Final penny strike leaves distribution and rounding questions

The Mint struck its final circulating penny in Philadelphia on November 12, 2025, ending a 232-year production run. Manufacturing a one-cent coin then cost 3.69 cents, the agency said. Existing pennies remained legal tender, and limited collector versions would continue. Stopping manufacture did not withdraw the coins already used for change. ^[1]

Treasury’s December 23 guidance addressed the checkout transition. It recommended rounding cash totals only after duties, fees and taxes were calculated, and keeping non-cash payments exact to the cent. The document expressly called its recommendations nonbinding and recognized that state and local law governs sales tax. A manufacturing decision therefore did not create one uniform rounding law. ^[2]

Distribution posed a separate constraint. The Federal Reserve’s undated ordering reference, reviewed for this retrospective, reports that some locations can fill penny orders while others lack inventory. The Fed distributes coins through banks and credit unions, rather than directly to households or shops. Existing national stocks do not guarantee that a particular distribution location can fill an order. ^[3]

The St. Louis Fed’s January 28 explainer also distinguished expectations from measured effects. It described differing research estimates of rounding’s effects, including studies pointing in opposite directions. Those estimates do not establish what the U.S. transition actually cost customers. Checkout procedures, available change and local rules are separate questions from the Mint’s production expense. ^[4]

About this item: Retrospective report. No first-hand reporting or independent testing is claimed. Corrections policy.