United States of America | |
| Value | 0.01 U.S. Dollar |
|---|---|
| Mass | (1982–present) 2.5 g (0.08 troy oz) |
| Diameter | 19.05 mm (0.75 in) |
| Thickness | 1.52 mm (0.0598 in) |
| Edge | Plain |
| Composition | (1982–present)copper-platedzinc 97.5%Zn, 2.5%Cu |
| Years of minting | 1793–present (after 2025 not for general circulation) |
| Obverse | |
 | |
| Design | Abraham Lincoln |
| Designer | Victor D. Brenner |
| Design date | 1909 |
| Reverse | |
| Design | Union Shield |
| Designer | Lyndall Bass |
| Design date | 2010–present |
Thepenny, officially known as thecent, is a coin in the United States representing one-hundredth of adollar. It has been the lowest face-value physical unit of U.S. currency since the abolition of thehalf-cent in 1857.[a]
TheU.S. Mint's official name for the coin is "cent"[1] and theU.S. Treasury's official name is "one cent piece".[2] Thecolloquial termpenny derives from theBritish coin of the same name, which occupies a similar place in the British system.Pennies is the plural form (not to be confused withpence, which refers to theunit of currency).
The first U.S. cent wasproduced in 1787, and the cent has been issued primarily as a copper or copper-plated coin throughout its history. In 1792, Congress established theUnited States Mint, which began producing coins.[3] In the same year, theCoinage Act of 1792 mandated that the penny be valued at one hundredth part of a dollar and contain precisely eleven penny-weights of copper.[4] In March of 1793, the newly established Mint inPhiladelphia distributed the first set of circulating U.S. currency – 11,178 copper cents.[5]
The penny was issued in its current form as theLincoln cent, with itsobverse featuring the profile ofPresidentAbraham Lincoln since 1909, thecentennial of his birth. From 1959 (thesesquicentennial of Lincoln's birth) to 2008, thereverse featured theLincoln Memorial. Four different reverse designs in 2009 honored Lincoln's 200th birthday and a new, "permanent" reverse – the Union Shield – was introduced in 2010. The coin is 0.75 inches (19.05 mm) indiameter and 0.0598 inches (1.52 mm) in thickness. The current copper-plated zinc cent issued since 1982 weighs 2.5 grams, while the previous 95% copper cent still found in circulation weighed 3.11 g (see further below).
In the early 2010s, the price of metal used to make pennies rose to a noticeable cost to the Mint which peaked at more than 2¢, a negativeseigniorage, for the 1¢ face-value coin. This pushed the Mint to again look for alternative metals for the coin. Due toinflation, a single penny has lost virtually all itspurchasing power. Debate mounted abouteliminating the coin, which was viewed as a burden to businesses, banks, government (especiallymints) and the public in general;[6] one survey found that two percent of Americans throw pennies in the trash. In 2025, the Mint halted the production of pennies for circulation, largely due to cost.[7][8] The penny has not been eliminated, as only anact of Congress can abolish a currency. The penny continues to circulate and remains legal tender, and is still minted for collectors and historic purposes.[9]
The composition of the penny has varied over time:[10][11]
| Years | Material | Weight (grains) | Weight (grams) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1793–1795 | ~100%copper | 208 gr | 13.5 g |
| 1795–1857 | ~100% copper | 168 gr | 10.9 g |
| 1856–1864 | 88% copper, 12%nickel (also known asNS-12) | 72 gr | 4.7 g |
| 1864–1942 | bronze (95% copper, 5% tin and zinc) | 48 gr | 3.1 g |
| 1943 | zinc-coated steel (also known as1943 steel cent) | 42 gr | 2.7 g |
| 1944–1946 | gilding metal (95% copper, 5% zinc) | 48 gr | 3.1 g |
| 1947–1962 | bronze (95% copper, 5% tin and zinc) | 48 gr | 3.1 g |
| 1962 – September 1982 | gilding metal (95% copper, 5% zinc) | 48 gr | 3.1 g |
| October 1982 – present | copper-plated zinc (97.5% zinc, 2.5% copper) | 38.6 gr | 2.50 g |
Theisotope composition of early coins spanning the period 1828 to 1843 reflects the copper fromCornish ores from England, while coins after 1850 reflect theKeweenaw Peninsula, Michigan ores, a finding consistent with historical records.[12]
In 1943, at the peak ofWorld War II,zinc-coated steel cents were made for a short time because of war demands for copper. A few copper cents from 1943 were produced from 1942planchets remaining in the bins. Similarly, some 1944 steel cents have been confirmed. From 1944 to 1946, salvagedammunition shells made their way into the minting process, and it was not uncommon to see coins featuring streaks ofbrass or having a considerably darker finish than other issues.
