Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to say goodbye to the United States of America’s pennies. This week, random citizens from all sorts of walks of life paid their respects to an iconic bit of currency.
According to WTOP in Washington, D.C., hundreds flocked to the Lincoln Memorial for a makeshift funeral for the penny. Of course, this is the same strand of social media gag that look alike contests, performative mail showcases, and random dudes eating rotisserie chicken stem from. So, you’re going to have people dressed up like Abraham Lincoln and more. It’s just how this stuff works now.
“Boots on the ground journalism,” popular DC influencer Jess Nguyen typed on TikTok. “Today’s Celebration of Life for the Penny featured a real casket in a hearse, eulogies, several Abraham Lincolns, live performances, and more. All the mourners brought pennies to pay their respects and add the coins to the casket. We will always remember the penny (1793-2025)”
As the pallbearer lifted the penny to its final resting place, random passers by tossed in the coins. There were speeches from people in cosplay and all manner of folks just kind of taking in the scene. It’s been a weird year, and here’s yet another strange occurrence to throw on the fire as we close out a turbulent 2025.
DC residents hold a funeral for the Penny
Getting rid of the penny has been on the docket for some corners of the government for more than 20 years now. Apparently, producing the coin has been costing the Treasury money. In fact, making pennies costs everyone more than keeping them around brings in, value-wise. ( This kind of analysis only holds up to scrutiny when you ignore the fact that our strange counting system in the United States needs those single digits to work properly.) Nevertheless, the Trump administration plowed forward with getting rid of the penny and the last one was printed in November.
As many officials at the US Treasury lauded the move at the time, it’s important to point out that the nickel actually has a worse cost to the average taxpayer than a penny does. According to PBS reporting, a nickel costs 14 cents to make. But, all this talk really obfuscates the real point, this is yet another strange sign of change in the United States economy in a year full to the brim with them.
Consider how many alterations to daily life were set in motion or completed in 2025. Now, go ahead and imagine what kinds of horrors await in 2026. It’s enough to send the mind reeling.“We have been advocating abolition of the penny for 30 years. But this is not the way we wanted it to go,” Jeff Lenard of the National Association of Convenience Stores told PBS.
(featured image: 20th Century)
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