Podcast Summary

The Indicator from Planet Money

Episode: Take a penny, leave a penny, get rid of the penny
Date: December 8, 2025
Hosts: Darian Woods & Waylon Wong

Episode Overview

This episode explores the end of the U.S. penny’s 232-year run, tracing its cultural and economic journey from ubiquity in American life to obsolescence in the wake of rising production costs and waning demand. The hosts speak to a range of voices impacted by the penny—from a former Director of the U.S. Mint to an artist who builds massive sculptures from the coins—offering a heartfelt and insightful tribute as America bids farewell to its smallest denomination.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Penny's Cultural Imprint and Demise

• Waylon Wong introduces the penny as a ubiquitous fixture in American life—found in couches, cars, fountains, junk drawers, and even, remarkably, on Mars ([00:14]).

• Christina Shutt (Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum) shares that Lincoln’s image has graced the penny since 1909, making him the first U.S. president featured on a circulating coin ([00:34]).

  "If the one thing...some other life form knows about us is Abraham Lincoln, like, that's a pretty good representation of what's the best of us, right?"
  — Unknown Host ([00:56])

• The U.S. government minted the final batch of pennies last month. While 300 billion pennies are still in circulation—about $9 for every American—their official production has ended ([01:23]).

2. Economic Pressures behind the End

• The U.S. Mint’s mandate is to meet public demand for coins at no cost to taxpayers, ideally making a profit (seigniorage), which helps fund the Treasury ([03:53]).

• Ed Moy, U.S. Mint Director (2006–2011), recounts how the cost to produce a penny exceeded its value for the first time in 2006 (1.4 cents per penny). Base metal prices made even alternatives like steel uneconomical ([04:42]).

  "So I would give you a penny for your thoughts, except that pennies are worth 4 cents, so you're getting a bonus."
  — Ed Moy ([02:59])

• By Moy’s departure in 2011, producing a penny cost 2.4 cents; by the time of the final minting, the cost had escalated to 3.7 cents per penny ([06:28]).

  "We have enough pennies. It's time to end the production of pennies."
  — Ed Moy ([06:39])

• In the broader budget context, the annual loss from penny production ($80 million) was trivial: “a rounding error of a rounding error in the federal government.” ([05:29])

3. Pennies in Art and Memory

• Robert Wexler, an artist, has worked with the penny for over 20 years, most recently completing a cube sculpture made from 100,000 notched and interlocked pennies ([07:01]).

  "I just finished 100,000 Penny Cube... I was worried that the penny would be canceled and removed from currency before I finished..."
  — Robert Wexler ([07:13])

• Wexler orders pennies in bulk, causing logistical headaches for his bank—evidence of the coin’s changing status from currency to curiosity ([08:01]).

• Despite their humble origins and grimy journeys, Wexler finds beauty in pennies’ transformations—turning blue, green, orange, red, or black with age ([08:25]):

  "They're these, like, lowly gutter things...but that has this incredible effect in that they do turn blue and green, but they also turn, like, these spectacular oranges and reds or these really lovely waxy blacks. And it's so unique and special and just—it's like a little world."
  — Robert Wexler ([08:25])

4. What Happens to the Remaining Pennies?

• For many, unused pennies gather dust. Ed Moy collects them in jars before depositing them at the bank ([09:05]).

• At the Lincoln Museum, volunteers scatter thousands of pennies for children to find, using the coin as an educational tool that keeps Lincoln’s memory alive ([09:05]).

  "So it's really cute seeing kids...running around the plaza looking for the penny...then they get an opportunity to talk about how Lincoln really is everywhere."
  — Christina Shutt ([09:18])

• Ironically, though, the museum gift shop no longer accepts pennies ([09:37]).

5. The Future: The Nickel Under Threat?

• With the penny gone, the nickel is now under scrutiny: It cost nearly 14 cents to produce one in the previous year—more than double its face value ([09:44]).

  "Yeah, last year it cost the mint close to 14 cents to produce a nickel. That's more than double its face value. So I don't know, maybe we'll do a nickel obit next year."
  — Waylon Wong ([09:48])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "I started manning the cash register at age 10...that began kind of a lifelong interest in the coin area...Little did I know that fast forward 40 years later, I would become director of the United States Mint."
  — Ed Moy ([03:30])

• "It's a rounding error of a rounding error in the federal government."
  — Ed Moy, on the penny's $80M loss, compared to the $7T+ budget ([05:29])

• "I was worried that the penny would be canceled and removed from currency before I finished [my art piece] because if I finished the piece after that, it would be nothing but a memorial to the penny..."
  — Robert Wexler ([07:25])

• "They're these, like, lowly gutter things...it's like a little world."
  — Robert Wexler ([08:25])

• "How about nickels? I hear these lose even more money now than the penny did."
  — Darian Woods ([09:44])

Important Timestamps

• 00:14 — Introduction to the ubiquity and cultural relevance of the penny.
• 01:23 — The penny’s final production and ongoing circulation.
• 02:56 — Ed Moy joins to discuss his experience at the Mint.
• 04:42 — The turning point: penny production cost surpasses face value.
• 05:29 — The negligible impact of penny losses on the federal budget.
• 06:28 — The decision to cease minting pennies.
• 07:01 — Robert Wexler describes his penny cube art.
• 09:05 — Current afterlives of the penny.
• 09:44 — Nickels face a similar fate as their production cost soars.

Tone & Style

The episode presents a light, conversational tone laced with humor (notably penny jokes) and nostalgia, balanced by insightful economic analysis and a touch of artful wonder. The speakers celebrate the end of the penny with both thoughtful consideration and playful banter.