I’ve seen announcements that spell out that no more will be made, that they will use up the blanks that have already been stamped (but not yet dated), and that they’ve set aside a limited number of “commemorative” cents for collectors to be minted out of some of those blanks.

When they announced the discontinuation all the way back in May, I started noticing how many seem to be just thrown on the ground in parking lots and at bus stops, and I started picking them up in memory of my late great-aunt who collected pre-1959 “wheat” pennies since I was born that year, and as a stretching exercise for my lower back. When I accumulated $1 worth (two rolls) I cashed them in at Quik Trip (same place I converted the $60 or so worth I had saved in a jar from 1979-2020, and I’ve since picked up a dozen or so more that I will eventually do likewise.

I’m hanging onto my existing stash of wheats, currently at about the 30¢ level, to continue to honor my aunt.