House Passes Common Cents Act as U.S. Moves Closer to Making the End of the Circulating Penny Permanent

To borrow and slightly mangle a famous phrase from Mark Twain, reports of the penny’s death are no longer greatly exaggerated.

The United States House of Representatives has officially passed the Common Cents Act, designated as H.R. 10167, by a voice vote. The legislative action, which took place on September 14, moves the United States another significant step toward permanently ending the production of the circulating one-cent coin. While the legislative process still requires further steps before becoming absolute law, the House vote represents a major milestone in a national conversation that has been building momentum for years regarding the economic efficiency of America’s lowest denomination coin.

Of course, in practical terms, the penny had already received its official eviction notice prior to this legislative push. The United States Mint struck the final circulating cent at its facility in Philadelphia on November 12, 2025. That historic ceremonial strike brought a definitive close to a remarkable 232-year continuous production run for the circulating coin.

Rising production costs played a decisive role in both the Mint’s administrative decision and the subsequent congressional action. According to federal estimates, the cost of manufacturing a single one-cent coin climbed to an unsustainable 3.69 cents, driven primarily by the prices of underlying metals and manufacturing overhead. Government analyses project that suspending the production of circulating one-cent coins will save taxpayers approximately $56 million annually.

If enacted into law in its current form, H.R. 10167 would codify the end of circulating-cent production permanently. Furthermore, the legislation provides a comprehensive national framework for rounding cash transactions to the nearest five cents, establishing consistency for retailers and consumers alike. Under the proposed framework, however, noncash transactions—including payments made with credit cards, debit cards, and digital or electronic payment methods—would continue to be calculated to the exact cent, ensuring that digital commerce experiences no disruption.

Yet, numismatists and coin collectors certainly need not start composing the penny’s formal obituary just yet.

The legislation explicitly allows the U.S. Mint to continue producing one-cent coins specifically for numismatic purposes, ensuring that collectors can still acquire pristine examples for their collections. Additionally, the estimated 300 billion pennies already distributed throughout the American economy remain fully recognized as legal tender. Consumers retain the legal right to continue spending them in everyday commerce, and businesses may continue to give exact change using traditional cents for as long as those coins remain available in cash drawers across the country.

In fact, the penny has already begun its second life as a collector-only coin. Following the cessation of general circulation strikes, the Mint has transitioned to producing a special 1776–2026 Lincoln cent destined exclusively for annual numismatic sets. These special coin sets celebrate the upcoming United States Semiquincentennial, marking the nation’s 250th anniversary. The familiar portrait of Abraham Lincoln on the obverse carries a distinctive dual date of 1776 through 2026, serving as a commemorative bridge between America’s founding history and modern numismatics, even as standard circulating production remains firmly a thing of the past.

Beyond addressing the penny, the Common Cents Act also targets another increasingly expensive coin denomination: the nickel. The legislation includes provisions that would permit the United States Treasury Department to adopt a less expensive metallic composition for the five-cent coin. This change would only be implemented if rigorous testing demonstrates that an alternative composition successfully reduces manufacturing costs without causing significant operational disruptions to coin-operated machinery, vending machines, and financial processing equipment across the country.

Despite the decisive vote in the House, the penny’s ultimate statutory fate is not yet entirely sealed by Congress. Although H.R. 10167 has cleared the House of Representatives, the measure must still successfully navigate the Senate in an identical legislative form and ultimately receive the signature of the president before it can officially be enacted into federal law.

For coin collectors and numismatic enthusiasts across the nation, the overarching reality remains clear. While the familiar copper-plated coin is steadily disappearing from everyday pocket change and retail cash registers, it is far from vanishing from the rich tradition of American numismatics.