The humble penny, once a pocket staple, has long since lost its shine in American commerce, but it retains devoted fans who see value beyond its monetary worth.
In North Carolina’s Copper Penny Grille, owner Shelly Gref has transformed thousands of pennies into bar tops and artwork, giving Lincoln’s likeness new purpose.
“It grew into a little bit of an obsession with me. And then everybody just started donating pennies,” Gref said. “People just come by and they say, I want to be a part of something.”
Gref said she appreciates the historical significance of the coins.
“I like the older ones because they have more of a story,” she said. “It just has a really special place in my heart.”
But economic realities have prompted bipartisan legislation in Congress that could end penny production, an idea President Trump has also supported.
Wake Forest University professor Robert Whaples has advocated for eliminating the penny for decades, citing practical concerns.
“They just have to keep making more and more of these, because we don’t bring them back, and we don’t bring them back because they’re of such low value. So we got a vicious cycle going here,” Whaples said.
The economics don’t add up, either. It costs nearly four cents to produce each one-cent coin, and Whaples estimates about $7 worth of pennies exist for every American.
“Even if we could produce the penny for free out of thin air, it’s just a waste of our time, and our time is valuable. Time is money,” he said.
At the Penny Depot, the Kilcoyne family—whose name aptly sounds like “kill-coin”—creates custom collectible pennies with pressing machines. They worry about their business if the coin is discontinued.
“If they take it out of circulation, then that can hurt,” Michelle Kilcoyne said.
Her husband Josh sees potential upside: “But on the flip side of that, it’s a collectible. And you know, if they start to make a collectible become more rare, the value starts to go up.”
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