The U.S. Department of the Treasury has stopped producing pennies, which means banks can no longer order them from the Federal Reserve. For more than a century, the penny has been a familiar part of everyday transactions. But as production ends, the number of pennies in circulation will gradually decrease. We have taken proactive steps to ensure your banking experience remains smooth and uninterrupted.
The Retirement
For the past 230 years, the penny has been a crucial part of the American financial world and the everyday life of Americans. Congress created the United States Mint in 1787, with it becoming part of the Department of Treasury in 1873.
The Mint produces a variety of legal tender coinage in addition to symbolic coinage like commemorative coins, and medals. It was at the Mint that pennies were produced and where the last pennies were struck by Brandon Beach, United States Treasurer on November 12, 2025.
The single cent token of US currency was originally introduced in 1787. When pennies were first established, as little as two pennies could be used to purchase things like a biscuit or a children’s toy. Currently, pennies on their own are uncommonly used in stand alone purchases.
The penny has become more expensive to create than it’s worth with the American government citing that one penny costs 3.69 cents to produce. After their findings and research into determining whether the US economy benefited from penny production, they made the final decision to completely retire it.
Penny Circulation at First Reliance
While pennies are still recognized as legal forms of tender, the halt in their production means we will no longer receive pennies from the Federal Reserve. This means that the supply of pennies we have now is our final supply and will not grow moving forward.
Pennies will maintain their value when in circulation or can still be deposited into your account.
We will continue to provide pennies while our existing supply lasts, but once our supply has depleted, it will not be replenished.
Your Next Trip to the Bank
While we still have our penny supply, your visits to our branches will not look any different. We will continue to utilize pennies and welcome our customers to do the same as supplies last.
Once our supply has diminished completely, cash transactions will undergo some slight modifications. We plan to emphasize customer convenience and efficiency as we implement these future changes.
These modifications include rounding up to the nearest fifth cent of transaction amounts. For example, if you are cashing a check that is worth “$123.54” we will round up to give you “$123.55”.
Further Questions
We want to assure our customers that these changes will be made with their convenience in mind, and transactions will continue to be straightforward and easy to navigate.
We are here to answer any questions and guide you through this transition. At First Reliance Bank, we remain committed to providing you with an exceptional banking experience- no matter the “change” at hand!
You can reach one of our team members through a variety of channels. Our digital customer service is available to customers anytime, day or night. Additionally, we respond via phone or email during business hours. You can find all of our contact information on our website.
