The last U.S. penny has been struck!

Below links out to the AP video. They put an omega privy mark on the last ones and I'm sure they will be instant collectibles. Bet they'll sell for... a pretty penny.

http://youtube.com/post/UgkxeaogHQfQbZjT7V3KYMWCqviqA7kdkQuc?si=aDHg9ibau7zNa5NJ

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Read the presser. They will continue to be struck for numismatic sales.

https://www.usmint.gov/news/press-r...l-production-of-the-circulating-one-cent-coin

 

Kind of doubt the ones with the privy marks will be released to the general public; they're almost certainly destined to be museum pieces. As a collector, things I can't own may as well not exist for as much good as it will ever do me lol. But nice to put a bookend on it I suppose.

(If they're actually going to sell them for some not insane amount, sure I'd have to get some lol. But if that was their intention they probably already would have said so.)

They will still be minting pennies as "numismatic products" which presumably means they'll still be showing up in uncirculated and proof sets, at least for a while. But they won't be minting them for circulation anymore.

 

How about this comment from the release:

While circulating production has ceased, the penny remains legal tender. There are an estimated 300 billion pennies in circulation—far exceeding the amount needed for commerce. Retailers and other businesses can continue to price goods and services in one-cent increments.

Sure, there are 300 billion out there, but most are in possession of consumers; how do you get them back to the retailers? there needs to be an incentive for folks to carry those jars, boxes, cans etc. back to be exchanged.

Perhaps team up with Coin Star to give 100% value back for returned cents as a store voucher, for whatever store that machine is in? Go to the grocery store, dump all your pennies and get a few bucks off of your food costs.

 

Yep. Special die with an omega privy mark. And AP photos show five, with fingerprints all over the last stuck.

If we had any sense of History one would stay with the mint in its collection and one would go to the Smithsonian.

Giving where things are today, they'll probably secretly run a couple thousand of them and gold plate them for sale on untruth antisocial.

 

I am glad to see that the mint will continue to produce cents for numismatic purposes. That will keep the date set going.

 

The incentive is $1 for every 100 you give to a bank (or to anyone else willing to take them). If that's not worth doing, well... that's why they were discontinued in the first place.

 

The problem is if you don't give people a reason, and make it really easy, they won't do it, and those pennies will just sit there until the heat death of the universe.

 

Honestly that just further justifies discontinuing them IMO. People already rarely bother to use the ones that already exist.

 

I fully agree with discontinuing, have wanted that for 20 years. But there is no plan for how to manage in retail, and comments like "There are an estimated 300 billion pennies in circulation—far exceeding the amount needed for commerce." just shows the complete ignorance of how the system is NOT working. There is no law allowing retailers to short-change customers, so they cannot round the total up, meaning they have to pay the difference, ultimately resulting in higher prices.

The wife pays close attention to the cost of basic food items, and has noticed where they were before say $2.95, they are now $2.97.

 

This wouldn't go over well with customers, regardless of the motivation.

Just pass laws explicitly legalizing standard rounding (one and two cents get rounded down, three and four get rounded up). Penny-pinchers will still chip in cents to avoid being "cheated" out of trivial amounts, and the vast majority will continue to ignore the issue, as they eventually would with any other rounding policy.

 

Retail markups are huge in the good ole USA. It’s what keeps the consumer economy going. A few pennies at grocery checkouts is irrelevant. And clothes, candy, soda, tobacco, alcohol all have enough in the listed price to even give discounts, as needed for competitive advantage. And gasoline could be sold at near wholesale for convenience stores and it might even help their in store traffic. And furniture, just wow. Reality is different from common perception.
Overview


+5


The average retail markup on a gallon of gasoline is about
35 cents, but this is a gross margin that includes various costs like credit card fees, utilities, and labor. After these expenses, the net profit is typically much lower, around 10 cents per gallon. A significant portion of a gas station's profit comes from in-store sales, which have higher profit margins than the fuel itself.

Gross margin

• Average markup: Around 35 cents per gallon, which includes all costs associated with selling the fuel.
• Variability: This gross margin can fluctuate based on location, competition, and other factors. For example, one recent estimate shows a gross margin of 43 cents at an average price of $3.64 per gallon.

Net profit

• Average net profit: After all operating expenses are deducted (like credit card fees, rent, labor, and utilities), the net profit is closer to 10 cents per gallon.
• Low margin: This net profit margin is very small, meaning gas stations often rely on in-store sales to stay profitable.

In-store sales

• Higher profit: Items like snacks, coffee, and prepared foods sold inside the convenience store have much higher profit margins than gasoline.
• Loss leader strategy: Many retailers use low-margin gasoline to attract customers to the station, hoping they will come inside and purchase higher-profit items

 

[QUOTE="ksmooter61, post: 26533079, member: 169607] re needs to be an incentive for folks to carry those jars, boxes, cans etc. back to be exchanged.
[/QUOTE]
I'd get a hernia carrying the cans I have filled with cents to the bank. Years back I used to get $50 bags of cents from the back and save all pre 1982 cents.

 

And the Tops Market will be packed on Sunday
Overview






Tops Friendly Markets is offering a double penny sale where customers can exchange their pennies for double their value in store credit. Customers can bring their rolled or loose pennies to the customer service desk to receive a gift card equal to twice the amount of pennies they provide, with a maximum exchange of $100 in pennies for a $200 gift card. This promotion allows shoppers to get double value on their pennies, turning them into store credit for their purchases.

• How it works: Bring your rolled or loose pennies to the customer service desk.
• The reward: You will receive a gift card for double the amount of pennies you turn in.
• Maximum exchange: The promotion is capped at $100 in pennies for a $200 gift card

 

But they'll still be worth a cent forever and beyond.......

 

Now the question is how do we get rid of the bloody dollar bill and start using all of the clever little presidential disks that the goobers have stockpiled?

 

Future state - IMO - no support from above will result in retailers rounding up the return change to customers to avoid any legal backlash and to offset will adjust prices up slightly. Cents will quickly disappear from circulation as retailers stop buying from banks. This will most likely not end in a roar, but a quiet whimper.

 

There probably are 300 billion cents out there but if they are readily available why are retailers short on cents? Why do banks say they have none available?

 

I can only speak to my daily habits. I do however, believe that my habits are more the norm throughout society than the outlier.

In my lifetime, I have never put coinage into my pockets in the morning before leaving the house. I've been a coin collector since I was seven years old. Even back then, 59 years ago, I'd throw my parents pocket change into my coin jar after checking for Whitman hole fillers. To this day I cannot lift my coin jar because I don't want to be hospitalized.