It's time for change. Pennies will soon be going away. Here's what Tennesseans should do with theirs
Change is coming, but it won't be in the form of a penny anymore.
After 233 years of production, the U.S. Treasury Department announced that the production of the penny will come to an end, and soon, the only ones available will be pennies currently in circulation. The announcement comes after President Donald Trump stated in February that production was going to stop in 2025.
As pennies are phased out, prices will start to change, with items being rounded up to a nickel.
Here's a look at when the penny will be phased out and what type of pennies Tennesseans should be checking their piggy banks for that might be worth a bit more than 1 cent.
Trump's February announcement about the halting of the production of the penny stated it is being done as a cost-saving measure for the budget.
As the penny is phased out, prices will soon reflect a nickel as the smallest denomination. Nickels are more expensive than pennies to produce, which could cause other losses in the budget.
More than it is worth.
The currency that is only worth 1 cent costs about 3.7 cents to produce in fiscal year 2024, according to the U.S. Mint's annual report. A nickel costs about 13.8 cents to make. The price to make both coins has been on the rise for almost the last decade.
The last order for pennies has already been taken by U.S. mints and the Treasury told multiple news outlets that pennies will stop being put into circulation early in 2026, according to the Wall Street Journal, CNN, MSN, and Business Insider.
In the 2024 fiscal year, around 3.2 billion pennies were manufactured
Think that old penny you have in the drawer might be worth something? Well, some are, but most aren't worth more than their face value.
"There are million-dollar pennies, but there are no $100 million pennies," said Donn Pearlman, spokesman for the Professional Numismatists Guild (PNG), a nonprofit organization composed of many of the nation's rare coin experts. "Only a few Lincoln cents dated 1909 to 1958 with the wheat stalks design on the back ("wheat pennies") have sold for $1 million or more."
If you find a 1943 copper Lincoln wheat penny, you might have something. These copper 1 cent pieces were produced accidentally as the U.S. mints were supposed to use zinc to save copper for the World War II effort, said John Feigenbaum, publisher of rare coin price guide Greysheet. The penny is worth some money, but only a few have gone for $1 million.
A quick Google search can give you an idea if the coin you have is rare or if it could be worth anything. But if you have questions, you can also reach out to the American Numismatic Association. The nonprofit educational organization is dedicated to educating and encouraging people to study and collect coins and other items related to it.
Beyond doing your own research, the easiest way to see if your coin is worth anything is to get it appraised.
Tennessee has multiple coin appraisers across the state who can take a look at any coins that you may have come across and tell you their potential worth. You can find a list of recommended coin appraisers from the American Numismatic Association at coin-dealer-directory.money.org.
Think you may have something of value? Check out some more tips on what to do at usatoday.com.
USA TODAY contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: The penny is going away. Here's why and what to do with yours
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