Greg Maresca ——Bio and Archives--November 23, 2025

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The curtain fell quietly on a 232-year tradition as the U.S. Mint struck the last penny this month in Philadelphia. This ended one of the longest runs in American history. For years the penny had become a costly relic and was more nostalgic than useful and too expensive to mint.

In their 2024 Annual Report, the U.S. Mint reported that the cost of producing one penny was 3.69 cents, more than three times its value. Minting 4.5 billion pennies drained $179 million from taxpayers.

Is there any business that produces a product costing over two times what it sells for other than the U.S. government?

This is poor fiscal policy disguised as tradition.........

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