Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: THE American penny passed away on November 13 after a prolonged illness. It was 238 years old. The last penny was minted at the US Mint in Philadelphia, overseen by US Treasurer Brandon Beach. President Donald Trump announced via social media in February that he instructed the Mint to stop making the once-popular coin, citing the cost of production, according to a CNN report.
The penny costs nearly four cents to mint, more than the coin’s worth. Once valuable enough to buy “penny candy” like gumballs and feed parking meters or toll booths, today the penny lives mostly in coin jars, junk drawers or “leave a penny/take a penny” trays. Beach said that the final coins pressed will be auctioned off and that the actual last pennies put into circulation from the US Mint were struck in June.
The penny outlived its sibling, the half-penny, by 168 years. It is survived by the nickel, dime, quarter, and rarely seen half-dollar and dollar coins. Despite its demise, the penny will remain legal tender.
