What to Do With Your Pennies as Coin Production Winds Down
Turn Them Into Cash at Coinstar Machines
The U.S. Mint struck its final batch of pennies in Philadelphia November 12, 2025, marking the end of a tradition that stretched across more than two centuries. If you decide to turn your coins in for cash, Coinstar charges a service fee up to 12.9% plus $0.99 transaction. That means if you cash in a hundred dollars worth of pennies, you’ll walk away with roughly eighty-six dollars. The best way to avoid the 12.9% plus $0.99 service fee is to choose the free eGift Card option at the kiosk, which gives you the full value without any deductions.
Deposit Them at Your Bank or Credit Union
Your financial institution might be your best option for converting pennies without losing money to fees. Most banks will accept rolled coins to deposit, but many big banks have phased out their coin-counting services for loose coins in recent years, though U.S. Bank is an exception, and regional banks and credit unions often still provide coin counters. Some banks require you to roll the coins yourself, which takes time. Still, it’s worth checking with your local branch since account holders typically exchange coins for free.
Exchange Pennies for Gift Cards
Choose an eGift Card, or make a donation to your favorite charity when using Coinstar machines. The gift card option is completely fee-free. Options include major retailers including Home Depot and Cabela’s, chain restaurants such as Applebee’s, delivery service DoorDash, Southwest airlines and more, though each option has a minimum amount ranging from $3 at Home Depot to $25 at Southwest. Honestly, if you regularly shop at Amazon or grab coffee at Starbucks, this might be the smartest move you can make.
Donate Your Pennies to Charity Through Kiosks
Let’s be real: sometimes giving away your spare change feels better than dealing with the hassle of converting it. Coinstar retains a 10% processing fee from your donation amount for national charities and a 7.5% processing fee for regional charities. Coinstar offers the option to donate your coins directly to charity with the company retaining a processing fee, with charity partners including World Wildlife Fund, United Way, UNICEF, Feeding America, American Red Cross and Make-A-Wish Foundation, and charitable donations are tax-deductible. Save that receipt for tax season.
Roll Your Coins and Use Them for Everyday Purchases
One often-overlooked option is simply using your coins for everyday purchases, as most retailers readily accept rolled coins and this approach eliminates exchange fees entirely. Grocery stores, gas stations, and small businesses usually appreciate getting coins since they need them for making change. Most banks provide free coin rollers to customers who want to deposit large amounts of change, and while you’ll still have to put in a little work to wrap the coins yourself, it eliminates the costly alternative of using Coinstar. The task might seem tedious, but you keep every single cent.
Keep Some Pennies as Collectibles or Keepsakes
In 2025, the Mint auctioned 232 special three-coin sets containing the final circulating pennies, with each three-coin set including two circulating pennies, one from each of the Mint’s production facilities in Denver and Philadelphia. As the penny disappears from circulation, it may become a nostalgic keepsake or collectible, and you should save a few with unique dates or sentimental value for a future conversation piece or family heirloom. Who knows? Your grandchildren might find it fascinating to hold the last pennies ever made for circulation.
Understand How Cash Rounding Will Work
As happened in Canada after it discontinued the penny in 2013, many retailers are expected to round cash transactions to the nearest nickel. As pennies phase out, businesses are likely to round cash transactions to the nearest 5 cents, with rounding tax estimated to cost U.S. consumers approximately $6 million annually. Amounts ending in .01 and .02 will round down to .00, those ending in .03 and .04 will round up to .05, and overall this would be neutral as some prices would go up and others would go down. Electronic transactions won’t be affected at all.
Know That Your Existing Pennies Remain Legal Tender
The penny remains legal tender and may still be used for transactions. More than 114 billion pennies are currently in circulation, so they’ll be around for quite some time. The Mint halted the production of pennies for circulation largely due to cost, the penny has not been eliminated as only an act of Congress can abolish a currency, and the penny continues to circulate and remains legal tender while still being minted for collectors and historic purposes. Stores can still accept them if they choose to.
Learn From Other Countries That Eliminated Low-Value Coins
Canada withdrew the Canadian penny from circulation in 2013, and the transition went smoothly. Several countries have eliminated their penny equivalents, including Canada (2012), Australia (1992), New Zealand (1987), and the Bahamas (2020). Canada stopped minting pennies in 2013 and transitioned to rounding cash transactions to the nearest five-cent increment, the mathematical concept of 1 cent remains with credit transactions still abiding by the penny, the government ran an informational campaign for years that included signs and charts for cash registers, and when Canadians cashed in their pennies the coins were recycled. Their experience shows that life goes on just fine without the smallest coin.
Act Soon Before Penny Shortages Become Widespread
Some retailers have already reported penny shortages as production has scaled down. Even with billions in circulation, some businesses and banks have already reported penny shortages, and as time goes on, pennies likely will not be reflected in price totals. By mid-November 2025, the Federal Reserve had stopped supplying and re-accepting pennies at the majority of its terminals and several banks had ceased distributing the coins to retailers. If you’ve been putting off dealing with that jar of pennies on your dresser, now’s the time to take action. Pretty soon those coins might become harder to spend at stores, even though they’ll technically still be legal money.
The penny isn’t discontinued and still counts as legal tender, with the final batch struck on November 12, 2025, but with no new coins being made, the circulating supply will shrink as older pennies drop out of use. What will you do with your pennies before they become harder to use?
