Will pennies become more valuable if US stops manufacturing them?

Alameda, California - Penny-pinching may soon be replaced with penny pitching. That's because President Donald Trump has ordered the U.S. Treasury to stop manufacturing pennies.

Before the penny, for 64 years, Americans had the half-penny. But like the half-penny, the penny has now outlived its usefulness.

History of the penny

The backstory:

The U.S. mint penny struck the first one-cent coin 232 years ago. As of New Year's Day, there are an estimated 250 billion pennies in circulation in the United States, adding up to $2.5 billion. 

That's enough for $7 worth of pennies for every person in the nation.

Nowadays, it costs 3.7 cents to make each penny, a waste of metal and money. 

‘Do away with the penny’

Local perspective:

Toy Safari in Alameda sees the penny's demise as inevitable.

 "Canada did away with pennies a long time ago and what they do is, stores just round up to the nearest five," said Toy Safari Manager Oliver Merczig.

That could be a bit inflationary. 

"You're probably not [going to] round down is my guess, because why would you? In this day and age, everything is rounding up and going up," said shopper Shelby Hill.

Even how children save and spend is changing. 

"I love it when like kids come in with like they have their little piggy banks and like they've saved that up, but I see a lot of like kids even that have cards or tap on their phone," said manager Merczig.

Many adults agree. 

"Do away with the penny. I think we should have abolished it a while ago. I find myself almost throwing them away," said another customer, Jeff Melman.

At the cash register, leave a penny or take a penny to make the correct change will sunset and those donation jars by the cash register will surely get less. 

"Maybe a lot of us throw them away, but that's a perfect purpose for charity.  I can donate that and it still goes for some good. It all adds up," Hill said.

Expert perspective

What's next:

Alameda coin dealer Larry Bovo expects people to rush out and get "last issue" rolls of shiny new 2025 pennies. 

"I think a lot of people are [going to] start hoarding pennies," he said.

Bovo also says the hoarding and the demise of pennies will have another effect.

"I think it's [going to] be a hassle, but I think, if it does happen, I think pennies are [going to] start getting real more valuable, especially the ones with the wheat on the back. The wheat pennies are [going to] be a lot more valuable, especially the rarer ones," said Mr. Bovo.