During the early 1970s, the price of copper rose to the point where the cent contained almost one cent's worth of copper. This led the Mint to test alternative metals, includingaluminum andbronze-cladsteel. Aluminum was chosen, and over 1.5 million samples of the1974 aluminum cent were struck before ultimately being rejected.
The cent's composition was changed in 1982 because the value of the copper in the coin started to rise above one cent.[13] Some 1982 cents used the 97.5% zinc composition, while others used the 95% copper composition. United States cents minted after 1982 have been zinc with copper plating. The bronze and copper cents can be distinguished from the newer zinc cents by dropping the coins on a solid surface, or by flipping them in the air with one's thumb. The predominantly zinc coins make a lower-pitched "clunk" when hitting the surface, and make no sound when flipped in the air; while the copper coins produce a higher-pitched ringing sound.[14] In addition, a full 50-cent roll of pre-1982/3 coins weighs 5.4 oz (150 g) compared to a post-1982–83 roll which weighs 4.4 oz (120 g).
The coin has gone through several designs over its two-hundred-year time frame. The original cent coin manufactured by the U.S. Mint featuredLady Liberty.[15] One design featuring Lady Liberty was cut byHenry Voigt, but these coins were likely experimental, and did not enter circulation.[16]William Russel Birch is believed to have been the artist who rendered the flowing hair design of Lady Liberty on the original cut cent.[17] Until 1857 it was about the size of the current U.S. dollar coins (Susan B. Anthony through present dollars). Shown below are the different cent designs that have been produced; mintage figures can be found atUnited States cent mintage figures.
Small cents:
No cent coins were stamped with the year 1815. Shipments of copperplanchets from the United Kingdom were embargoed during theWar of 1812, and the Mint's supply was exhausted in October 1814. Cent coins resumed minting in December 1815, though it is not clear whether these were stamped 1814 or 1816.[20][21]
Throughout its history, the Lincoln cent has featured severaltypefaces for the date, but most of the digits have beenold-style numerals, except with the 4 and 8 neither ascending nor descending. The only significant divergence is that the small 3 was non-descending (the same size as a 0, 1, or 2) in the early history, before switching to a descending, large 3 for the year 1934 and then permanently (as of 2014[update]) in 1943. Similarly, the digit 5 was small and non-descending up to 1945.
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The Lincoln cent is the current one-cent coin of the U.S. It was adopted in 1909 (which would have been Lincoln's 100th birthday), replacing theIndian Head cent. Its reverse was changed in 1959 from a wheat-stalks design to a design which includes theLincoln Memorial (to commemorate Lincoln's sesquicentennial) and was replaced again in 2009 with four new designs to commemorate Lincoln's bicentennial. There are more one-cent coins produced than any other denomination, which makes the Lincoln cent a familiar item. In its lifespan, this coin has weathered both world wars, one of which temporarily changed its composition as part of the war effort. The obverse design is the longest produced for any circulating American coin.
When the Lincoln one-cent coin made its initial appearance in 1909, it marked a radical departure from the accepted styling ofUnited States coinage, as it was the first regular coin to bear a portrait other than the mythicalLiberty which appeared on most pre-1909 regular coins. Previously, a strong feeling had prevailed against using portraits on coins in the United States, but public sentiment stemming from the 100th anniversary celebration ofAbraham Lincoln's birth proved stronger than the long-standing tradition.
