It has been the lowest face-value physical unit of U.S. currency since the abolition of the half-cent in 1857 (the abstract mill, which has never been minted, equal to a tenth of a cent, continues to see limited use in the fields of taxation and finance).

Due to inflation, pennies have lost virtually all their purchasing power and are often viewed as an expensive burden to businesses, banks, government (especially mints) and the public in general.

In the early 2010s, the price of metal used to make pennies rose to a noticeable cost to the mint which peaked at more than 2¢, a negative seigniorage, for the $0.01 face-value coin.

[3] On February 9, 2025, President Donald Trump said he instructed Scott Bessent, the secretary of the Treasury, to halt production of the penny.

From 1944 to 1946, salvaged ammunition shells made their way into the minting process, and it was not uncommon to see coins featuring streaks of brass or having a considerably darker finish than other issues.

Shipments of copper planchets from the United Kingdom were embargoed during the War of 1812, and the Mint's supply was exhausted in October 1814.

[10][11] Throughout its history, the Lincoln cent has featured several typefaces for the date, but most of the digits have been old-style numerals, except with the 4 and 8 neither ascending nor descending.

The only significant divergence is that the small 3 was non-descending (the same size as a 0, 1, or 2) in the early history, before switching to a descending, large 3 for the year 1934 and then permanently (as of 2014[update]) in 1943.

Previously, a strong feeling had prevailed against using portraits on coins in the United States, but public sentiment stemming from the 100th anniversary celebration of Abraham Lincoln's birth proved stronger than the long-standing tradition.

Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th U.S. president, thought American coins were so common and uninspiring that he attempted to get the motto "In God We Trust" removed as offending religion.

Roosevelt had the opportunity to pose for a young Lithuanian-born Jew, Victor David Brenner, who, since arriving nineteen years earlier in the United States had become one of the nation's premier medalists.

The United States Congress passed the Act of March 3, 1865, authorizing the use of this motto on U.S. coins,[13] during Lincoln's tenure in office.

A study of three potential reverses resulted in the approval of a very simple design bearing two wheatheads in memorial style.

Between these, in the center of the coin, are the denomination and UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, while curving around the upper border is the national motto, E Pluribus Unum, Latin for "Out of Many, One".

Before the coins were issued, however, the initials "VDB" were substituted because officials at the United States Mint felt the name was too prominent.

Because the coin was in great demand, and because to make a change would have required halting production, the decision was made to eliminate the initials entirely.

The imposing marble Lincoln Memorial provides the central motif, with the legends E Pluribus Unum and UNITED STATES OF AMERICA completing the design, together with the denomination.

This resulted in the mintage of four different coins showing scenes from Abraham Lincoln's life in honor of the bicentennial of his birth.

[18] On April 16, 2009, the Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) met and selected a design that showed 13 wheat sheaves bound together with a ring symbolizing American unity as one nation.

[citation needed] In addition, the production cost now exceeds the face value of the coin, caused by increasing inflation.

The Secretary of the Treasury has authority to alter the percentage of copper and zinc in the one-cent coin if needed due to cost fluctuations.

[48] Prior to 1982, the fluctuating price of copper periodically caused penny shortages, as people hoarded them for their perceived metallic value.

[50] Coins are the most commonly ingested foreign body in children but generally are allowed to pass spontaneously unless the patient is symptomatic.

[51] Zinc toxicity, mostly in the form of the ingestion of U.S. pennies minted after 1982, is commonly fatal in dogs where it causes a severe hemolytic anemia.