The U.S. penny is not vanishing overnight, but new ones are effectively ending around early 2026, with the last penny already minted in November 2025 and a phaseout underway rather than a hard “expiration date.” Existing pennies will stay legal to use and spend, but they’ll slowly disappear from daily circulation as banks and retailers stop ordering and recirculating them.

Quick Scoop: What’s Happening

  • The U.S. Mint placed its final order for penny blanks in 2025 and reports indicate the last penny was struck on November 12, 2025.
  • Treasury and Federal Reserve guidance points to production of new pennies ending once remaining blanks run out, which is expected by early 2026.
  • Several banking and industry briefings now describe the penny as “retiring” or “phasing out” by 2026, not being suddenly canceled on a single day.

So When Are Pennies “Going Away”?

  • “Going away” means no new pennies being minted for circulation; that point is effectively reached once the last blanks are used up, projected for early 2026.
  • After that, pennies remain legal tender, but the Federal Reserve will gradually stop supplying them, so they’ll become rarer in cash registers over several years.
  • Other countries (like Canada and Australia) show that once the lowest coin is retired, everyday use drops quickly as businesses adjust prices and customers stop bothering with them.

What It Means For You

  • Cash purchases: Expect a shift toward rounding final totals to the nearest 5 cents for cash only; card and digital payments will still charge exact amounts, down to the cent.
  • Hoarded jars of pennies: You can still roll, deposit, or spend them; they will not suddenly lose legal status, they’ll just circulate less over time.
  • Collectible angle: Older or rare dates (like key-date wheat cents) may see more collector interest now that regular pennies are no longer being produced.

Forum / Trending Conversation Angle

“We’ve delayed far too long in admitting that pennies no longer contribute to effective economic exchanges.”

  • Forum and social discussions often frame this as long overdue, pointing to the fact that pennies cost more than one cent to make and slow down cash lines.
  • Others worry about a “rounding tax” on people who rely on cash, since small rounding differences could matter more to those without easy access to cards or bank accounts.

TL;DR

  • New pennies: Final runs in 2025, with production effectively ending by early 2026.
  • Old pennies: Still legal to use, deposit, or save; they’ll just fade from daily life as the system stops replenishing them.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.