The last penny ever to be made was finally struck at the US Mint in Philadelphia on Wednesday — after President Trump cancelled production of the costly copper coin after 232 years.

“God bless America, and we’re gonna save the taxpayers $56 million dollars,” US Treasurer Brandon Beach said before he pushed the button on the penny-making machine at the Mint on Wednesday afternoon.

The U.S. Mint in Philadelphia is set to strike its last circulating penny on Wednesday as the president has canceled the 1-cent coin. AP

“This is the last one – three, two, one!” Beach said, and the room erupted in applause as he pushed the button and a blank circle of copper was stamped into history.

And just like that, the coin that’s been in production since 1793 will never again be made.

Penny production was cancelled by Trump for the 2026 year after the coin started to cost about four times more to make than the 1 cent it is actually worth in US currency.

Trump and other critics have also argued that the penny has become an obsolete denomination with little use in modern markets – and that there are already billions in production to tide America over for the foreseeable future.

“Today I attended the final penny strike, symbolizing the end of penny production and the return of common sense,” Beach wrote on X after minting the final coin.

“Each year the U.S. loses millions producing pennies as their demand plummeted,” he added, including a photo of himself posing with the final coin in the bowels of the mint.

President Donald Trump has ordered its demise as costs climb to nearly 4 cents per penny and the 1-cent valuation becomes somewhat obsolete. REUTERS

The last penny will be auctioned off, Politico journalist Michael Stratford wrote on X alongside video of Beach pressing the penny button for the final time.

Four other pennies were also minted before the final was struck.

The cancellation of the coin only applies to its production, and pennies will remain legal US tender.

Over the last century, about half of the coins made at U.S. Mints in Philadelphia and Denver have been pennies. AP

While the Trump administration is celebrating, some businesses have been sent into a flurry, changing prices after the cancellation came with no federal guidance.

Some banks have even complained that their penny supplies were running low ahead of the cancellation, and have been forced to ration distributing the coins to customers.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (above) and Treasurer Brandon Beach were expected to be in Philadelphia on Wednesday afternoon for the final production run. Getty Images

“We have been advocating abolition of the penny for 30 years. But this is not the way we wanted it to go,” said Jeff Lenard of the National Association of Convenience Stores, according to the Associated Press.

Pennies cost about $56 million per year to make, according to the Treasury Department.

But the penny isn’t even the least cost-effective currency out there – nickels cost around a whopping 14 cents to produce.

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Dimes, meanwhile, are a steal at 6 cents, and quarters around 15 cents.

When the penny was first made just years after the country was founded, one cent could buy Americans a biscuit, a piece of candy, or a candle.

The Treasury Department expects to save $56 million per year on materials by ceasing to make pennies. AP

But today many sit untouched in jars for decades at a time – or are even chucked in the trash by people who don’t want them jangling around their drawers and pockets.

Still, no matter how unimportant the coins have become to most, some say they are an important artifact of America’s history.

“We put mottos on them and self-identifiers and we decide — in the case of the United States — which dead persons are most important to us and should be commemorated,” said University of Houston emeritus professor and coin specialist Frank Holt.

“They reflect our politics, our religion, our art, our sense of ourselves, our ideals, our aspirations.”