The penny was one of the first coins made by the U.S. Mint after its establishment in 1792. The design on the first penny was of a woman with flowing hair symbolizing liberty. The coin was larger and made of pure copper, while today’s smaller coin is made of copper and zinc. Liberty stayed on the penny for more than 60 years.
Answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about the penny, which ceased to be minted for circulation in 2025.
The penny was one of the first coins made by the U.S. Mint after its establishment in 1792. Today, it is made from copper-plated zinc and features President Lincoln on the obverse and the Union Shield on the reverse. The one-cent coin is made exclusively for collectible sets. Learn more.
PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 12, 2025 — The United States Mint (Mint) hosted a ceremonial strike event today at its Philadelphia facility where United States Treasurer Brandon Beach struck the final, circulating one-cent coin (penny). The event marks the official end of the penny’s 232-year production run as a circulating coin.
Carmen (French: [kaʁmɛn] ⓘ) is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the Opéra-Comique in Paris on 3 March 1875, where its breaking of conventions shocked and scandalised its first audiences. Bizet died suddenly ...
Carmen, opera in four acts by French composer Georges Bizet—with a libretto in French by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy—that premiered on . With a plot based on the 1845 novella of the same name by Prosper Mérimée, Bizet’s Carmen was groundbreaking in its realism, and it rapidly