A Solemn Farewell to the Penny: America’s Tiniest Currency Gets a Grand Send-Off
This past weekend, Washington D.C. hosted what might be one of the most peculiar public gatherings of the year: a mock funeral for the U.S. penny. The event, organized by financial management platform Ramp, drew a crowd of curious onlookers and penny enthusiasts to the Lincoln Memorial, where they bid farewell to America’s smallest denomination coin. The ceremony featured all the trappings of a traditional funeral, complete with a casket, eulogies, and a portrait of Abraham Lincoln crafted entirely from the copper-colored coins that bear his likeness. The theatrical sendoff came on the heels of the Treasury Department’s official cessation of penny production, ending a 232-year chapter in American monetary history.
What made the memorial service particularly memorable wasn’t just the unusual subject being mourned, but the eclectic assembly of “mourners” who showed up to pay their respects. Among the attendees were actors portraying historical figures including Presidents Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson, alongside a costumed Mary Todd Lincoln. In a somewhat bizarre historical twist, even John Wilkes Booth, Lincoln’s assassin, was represented among the mourners. The funeral took on a surreal quality with the additional presence of characters like Santa Claus and Pennywise, the terrifying clown from Stephen King’s “It,” creating a scene that blended historical reverence with carnival-like spectacle. Ramp economist Ara Kharazian lent a more serious note to the proceedings by delivering what was described as an “autopsy report,” detailing the economic factors that ultimately led to the penny’s demise.
The penny’s story began with the Coinage Act of 1792, making it one of America’s original pieces of currency. For more than two centuries, these small copper discs passed through countless hands, filling piggy banks, cash registers, and occasionally getting lost in sofa cushions across the nation. The coin featuring Lincoln’s profile has been a fixture in American life, despite its diminishing purchasing power over the decades. Its ubiquity made it more than just currency – the penny became a cultural touchstone, inspiring idioms like “a penny for your thoughts” and “penny-pinching.” Children of multiple generations learned basic counting and saving through pennies, and many Americans still recall the satisfaction of rolling coins collected in jars for deposit at the bank.
However, economic reality finally caught up with the humble penny. In recent years, the cost of producing each one-cent coin ballooned to nearly four cents, creating a financial paradox where the government spent significantly more to create the currency than its face value. This inefficiency, coupled with changing consumer habits – particularly the dramatic shift toward digital payments accelerated by the pandemic – made the penny increasingly impractical. Many retailers had already implemented rounding policies for cash transactions, and consumers often left pennies in “take a penny, leave a penny” trays rather than carrying them. The penny’s practical utility had been declining for years before its production was officially discontinued.
The final decision to halt penny production came in February when President Donald Trump announced the end of the coin’s manufacturing, citing wasteful government spending. “For far too long, the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents,” Trump stated on his Truth Social platform. “This is so wasteful! I have instructed my Secretary of the U.S. Treasury to stop producing new pennies.” Last month, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent ceremonially struck the nation’s final penny, officially marking the end of an era. While existing pennies will continue to circulate and remain legal tender, no new ones will enter the economy, gradually reducing their presence in daily transactions.
The penny’s funeral, while certainly a publicity stunt for Ramp, also served as a moment of reflection on how our monetary system evolves with changing economic conditions and technological advancements. Similar debates now surround other low-denomination coins like the nickel, which also costs more to produce than its face value. As digital payment methods continue to dominate transactions, physical currency itself may eventually become more ceremonial than practical. Yet for many Americans, especially older generations, there’s something nostalgically significant about the penny – not for its purchasing power, but for what it represents: a tangible connection to American history, childhood memories, and the simple act of saving. The penny may be leaving production, but it has already secured its place in the treasury of American cultural memory.