A variety of privately minted tokens bearing Lincoln's image circulated as one-cent pieces during Lincoln's presidency; legitimate coinage had become scarce during theCivil War. These early tokens undoubtedly influenced the denomination, appearance, size, and composition of Lincoln cents.
Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th U.S. president, thought American coins were so common and uninspiring that he attempted to get the motto "In God We Trust" removed as offending religion. Roosevelt had the opportunity to pose for a young Lithuanian-born Jew,Victor David Brenner, who, since arriving nineteen years earlier in the United States had become one of the nation's premier medalists. Roosevelt had learned of Brenner's talents in a settlement house on New York City'sLower East Side and was immediately impressed with a bas-relief that Brenner had made of Lincoln, based on aMathew Brady photograph. Roosevelt, who considered Lincoln the savior of the Union and the greatest Republican president, and who also considered himself Lincoln's political heir, ordered the new Lincoln cent to be based on Brenner's work and to be released just in time to commemorate Lincoln's 100th birthday in 1909. The likeness of President Lincoln on the obverse of the coin is an adaptation of a plaque Brenner created several years earlier which had come to the attention of President Roosevelt in New York.[22]
In addition to the prescribed elements on U.S. coins—LIBERTY and the date—the mottoIn God We Trust appeared for the first time on a coin of this denomination. TheUnited States Congress passed the Act of March 3, 1865, authorizing the use of this motto on U.S. coins,[23] during Lincoln's tenure in office.
Even though no legislation was required for the new design, approval of theSecretary of the Treasury was necessary to make the change.Franklin MacVeagh gave his approval on July 14, 1909, and not quite three weeks later, on August 2, the new coin was released to the public.
A study of three potential reverses resulted in the approval of a very simple design bearing twowheatheads in memorial style. Between these, in the center of the coin, are the denomination and UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, while curving around the upper border is the national motto,E Pluribus Unum,Latin for "Out of Many, One".
The original model bore Brenner's name on the reverse, curving along the rim below UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Before the coins were issued, however, the initials "VDB" were substituted because officials at theUnited States Mint felt the name was too prominent. After the coin was released, many protested that even the initials were conspicuous and detracted from the design. Because the coin was in great demand, and because to make a change would have required halting production, the decision was made to eliminate the initials entirely. In 1918, after the controversy over Brenner's name and initials on the reverse had died down, his initials were placed on the obverse with no further controversy. They are to be found in minute form on the rim of the bust, just under the shoulder of Lincoln.
Thus in 1909 the U.S. had six different cents: the 1909 and 1909-SIndian Head cents, and four Lincoln coins: 1909VDB, 1909-S VDB, 1909 and 1909-S. In all cases thePhiladelphia mintages far exceeded theSan Francisco issues. While the smallest mintage is the '09-S Indian, the '09-S VDB is the key Lincoln date, and hence is most valuable. Its mintage of 484,000 is only 1.7% of the plain V.D.B.
On February 12, 1959, a revised reverse design was introduced as part of the 150th anniversary of Lincoln's birth. No formal competition was held.Frank Gasparro, then Assistant Engraver at thePhiladelphia Mint, prepared the winning entry, selected from a group of 23 models that the engraving staff at the Mint had been asked to present for consideration. Again, only the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury was necessary to make the change because the design had been in use for more than the required 25 years. The imposing marbleLincoln Memorial provides the central motif, with the legendsE Pluribus Unum and UNITED STATES OF AMERICA completing the design, together with the denomination. The initials "FG" appear on the right, near the shrubbery. This series is noteworthy for having the image ofAbraham Lincoln both on the obverse and reverse, as his likeness can be discerned in the depiction ofDaniel Chester French'sAbraham Lincoln statue at the center of the Lincoln Memorial on the reverse.
ThePresidential $1 Coin Act of 2005 required that the cent's reverse be redesigned in 2009. This resulted in the mintage of four different coins showing scenes from Abraham Lincoln's life in honor of thebicentennial of his birth.
