The U.S. will stop making pennies once the existing stock of penny blanks (the metal discs used to make pennies) runs out. The U.S. Treasury Department placed its final order for penny blanks in May 2025, and production is expected to end by early 2026. However, pennies will remain legal tender and will continue to circulate even after production stops. Retailers will likely begin rounding cash transactions to the nearest nickel once pennies become scarce in banks, but non-cash prices may remain unchanged. This decision was made because producing each penny currently costs about 3.7 cents, almost four times its face value, leading to significant government losses each year.