Dec. 8, 2025
— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs
The United States has stopped making pennies in a cost-cutting move.
There are billions of pennies out there, but they don’t circulate that much so they are growing scarce at the checkout counter.
I for one will miss them, and I wish the government had held public hearings before ending the minting of one-cent pieces. Other countries have made similar moves, though, times change and inflation has made pennies an afterthought.
We all know the Lincoln cent, and most of us have seen the old Indian head penny, and some of the old U.S. large cents were beautiful coins. The U.S. even minted half cents until 1857.
Gerrity’s, which operates The Fresh Grocer at the old Valley Farm Market on Stefko Boulevard in Bethlehem, has set a new rounding policy to deal with the lack of cents. Here it is:
The U.S. Mint just made its last penny earlier this year, bringing a close to the coin’s long 232-year history. Why? It actually costs four cents to make a single penny — so the Treasury Department decided it’s time to say goodbye. The U.S. isn’t the first to do this; Canada, Australia and New Zealand have already dropped their pennies, too.
With pennies no longer being made, stores all over the country are starting to notice a penny shortage. You can still use the pennies you have, but it’s getting harder for stores to have enough on hand to make change.
To help out, we’ve been asking shoppers to pay with exact change or use a card when they can. On or about Dec. 8, if you pay with cash, we’ll round your change to the nearest nickel. This only affects cash payments; if you pay with a card, EBT, gift card or exact change, nothing changes.
We know this is a big change, and we’re committed to making it as smooth as possible. While we are waiting for guidance from the government, we will closely monitor the situation and keep you updated. As always, your shopping experience is important to us.
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So expect rounding when paying with cash, no changes otherwise. Their statement says “to the nearest nickel” so presumably that works both ways.
If it’s $1.18, they’ll round up to $1.20, based on the above. If it’s $1.22, they’ll round down to $1.20.
I’ll check firsthand, having always been penny-wise.
Lehigh Valley News Briefs 