The Last Penny Ever Minted: Here’s Why You Should Care About Bitcoin Instead

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Well, folks, it’s official. The last penny, worth a staggering $0.01 (yes, you read that right), was minted by the United States Mint in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on a fateful Wednesday. This marks the end of a 232-year-long saga of new pennies being produced and tossed into our change jars, where they will sit for eternity, mocking us.

Now, in a move that will surely go down in history (probably alongside the decision to keep pennies around this long), President Donald Trump gave the US Treasury the green light to halt penny production back in February. The Treasury initially planned for the last penny to roll off the press in 2026. But surprise! They ran out of templates for the things between June and September, as reported by Axios. Guess those penny-stamping machines couldn’t keep up. Who would’ve thought?

Here’s the kicker: it costs about 3.7 times the penny’s face value to actually make one. That means every single penny, all shiny and fresh from the mint, costs more than three cents to produce. So, in case you were wondering, your penny is already more expensive than its worth. Ah, the irony of it all. 😒

And don’t get too comfortable just yet-despite this economic blunder, the penny will remain legal tender. You can still find yourself trying to get rid of those 250 billion pennies circulating out there. Good luck with that! 🙄

“Inflation made the penny useless. Meanwhile, it’s making the sat more relevant every year,” said Alexander Leishman, CEO of River, a Bitcoin financial services company, talking about the subunit of Bitcoin (BTC). Truer words have never been spoken. The penny’s about as useful as a screen door on a submarine at this point, while Bitcoin’s smaller units-called satoshis-are gaining traction in a world that’s quickly realizing the dollar’s days might be numbered.

Bitcoin: The Smart Way to Escape the Erosion of Your Hard-Earned Money

Let’s talk about Bitcoin for a second, because, really, what’s a penny in the age of digital gold? Bitcoin is built to be the antithesis of our lovely fiat currencies, which are like your typical diet: constantly growing (and not in a good way). It has a hard supply cap of 21 million coins, meaning as demand increases, so should the price. A revolutionary concept, I know. Who would’ve thought money could actually be worth something?

As author and economist Saifedean Ammous puts it, technological progress is a deflationary force. Over time, it makes production cheaper and the value of goods and services tends to fall. But fiat currencies-those lovely pieces of paper we’ve been fondly holding onto for generations-can’t do that. Their supply is always growing, and guess what? The more there is, the less each one is worth. Simple math, folks. 📉

To put it bluntly, the price of goods and services isn’t going up-our precious dollar is just losing value. Imagine if those same goods and services were priced in Bitcoin? We might actually see the prices go down over time. Just a thought… 💡

By the way, did you know the US dollar has lost a shocking 92% of its value since the Federal Reserve came into play in 1913? You’d think that might raise some eyebrows, but nope. Meanwhile, Bitcoin was setting all-time highs above $126,000 in October, while the US dollar was hurtling toward its worst year since 1973. Talk about a twist of fate. 😅

The dollar’s decline isn’t slowing down either. According to The Kobeissi Letter, the USD has lost about 40% of its purchasing power since 2000. And this year? Over 10% gone. Just like that. Gone. You blink and your dollars are worth even less. Don’t you just love inflation? 😆

Now, if you’ve been following the crypto haters (looking at you, Paul Krugman), you’ll know that some folks just can’t stomach the idea of Bitcoin. Krugman, a well-known critic of cryptocurrencies, argues that the dollar is just “easier to use” than Bitcoin, which is too “complicated” for the average Joe. Sure, Paul. It’s definitely easier to use something that’s losing value every year. And Bitcoin, well, it may be harder to use, but it doesn’t lose value while you sleep. 👀

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2025-11-13 19:26