The U.S. Mint officially pulled the plug on the penny in late 2025. Since then, your loose change is getting harder to spend.
Businesses are rounding purchases to the nearest nickel and flat-out refusing to hand back pennies.
If you’re hauling around a heavy jar of copper and zinc, you’re probably wondering what to do with it now that merchants don’t want it.
Don’t throw them in the trash. Here are eight ways to get rid of your dead pennies without throwing your money away.
1. Mine your jars for rare coins
Before you dump your stash into a sorting machine, check the dates. Pennies minted before 1981 are made mostly of copper, making their raw material worth more than a single cent.
You might also stumble across serious collector items. Indian Head cents stamped between 1864 and 1908 can be worth hundreds or thousands of dollars depending on their condition.
Sort through your coins while you’re watching television. If you spot something unusual, consult a coin appraiser before you do anything else.
2. Trade them for retail perks
Stores hate the coin shortage just as much as you do. To get cash flowing, some retailers are actively bribing customers to bring in their change. Supermarkets like Giant Eagle have run promotions exchanging pennies for gift cards worth double the coin value.
Other regional chains have offered similar cash bounties and store credit bonuses. Keep an eye on your local grocery stores and big-box retailers for coin exchange days.
3. Roll them for the bank
If you’ve searched your pile and confirmed there’s nothing rare inside, do it the old-fashioned way. Buy some paper wrappers, roll them up, and haul them to your local bank branch. The bank will deposit the funds directly into your account or hand you usable cash in larger denominations.
It takes a little elbow grease, but it guarantees you get the full face value for your money.
4. Use a coin kiosk (the smart way)
Hauling your stash to a Coinstar machine is the easiest route, but you need to be smart about it. If you ask the machine for a cash voucher, you’re going to get slapped with a service fee of up to 12.9%. That’s a rip-off.
Instead, select the gift card option. The machine waives the counting fee entirely, letting you turn your pennies into full-value gift cards for places where you already shop.
5. Wait for the melting ban to lift
Right now, it’s a federal crime to melt down pennies to sell the raw copper and zinc. But according to economics experts, that law could eventually change. The metal inside most older pennies is worth more than the coin itself.
If metal values continue to rise, Congress might face pressure to legalize melting. You can track the raw metal value of your specific coins on sites like Coinflation to see what they’re truly worth.
6. Use them as household tools
A penny isn’t just currency; it’s a perfectly sized piece of flat metal. Use it as a makeshift screwdriver to pry open stubborn battery compartments on small electronics or toys. If you’ve got a wobbly table, slide a few pennies under the short leg to level it out.
7. Turn them into a DIY project
If you’re feeling creative, pennies are cheap building materials. Homeowners have used them to build custom floors, bar tops, and coasters. You arrange the coins in a geometric pattern and seal them under a thick coat of clear epoxy.
It takes time, but it turns useless change into a permanent conversation piece in your house.
8. Fund a school penny war
Schools and local charities frequently run fundraising competitions called penny wars. In these games, pennies count as positive points for a specific classroom, while silver coins deduct points. It’s a great way to let kids sabotage rival classrooms while raising money for a good cause. You get rid of your heavy jars, and the community benefits.
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