By MICHAEL CRIMMINS
Glasgow News 1
At 238 years old, the United States penny passed away peacefully on Nov. 12 surrounded by other currency and workers at a mint in Philadelphia. It is survived by its siblings: dimes, nickels, and quarters; it’s preceded in death by the half-penny.
Born in 1787 to Benjamin Franklin, the penny was a trend-setter throughout its life; it was the first coin made by the U.S. Mint in 1792 and became the first American coin to feature the profile of a U.S. president. Early in its life, the one cent-coin went by the name the Fugio Cent and could be heard repeating its mantra of “mind your business.” Though its given name is the cent — or the Lincoln cent — it went by the nickname penny since its introduction.
In 1864 it left its comfort zone, going from 100 percent copper to 88 percent copper and 12 percent nickel, and in 1982 it made the bold decision to change from 95 percent copper to 97.5 percent zinc with a thin copper coating. For a year in 1943 it experimented with being zinc-coated steel given the demands of World War II.
Ever a fan of tip jars and perhaps best recognized for its role in take-a-penny-leave-a-penny, it was minted for the last time on Nov. 12 at the U.S. mint in Philadelphia after President Donald Trump instructed the treasury to stop making pennies as it costs almost four cents to create the one-cent coins in February.
Gone but not forgotten, the U.S. penny will remain legal tender despite its halt in production. Some merchants across the country are coping with the penny’s passing by planning to round prices to the nearest nickel. The Treasury Department estimates there are 300 billion pennies in circulation.
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