These four designs, unveiled September 22, 2008, at a ceremony held at theLincoln Memorial on the National Mall inWashington, D.C., are:
Special 2009 cents struck for sale in sets to collectors had the metallic copper content of cents minted in 1909 (95% copper, 5% tin and zinc).[26] Those struck for circulation retained the normal composition of a zinc core coated with copper.
The 2005 act that authorized the redesign for the Bicentennial stated that another redesigned reverse for the Lincoln cent will be minted which "shall bear an image emblematic of President Lincoln's preservation of the United States of America as a single and united country".[27] Eighteen designs were proposed for the reverse of the 2010 cent.[28] On April 16, 2009, theCommission of Fine Arts (CFA) met and selected a design that showed 13 wheat sheaves bound together with a ring symbolizing American unity as one nation.[29] Later this design was withdrawn because it was similar to coinage issued in Germany in the 1920s.[30] TheCitizens Coinage Advisory Committee later met and chose a design showing a Union shield withONE CENT superimposed in a scroll;E Pluribus Unum was also depicted in the upper portion of the shield.[30] In June 2009 the CFA met again and chose a design featuring a modern rendition of theAmerican flag.[31] As a part of the release ceremony for the last of the 2009 cents on November 12, the design for the 2010 cent was announced.[32] The design chosen was the one that was chosen earlier by the CCAC.[32] According to the Mint, the 13 stripes on the shield "represent the states joined in one compact union to support the Federal government, represented by the horizontal bar above".[33] The Mint also noted that a shield was commonly used in paintings in the Capitol hallways painted byConstantino Brumidi, an artist in the Capitol active during the Lincoln Presidency.[33]
The obverse of the cent was also changed to a modern rendition of Brenner's design.[32][34] The new Union Shield design replaces the Lincoln Memorial in use since 1959.[32] The coin was designed by artistLyndall Bass and sculpted by U.S. Mint sculptor-engraverJoseph Menna.[35] In January 2010, the coins were released early inPuerto Rico;[36] this was caused by a shortage of 2009-dated pennies on the island.[34] The new design was released at a ceremony at theAbraham Lincoln Presidential Library inSpringfield, Illinois on February 11, 2010.[37] In 2017, cents minted in Philadelphia were struck with a "P" mintmark to celebrate the 225th anniversary of the U.S. Mint. 2017 is the only year that Philadelphia cents have had a mintmark.[38] In 2019, theWest Point Mint minted pennies marked with a "W" mintmark for the first time, which were only available with their annual sets, wrapped separately in their own plastic wrap.[39] An uncirculated cent was included with the uncirculated mint set, a proof cent with the proof set, and a reverse proof with the silver proof set.[40]
The price of metal drives the cost to manufacture a cent. The Secretary of the Treasury has authority to alter the percentage of copper and zinc in the one-cent coin if needed due tocost fluctuations.[41] From 2006 to 2024, the Mint's costs for cents exceeded the face value of the coin (the Mint's fixed costs and overhead, however, are absorbed by other circulating coins).[42][43] As a result, the U.S. Treasury lost tens of millions of dollars every year producing cents. For example, the loss in 2013 was $55 million,[44] increasing to a reported $85.3 million in losses on the nearly 3.2 billion pennies produced through the 2024 fiscal year.[45] The cost to mint a cent in 2024 was 3.69 cents.[46]
| Fiscal year | 2010[41] | 2011 | 2012[47] | 2013[44] | 2014[48] | 2015[49] | 2016[50] | 2017 | 2018[51] | 2019[52] | 2022[53] | 2024[54] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost (cents) | 1.79 | 2.41 | 2.00 | 1.83 | 1.70 | 1.67 | 1.50 | 1.82 | 2.06 | 1.99 | 2.72 | 3.00 |
When copper reached a record high in February 2011,[55] the melt value of a 95% copper cent was more than three times its face value. As of January 21, 2014, a pre-1982 cent contained 2.203 cents' worth of copper and zinc, making it an attractive target for melting by people wanting to sell the metals for profit. In comparison, post-1982 copper-plated zinc cents have a metallurgical value of only 0.552 cents.[56] Prior to 1982, the fluctuating price of copper periodically caused pennyshortages, as people hoarded them for their perceived metallic value.[57]
Most modern vending machines do not accept pennies, further diminishing their utility.
