A look at the history of the U.S. penny after over 230 years of production ends

GREENVILLE, N.C. (WITN) - The U.S. Mint pressed it’s final penny on Wednesday, bringing an end to a production of more than 230 years.

Southern Guns and Pawn Shop owner Shawn Hendrix says it’s a story that started almost 200 years ago, and saying goodbye to the penny was only a matter of time.

“We actually lost the original penny in the 1850s,” Hendrix says. “Industrial revolution made that penny three of four times more than what it was at face-value, so that’s what gave us the smaller penny, and now that is worth three or four times more than what is says on the face.”

Pennies could once buy a biscuit, candle, or a piece of candy when they were first introduced in 1793, but most are cast aside to collect in jars or junk drawers today.

Hendrix says due to inflation and the change of c