Goodbye, Dear Penny!

Have you heard of numismatics? It’s the hobby of collecting currency, including coins. It’s a popular hobby in the United States, and coin collectors were in for a treat last month as the penny was discontinued and the last 232 pennies produced were auctioned off.

The last $2.32 worth of pennies were sold in special three-coin sets. Each set included two circulating pennies, one from each of the Mint’s production facilities in Denver and Philadelphia. The third coin in the set was a 24-karat gold uncirculated penny, marking the first time gold was used for pennies.

The 232nd set, which included the last three pennies ever made, sold for an astonishing $800,000. The combined total for the sets was a whopping $16.76 million!

You may not give much thought to a penny, but the coin has a long and unique history. The penny was one of the first coins made by the U.S. Mint after its establishment in 1792—with the first pennies struck in 1793. The first penny’s design featured a woman with flowing hair, and it was made of pure copper. The penny looked similar for more than 60 years before its first redesign in 1857.

In 1909, Abraham Lincoln became the first president to be featured on a U.S. coin. The image of President Lincoln was used continuously until the penny was discontinued.

During its 232-year history, the design wasn’t the only thing that changed. While the coin was pure copper until 1837, a combination of metals was gradually introduced. Tin, zinc, and nickel have all been used throughout the penny’s history. Copper has always been a key component, with one notable exception. In 1943, copper was needed during World War II, so zinc-coated steel was used instead. By the time the penny was discontinued in 2025, pennies only contained 2.5 percent copper. The decision to change the metal composition was based on the rising cost of copper—pennies became much more expensive to produce than they were worth!

Penny History Facts
• First year of production: 1793
• Number of years produced: 232
• Year Lincoln first appeared: 1909