Will Pennies Be Discontinued in 2023 and what is the future of this?

Will Pennies Be Discontinued? So, the answer to this question, in a more straightforward way, is NO. We can’t say anything about it further, but for now, we are sure that the United States Mint has no plans to eliminate the penny from circulation. They will stay here; if it were destroyed, it would require congressional approval.

Similar to us, are you still wondering why all this will happen? Why are they discontinuing the pennies? What if the penny is withdrawn from the cash transaction? What is going to replace? Do pennies still exist? What will the 2023 pennies look like? What will be the Good luck sign and more…. If you want answers to all, then you must read this blog. Do you want to find out? If yes, then you must continue reading this blog post!!

However, the debate is going on in the United States whether to stop minting the penny or not. Below we’ve also mentioned a section with its discussion. So, Read on

Table of Contents

Penny Debate In The United States

There was a debate going on within the United States government about whether the penny or one-cent coin should be ceased its production as a unit of currency in the United States.

Numerous bills have been introduced in the United States by Congress that no penny would be produced and there would be ceased production of the pennies, but they have yet to be approved.

This debate exists because the penny costs more than one cent to be produced; the government loses more money on the production of a penny than a cent. Several bills introduced in the United States Congress left the nickel or the five-cent coin as the lowest-value mintage in the United States.

The United States and other countries have ceased the production of coins, including the Canadian penny; Canada ended up producing it in 2012. In 1857, the U.S. withdrew the lowest-value coin and the half-cent coin (hay penny) because a half-cent was worth approximately 15 cents in 2021.

United States Representatives Jim Kolbe broke the ice and introduced the Price Rounding Act of 1989, H.R. 3761, in 1990. The main motive for presenting the act was to remove the penny circulation in cash transactions to the nickel. He introduced the Legal Tender Modernization Act of 2001, H.R. 2528 in 2001 regarding the same.

In 2006, Kolbe introduced the Currency Overhaul for an Industrious Nation (C.O.I.N.) Act, H.R. 5818. All those bills failed to become law but gained popularity and support from the public across the United States. The statements ended with no hearing at the end of the 115th Congress by the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

In the end, To cease stamping out the penny for 10 years, there was a debate on whether to continue minting the penny afterward. The Currency Optimization, Innovation, and National Savings (C.O.I.N.S.) Act of 2017 was introduced in 2017 S.759 by Senator John McCain and Senator Mike Enzi

Will They Stop Making Pennies?

As mentioned above, pennies are not going anywhere right now! But nothing will be predicted in advance. Will it stay here or be knocked out?

But, according to the U.S. Mint, it has been announced that they will start discontinuing the penny production as the last batch was 1st April 2023. The minting process is also believed to be completed by the end of 2022. The previous batch of pennies will be given to coin collectors for the auction and to maintain the coin’s record in the history of the United States.

Why Do They Want To Discontinue Minting The Pennies?

They want to discontinue minting the pennies because the production cost of a penny is more than its value. For example, it costs more than two cents to make a single penny; The Penny has what we money geeks say is “Negative seigniorage.”

This Negative Seigniorage has caused over time, and the production cost for a single penny increased, i.e., the raw material, distribution, and labor costs increase over time.

According to the United States Mint’s report, “In 2018, the taxpayers spent more than 85.4 million U.S. dollars for the production of Penny. People found that Penny is not worth any more than it was; its production cost is more than its value. This is the primary reason for the discontinuation of the pennies.

Similarly, other countries found the same while producing coins and withdrew a low-value denomination coin from the cash transaction. On the contrary, some countries have already discontinued low-value coins. Due to the high cost of nickel U.S. had already stopped the production of half-cent in 1857.

In 1991, Australia stopped producing its one-cent and two- cents coins, Canada discontinued its penny in 2012, and In 2007, Switzerland also withdrew its Rappen.

Several other reasons are mentioned below:

Reasons To Stop Minting The Penny/ Arguments For Elimination

Recent popular support
Historical precedents
Zinc toxicity

Environmental hazard
Efforts to transport and count
Preservation issue

Consumers and the economy
Historical popular support
Increased cost

Production at a loss
Lost productivity and opportunity cost of use
Limited utility

Prices would not be higher
Elimination would not hurt the poor

What Is Going To Replace The Pennies?

No, Pennies will not be replaced with a denomination of equal value. Yeah! All pennies will indeed be discontinued making production after 1st April 2023. But they will not be replaced with a denomination of similar value.

Its image of Lady Liberty was replaced with the Lincoln; Lady Liberty’s image was stamped out from its start when Pennies were introduced in 1793 after the Coins Act of 1792.

Do Pennies Still Exist?

Yes, Pennies still exist. If we lighten the total number of pennies and how much they have left iWeworld. So, we have noted that there are 288 billion pennies, and 150 billion pennies are supposed to be in circulation. The rest of the pennies, i.e., 138, stocked up in the lockers while some transformed into jewelry; some are estimated to be loafers or thrown in fountains.

Besides, Pennies are also considered lucky; some prefer to have it as a good luck coin.

According to a theory, it was noted that pennies bring a lot of good luck, and people used to keep them aside to follow their religious beliefs.

The fact was pennies were made up of copper and other metallic mixtures, and ancient civilizations observed that these metals were not only metals but also gifts from the gods.

People followed this belief and intended to keep pennies as a good luck coins that protected them from evilness.

What Will The 2023 Pennies Look Like?

The pennies will look like in 2023 with a Union Shield reverse design. As 2023 is the 14th year, the United States Mint strikes and introduces a new version of Pennie’s with a different design.

But expect the pennies to be made up of something other than copper as before. If you’re thinking so, then you are wrong… When Pennies were introduced, its first version in 1793, they were made up of 100 percent copper and steel; also, their size was equal to a half dollar.

Later, in 1982, the pennies were made with copper-plated zinc. Several other pennies also comprise various types of metallic mixtures, including copper, nickel, zinc, tin, and steel.

Will Pennies Be Worth More In The Future?

According to reports, it was believed that those pennies stamped out in 1943 and 1944 were counted in the list of 25 most valuable pennies for coin collectors in 2023.

It is also estimated that the steel wheat penny minted in 1944 was worth as equal as 408,000 US dollars; on average, it was up to 10,000 US dollars.

If we check what pennies are worth, the rarer ones are worth more. The low-mintage pennies were minted in 1955-S, 1939-D, 1933-D, and 1931-S. Old pennies are worth more because they were made up of 95 percent copper before 1982; it gives more value.

Are you still wondering how long pennies last? So, let us tell you that coins can last for more than 30 years in circulation or until they get worn use. When coins shed their life and are about to die, the government eliminates the coin from cash transactions.

Then, they broke down and brought them into use for other things.

Wrapping Up

Still determining what will happen next. But this time, we can say Pennies are not going anywhere; the debate is continuing to discontinue its production. Let’s see what step the U.S. government will take; only time will tell whether the penny will discontinue or stick around.

Some people support the decision of discontinuation, while some don’t eliminate it as pennies are admiration for Abraham Lincoln. It’s a sense of nostalgia, and people would like to use them in the future.

President Obama also stated, “These pennies are not only the money but also our childhood memories, we used to save every single penny into our piggy bank and brought candies from a general store. If Penny will discontinue it means one of our favorite childhood memories faded away.”

All in all, The penny is not going anywhere; it is here to stay. People are happy about that, but at the same time, sad also because its value is less than its production cost. So, the chances for the discontinuation of pennies are much more.

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