When will "The Last U.S. Penny" hype die out?

Whaaaaaaaaaat...? Is that for real ...?

P.S. @-jeffB you hijacked my thread

 

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Sorry, didn't mean to. I figured the example of half dollars might shed a little light on what to expect of "the last" cent.

I guess the 1776-2026 cents will just be another modern commemorative. That is a little sad.

 

P.S. jeffB I was just kidding I meant to put a smiley face, so no worries

 

But CoinTalk is SERIOUS BUSINESS!

 

I believe it was 2021 that they resumed shipping halves to the Federal Reserve (i.e. issued for circulation). I also don't know why they did it, but at least one plausible reason was to replenish supplies (due to natural attrition?).

 

I'm re-hijacking this thread!

 

I remember late in 2021 we were in the OBX and I got 2021 halves in change and was surprised.

 

No kidding, I got a '73-S proof at my credit union a couple of years ago.

 

Yeah it is kind of a trick question, but...
1970, 1987, 2002-2019...
And maybe again this year (2020-2024 they actually released some half dollars into circulation to alleviate change shortages; how much that helped is arguable as it seems only coin roll hunters noticed lol... not sure if it happened again in 2025).

Arguably though it may as well have been 1964. People were hoarding any they found, because:
1. Kennedy had just died, and they saw the coin as a memorial to him
2. New coin design; people tend to save new coins a lot for the novelty
3. Silver was about to be taken out of circulating coins, so people were hoarding all the silver coins they could get their hands on

As such, half dollars quickly disappeared from circulation, and as people got used to not seeing them, eventually cash registers were not even made with a spot for them, people asked for them less, businesses asked for them less, banks asked for them less.

Half dollars of any kind will always have a soft spot for me because it's what kept me interested in coin collecting past age 10. My grandmother getting me to go through pennies to put in a Whitman book started my interest, but discovering a half dollar is what got me to stay interested.

So looking forward to the new half dollar next year; the design looks great! And in 2027 it gets a new portrait of JFK.

The penny hype... just isn't really hitting me; the omega mark novelty just doesn't strike a "I must have that!" feeling in me, even if I could afford it. There's several coins I know I probably realistically could never afford, but I'd still want if I could, and this... just isn't one of them. For all the arguments they made for getting rid of the penny, which I agree with for the record, they... don't seem to want to fully commit and want to milk the novelty of the "last" penny (which isn't even really the last). It seems contradictory to me that they got rid of the penny because it was not necessary... but seem to make us want to buy it as a novelty now... at any rate, the hype just isn't working on me personally lol.

I'll still probably grab a roll or two of the 1776-2026 pennies though. But... I'm not really interested in the "omega" stuff at any price.

 

Not sure you will be able to get rolls. Right now, the mint is only saying they will be available in sets. Of course that's today, no idea what they will offer next year.

I would have been in for the 3 coins sets if I had that kind of disposable income. I would have to sell pretty much every coin I have though to even afford one of the cheap sets. I am not complaining, there are a lot of coins I can't afford and would love to own, and I don't blame the mint for marketing them as they did. They could have done a better job of how they handled it, but overall, I am a fan. It will be fun to see how the value changes over the next several years. I think the "hype" will be around for quite a while.

 

On Flea-bay? Never.

 

And I still think there's a significant chance I'll live to see the last nickels, dimes, and even quarters minted "for circulation". Cash is getting less relevant with each passing year, and so is the value of a whole dollar, never mind fractions of a dollar.

 

It was/is 2021-2025. 2020 dated half dollars are NIFC.

 

The excitement ALWAYS dies down with coins.

 

OK, thanks, wasn't sure where the dividing line was precisely. I know a lot of people I watch on YouTube that coin roll hunt half dollars say the bane of their existences was getting boxes that were nothing but 2023 half dollars for some reason. Why that year in particular, no idea lol. I'm not sure how much releasing these half dollars could have realistically alleviated the change shortage when it seem few actually hit circulation, but they must have been showing up somewhere.

Only time I was able to convince my bank to order me a whole box of half dollars, got like I want to say 5 or 6 silver ones in it. But did finish the whole clad set up to that year, so there's that. Half dollars are expensive to search and most banks don't have them lying around, and will only order them on request (if even then). Pennies and nickels are a lot cheaper lol but there's not much left for me to find in those. Maybe 2026 will be the year for dimes...

 

They kind of hinted they might be selling pennies in rolls (they separated out the design of the penny from the nickel in a way that looks like rolls might happen) but they never explicitly stated they definitely will. As far as I can remember the only time they've sold pennies directly (not counting what happened to be in uncirculated and proof sets) was when the 2009 Lincoln bicentennials were released.

I guess we'll find out. So far the only 250th anniversary thing they seem to have a definite release date on is the 2026 Native American dollar, scheduled for 1/27/26.