In anticipation of people melting down U.S. pennies and U.S. nickels for profit, the U.S. Mint implemented new regulations in 2006 that criminalize the melting of pennies and nickels and place limits on export of the coins.[58] Violators can be punished with a fine of up to $10,000USD, imprisoned for a maximum of five years, or both.[59]
In 2024, about a quarter trillion pennies were estimated to be in circulation, or more than 700 pennies for each person in the United States. Most Americans do not actually spend pennies, but rather only receive them in change and proceed to store them at home, or perhaps return them to a bank for higher denomination currencies, or cash them in atcoin counting kiosks.[60] A 2002Gallup survey found that two percent of Americans throw pennies in the trash.[61]
United States RepresentativeJim Kolbe (R) ofArizona introduced bills in 2001 and 2006 which would have stopped production of pennies (in 2001, the Legal Tender Modernization Act, and in 2006, the Currency Overhaul for an Industrious Nation [COIN] Act).[62] In 2017, SenatorsJohn McCain (R-AZ) andMike Enzi (R-WY) introduced S. 759, the Currency Optimization, Innovation, and National Savings (C.O.I.N.S.) Act of 2017, that would stop minting of the penny for 10 years and would study the question of whether production could cease thereafter.[63]
PresidentDonald Trump announced on February 9, 2025, that he instructedSecretary of the TreasuryScott Bessent to halt production of the penny, citing its high production costs.[64] RepresentativesLisa McClain (R-MI) andRobert Garcia (D-CA) introduced the Common Cents Act, a bill to formalize an end to penny production and require cash transactions to be rounded to the nearestnickel on April 30, 2025.[65] According to the text of the "Common Cents Act", the Mint will have the option to continue production of the cent for collectors providing that the net sales exceed the cost to produce the coins.[66][non-primary source needed]
While no bill to eliminate or cease production of the penny had passed at the time, theU.S. Treasury announced in May 2025 a plan to stop minting it for circulation in 2026.[67] The Treasury reported in a statement toThe Washington Post that the last pennyplanchets were purchased by the Mint, and production would cease at the exhaustion of the existing blanks.[68][69] The last penny produced for circulation was minted at the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia on November 12, 2025.[70][71] This move to halt production would not eliminate the penny or remove it from circulation.[72] TheNational Association of Convenience Stores and theNational Retail Federation anticipate that retailers will eventuallyround cash transactions to the nearest nickel when the supply of pennies runs out. However, this is expected to happen slowly and gradually due to the large number of pennies in circulation, which are "severely underutilized".[72] Some retailers instead pledge to round down to the nearest nickel.[73]
Zinc is a major component of U.S. pennies minted after mid-1982, and is toxic in large quantities. Swallowing such a coin, which is 97.5% zinc, can cause damage to the stomach lining because of the high solubility of zinc in the acidic environment of the stomach.[74] Coins are the most commonly ingested foreign body in children, but are generally allowed to pass spontaneously, unless the patient is symptomatic.[75] Zinc toxicity is mostly in the form of the ingestion of U.S. pennies minted after 1982, and is commonly fatal in dogs, where it causes a severehemolytic anemia.[76]
Denomination:Cent; Nickel; Dime; Quarter Dollar.... (categories across the top of the specifications chart)
The proper term is "one cent piece," but in common usage this coins is often referred to as a penny or cent.
There were initially 18 design proposals for the 2010 Lincoln Cent reverse.
The reverse of the 2010 and beyond Lincoln cent was designed by United States Mint Artistic Infusion Program Associate Designer Lyndall Bass and executed by United States Mint Sculptor-Engraver Joseph Menna.
The newest—and for now permanent—version of the Lincoln penny was unveiled this morning at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum...
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