Say goodbye to the penny, as Congress tries to eliminate the one-cent coin

Yet another piece of legislation targeting the penny has been introduced in Congress, offering insight into the renewed fight to ditch our one-cent coin. If you're a penny collector instead of a penny spender, it may leave you wondering if your change will gain sudden value.

Lawmakers have introduced yet another bipartisan bill that would direct the U.S. Mint to stop producing pennies, offering a renewed focus on the effort to ditch our one-cent coin.

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) this week introduced the “Make Sense, Not Cents” legislation, which is one of a handful of bills that have been brought forth since President Donald Trump said in February that he had asked the Treasury Department to stop minting new pennies.

The president said he was urging the move because it is "ridiculous" that the government continues to make pennies at a loss, as the coin is now used less and less due to inflation.

"No private business would produce something at a 4x loss. It’s time to stop wasting Americans’ hard-earned tax dollars making overpriced pennies," Sen. Lee said in a statement. "This bipartisan bill will phase out penny production and put an end to this pointless spending program."

According to the latest report from the U.S. Mint, it costs 3.69 cents to produce a single penny. That's the most it has ever cost to make the coin, and it's more than triple the one-cent value of the penny.

Experts at All About Coins in Salt Lake City say they don't foresee a spike in the value of Abraham Lincoln's coin if production halts.

"I don't think that we're ever going to see a day where like a 2024 penny is going to be worth so much more," store clerk Casey Hackford-Peer explained. "Maybe in 200, 300 years, but not in my lifetime."

Not all pennies are chump change, though. Some rare finds can be worth some serious coin.

For example, Hackford-Peer highlighted a 1909 S "VDB" cent, which can be worth hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars. It's a penny that still has the artist's initials minted on it, making it worth upwards of $750,000. Another, minted in Denver in 1943, sold for $840,000 in 2021, according to a listing by Heritage Auctions.

These pennies are known as "wheat pennies" after the sheaves of wheat on the backs. Produced from 1909 to 1958, wheat pennies have been known to sell at auctions for thousands of dollars. One from 1944 — made entirely of steel, giving it a silver appearance instead of copper or bronze — sold at auction for $168,000 in January. A highly graded wheat penny from the 1909 series recently sold for $99,000 at auction.

The pennies in your piggy bank or lost in your couch cushions are likely not as valuable. They may, however, still be useful for your cash purchases.

Other legislation introduced earlier this year to end penny production would essentially replicate what Canada did when it eliminated its penny: the one-cent coin remains legal tender, but cash transactions are rounded up or down to the nearest five cents.

So far, all pieces of legislation to end penny production introduced in this year have been referred to committees.