 1972 double die being the major one among the memorial cents.
And my gosh, you can see here I’ve got some other coins. These are just some of the coins in my collection.
I’ve got some of the… Or actually I have ALL of the business strike Lincoln Bicentennial cents right here. And the 1943 steel cents — which I have also my album as well. You can see right here… the 1943 steel cents.
And then you see I have the 2025 Philadelphia Lincoln cent, the 2025 Denver Lincoln cent, and the 2025 San Francisco proof Lincoln cent. And these might be the last 3 additions to my collection.
Why is that?
Well, because for many many years now, the US government (and really a lot of Americans just in general) have banded about the idea of getting rid of the penny.
Now, why is that?
Well, think about it. I mean, how often do we use PENNIES in circulation anymore to purchase things?
I mean, I HAVE used them in the recent past. I don’t carry much cash anymore, if at all. But I have when I, you know, have coins saved up from past cash transactions… I will sometimes use pennies for exact change or to put into like a take-a-penny, leave-a-penny jar. Those types of things.
And admittedly, yeah… the penny just doesn’t seem to have the place of prominence anymore in daily commerce that it had, say, 50 years ago. Or certainly 100 years ago when pennies could really buy something like “penny candy” and other small items and such.
But I’ll tell you what… the penny has a very important place in my heart as a numismatist, as an American. The penny is part of our culture.
Think of all the people named “Penny”. All the phrases that incorporate the word “penny” — like a penny saved, a penny earned, penny ante, penny candy, penny whistle, you name it.
I mean, “penny” is part of our culture. Um… pennies from heaven — the great song, and of course the movie as well. Actually, a couple movies by that title.
It IS a part of our culture!
So when the news came down in early 2025 that the US government was going to do away with the penny, I really had kind of a morose moment there — thinking, “Wow, this is really the end of an era!” As an American for one, you know. And as a coin collector. Because this has been… the nucleus of my hobby has been collecting pennies!
And I’ve been in the hobby now for decades. And I plan to always have some involvement in the hobby throughout my life — which I hope and pray is a long life to come.
But no matter how advanced I become in the hobby, pennies are still at the core of who I am as a collector. And I know they are for MANY collectors… countless collectors.
Some would argue, and I would do the same, that the penny is the most widely collected coin in the United States.
Now, I know there are a lot of collectors going, “Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute…. We don’t make pennies. We make CENTS!”
Well, yes, it’s true. Only Great Britain actually makes coins that are known as a penny OFFICIALLY. But come on, let’s face it. This is a coin that so many Americans, people around the world, and even collectors like myself regard idiomatically as “the penny”. And that’s okay! It’s okay to call it “the penny”. Yes, it is officially “the cent”. And I am a collector worth their salt. And I call it a cent officially when writing about it for formal publications and such — and even in videos.
But it’s the penny to me. And it’s the penny to so many Americans. And to so many Americans and collectors, a penny is an important part of the hobby.
Now I understand the argument that pennies cost more to make than they are worth by face value. As of early 2025, the US government has determined that it costs about 3.9 cents per coin to produce and distribute each 1-cent coin.
So yes, you’re talking about a coin that costs basically 4 times more to make and get out to the public than it actually can purchase — in theory AND in actuality. I get the math of it. I really do.
I fancy myself somebody who has an eye for budgeting and I understand the argument that “Yes, it really doesn’t make any sense to strike a coin that costs NOT just double or even triple… but basically quadruple what the coin is worth! I get it. I really do.
But my opinion is that the penny really has an important part both in American commerce AND in American culture. And the tertiary point of that, being a coin collector… it has an important place in my collection.
But I want to know what YOU think about it. What are your thoughts on the penny? Do you believe that the United States should abolish the penny? Should it keep the penny?
There are arguments on both sides of that coin — no pun intended, or maybe pun intended.
The question then becomes, “Okay, so if we get rid of the penny… which is slated to happen by the end of 2025… the US Mint has already (and US Treasury) has already ordered its last batch of business-strike planchets to strike pennies. So, how long that batch lasts… we don’t really know.
As the months continue to go on, we’ll look back on this video and we’ll realize, you know, whatever that end date was for the penny would mark the end of an era.
You get those who are concerned like I am about those who are not banked — those who use cash (including pennies or 1-cent coins) to pay for things.
The idea is that if we get rid of the penny, we would either round up OR down to the nearest nickel in cash transactions. Which, some would argue, would create like an automatic inflation — because we may not always see merchants round round down to the nearest nickel. It will probably always round up.
Now, that’s just a hypothesis. That’s not proven. No one’s saying that they’re going to always round up to the nearest nickel, but there’s a lot of concerns that that’ll happen.
Now if you’re using a debit card or credit card, your transactions will be rounded to that nearest cent. So you won’t have to necessarily worry about rounding up or down if you’re paying by a credit card or debit card or app.
But for those who are unbanked… And we’re talking about millions of people who rely on cash to buy things and to get paid for their wages, losing the penny could be a big problem for them.
What happens to all the take-a-penny, leave-a-penny jars? Well, I guess those will go away in time — as the penny starts to kind of wither away from circulation.
But the fact of the matter is there’s over one hundred billion (with a “B”) pennies still in circulation per US government estimates.
So, I’m not so sure the penny will just disappear the minute that the Mint stops striking them. I think they’ll be around for a long time to come.
I do see where the end of the penny could actually spur a RISE in coin collecting. Because people will start to look for pennies because they’ll think they’re rare and valuable. And some may BECOME more rare and valuable as they become harder to find in circulation. I don’t know.
As a penny collector, I can kind of see where we might hear about, you know, certain dates becoming harder to find or scarcer or more valuable.
So maybe in some ways it could be — in a backhanded sense — a good thing for pennies as a collecting item if the US Mint stops making pennies. Who’s to say?
But whatever the case may be, the end of the penny does mark the end of an era — certainly for SO many coin collectors and coin collections. And certainly for ME and for MY coin collection.
But please sound off. I want to know what you think about this! Do you think the US Mint should stop making pennies? Think the US government should stop making 1-cent coins?
Do you think that the end of the penny might actually help to INCREASE the value and scarcity of pennies and maybe actually spur on more coin collecting activity?
I’d love to know.
So at any rate, this is Josh with The Fun Times Guide sharing his thoughts and his love for the penny. And I’d love to know what your thoughts and emotions are about the US 1-cent coin as well.
Well, there you have it, folks! You might call it “my ode to the penny”.
Yeah, I Iove the coin. And I get… I totally get the mathematic argument for eliminating the penny. Why it doesn’t really make sense (maybe pun intended there) to strike a coin that costs quadruple what it’s actually worth to American commerce.
But at the end of the day, it’s such an important part of American numismatics, of so many coin collections, and certainly here with me in my coin collection and in my numismatic heart!
I don’t know. I mean, I really think it’s going to be a sad day when that last 1-cent coin rolls off the US Mint presses. But maybe it’s not the case for YOU.
I would love to know what you think! Penny for YOUR thoughts… Do you think the US Mint should stop making 1-cent coins? Should they continue making them? Do you feel that it’s going to cause any great risk to the American economy if the 1-cent coin is no longer made? What happens when that day comes?
I’m not so sure sure it’s going to be a win when that last 1-cent coin rolls off the presses.
What does it mean for the nickel — which also costs a lot more to strike than it’s actually worth in terms of face value?
I’d love to know what you think about this. So, please share your comments below. If you have any passion for the penny, share this video, subscribe to this channel. I will be sharing a lot more about my thoughts on this coin, and many others as well.
But again, this is Josh with the Fun Times Guide thanking you for your time.
And happy collecting!
