Wondering if pennies might be more valuable when production stops

I don’t spend a lot of cash. Almost every purchase goes on my credit card or is taken out of my account automatically.

So, why then, does it bother me the penny is going away?

I don’t have a good answer. It’s been around my whole life really isn’t reason enough to hang onto this copper coin.

I don’t collect them. Well, I do collect change in a jar that eventually gets traded in for paper money.

I don’t carry change with me. I used to in my car. Not anymore. I have no need for it.

I used more cash in Mexico. Most vendors preferred it, but not all. Even there I started putting gas and some groceries—my two main purchases—on a credit card.

Pennies in the U.S. were first minted in 1793. The government says there are 114 billion pennies in circulation.

These coins as of this fall stopped being minted. Canceling penny production is projected to save $56 million a year, according to the U.S. Treasury. This is because it costs 3.69 cents to make one penny.

People can and will still use them. Stopping production means no new ones, not that the current ones aren’t usable.

Maybe I’ll keep my pennies in that jar of mine. Though I’m guessing their value won’t increase enough to fund my retirement.