Non-cash transactions can still be denominated in cents. Existing pennies will remain legal tender, and it would take quite some time to exhaust those. The transition should be pretty painless. About time really; the time to stop minting these came years ago.
Let’s hope it’s enough planchets to avoid creating an end of the series rarity. All we need is another mint run lottery, like the privy mark nonsense. I’ve spent a small fortune on a one a year cent set from 1793 to date. I’ve got four large cents to go plus a 2025, which will be in a silver coin Proof set. I don’t want to pay a high price to a flipper for a piece of “modern junk.”
I hope so, too, although I imagine the mint's marketing arm will find overpriced NIFC "commemorative" cents (struck on a real copper planchet!) very hard to resist.
No reason to explore new compositions for the dime and up yet, they are still comfortably profitable. They have already been researching for a new material for the five cent for about 12 years now. So far the study, which issues a report of their findings every two years, has cost around $18 million. I don't know how many millions they will spend before they finally admit that it can't be done. they need for any new material coins to be the same size (diameter and thickness) and the same weight so they can operate vending machines and work in all coin handling equipment without pre-separation into the different compositions, and it can't be magnetic. It also has to strike up well. During the early years they did have one material that met all the criteria, 80% copper 20% nickel that could be produced for 4.99 cents each. But Copper, Nickel, and manufacturing cost have all increased since then. Right now the manufacturing cost probably exceed 2 cents each, so it would be pretty much impossible to find a metal cheap enough to get the final cost in under 5 cents each.
