Get used to rounding up: Pennies in short supply, no new ones being made

Signs are popping up on some Triangle store fronts, asking customers to round up or pay with a debit or credit card due to a nationwide penny shortage.

And while pennies are in short supply, the U.S. Mint isn't making more. In fact, it ended production for the copper coin earlier this week.

“[Rounding up is] really not fair,” said George Poniros. "Someone's going to end up with a lot of free money [in profit]. If you round up or you round down, somebody's going to lose money."

Poniros is the owner of Roast Grill Hot Wieners. The business has operated in downtown Raleigh since 1940. He said they intentionally set prices at whole numbers and encourage customers to use coins for payment.

“All the time we've been here, cash only,” Poniros said. “We tried credit cards once…It was just a mess.”

Both the penny and the nickel have been more expensive to produce than they are worth for several years, despite efforts by the U.S. Mint to reduce costs, according to the Associated Press. The Mint spent 3.7 cents to make a penny in 2024, according to its most recent annual report.

“The penny remains legal tender. We have over 300 billion pennies that remain in circulation, and we encourage you to use them,” U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach said.

He said discontinuing penny production will save taxpayers $56 million a year.

“The use of hard money, in general, is just not what it used to be,” said Austin Mattox, the owner of Mattox Coins and Currency.

He said the penny should have been phased out. It’s a step the U.S. has taken in the past with other coins.

“We had a half-cent. We had a 2-cent coin and a 3-cent coin, as well," Mattox said. 

"The biggest reason for the 3-cent coin was for buying stamps," he explained. "[We] simply didn't need a 3-cent coin anymore, so we phased it out."

The Federal Reserve Financial Services conducts a nationwide survey each year, the Diary of Consumer Payment Choice. That survey found that more than 80% of respondents keep cash on hand. However, people older than 55 and people who make less than $25,000 per year are more likely to use it.

WRAL asked people in the Triangle how often they use cash.

“I don't use cash; I normally just use my card,” Chloe Nelson said.

“If I have to tip people and I have cash, I just use it for that,” Hogan Randall said.

“I use cash very occasionally. I have leftover quarters, nickels, dimes and pennies. It's usually when I'm going to the farmer's market. That's about it,” Laurel Burgess said.