Pennies were common coins. Little bronze circles made with zinc and copper and the face of Abraham Lincoln on the front. Since 1793, these coins were used throughout the United States. As of November 12, 2025, they are no longer being made.
“I don’t think pennies should get phased out because when we are shopping and we have to give someone money, they give us back pennies,” Emilia Debiasio Cedeno, a fourth grader at Patrick M. Villano School, said. “It’s so much easier for us to get exact change.”
Because pennies are being phased out, some stores now post signs saying they round prices to the nearest nickel or dime. Without pennies, stores can no longer give exact change, so they adjust the total up or down to the closest amount that can be paid without using pennies.
“It makes me kind of sad that pennies are getting phased out, but I can understand why they decided to do it,” Kate Gallucci, a fifth-grade teacher said. “I’ve always used pennies, but now you don’t need them as much because things cost more money than they used to. I think they’ll become valuable in the future.”
The reason that pennies are being put out of production is because they cost about 3.7 cents to make a penny. That’s more than triple than what they’re worth. It was costing the government too much money to continue making them, according to Kiplinger online. That’s a personal finance website.
“I think that I don’t really feel anything about the end of pennies because they were never really useful,” Ava Finnerty, a fifth grader, said. “There’s so many pennies in the world that they’ll be around for a long time before there’s no more.”
Finnerty mentioned that the pennies really helped during Penny Wars. Penny Wars was a Safety Patrol fundraiser to help sponsor the local Torch Run. The Torch Run is a law enforcement program that support the Special Olympics. The future of programs like Penny Wars at Patrick M. Villano School is under reivew.
