No more new pennies soon. A spokesman for the US Treasury announced that they made the last order ever for penny blanks earlier this month. As soon as they get them all stamped and out the door, they’re closing up shop on making new pennies.
Pennies have been around for 233 years with their own day called National One Cent Cent Day every April 1st. And they used to be able to buy a lot. I dug up old ads from years ago to see exactly what a penny could buy. Get this. In 1932, you could train rides across the country with a special deal through Southern Railway System for one penny.
The cost of the New York Tribune newspaper in 1902 was a single cent. In 1946, General Motors employees went on strike and negotiations were held up because GM did not want to give employees a raise of……. You guessed it, a penny.
A penny used to be able to buy postcards, a cup of coffee, a fresh egg, a glass of milk, small toys, loaves of bread, and I could go on and on.
Of course, everyone is asking if their pennies are going to be valuable and should we save them. Probably not. There are so many, it’ll probably take 50 to 100 years before they start becoming collector’s items. Although there are some older more valuable ones. Here’s a video that shows which ones to keep an eye out for.