By bizn_fun 
Pennies, which honour Civil War president Abraham Lincoln and are made of copper-plated zinc, today cost nearly four cents each to make — more than twice the cost of a decade ago, according to the Treasury Department. It estimates the decision to end production will save about $56m a year.
Officials have argued that the rise of electronic transactions is making the penny, which first went into production in 1793, increasingly moot.
The Treasury Department estimates that about 300 billion of the coins will remain in circulation, “far exceeding the amount needed for commerce”.
Many pennies end up falling out of use. About 60% of all coins in circulation in the US – or about $60-$90 for the typical household – sits stashed at home in piggy banks, deemed not worth trading in, according to a 2022 government analysis, external.
But penny-pinchers beware: as businesses start rounding up prices, the move is expected to raise costs for shoppers. One study by researchers at the Richmond Federal Reserve, external estimated that could cost consumers $6m annually.