In November, the U.S. stopped production of the humble penny after 232 years in circulation. On today’s show, a former U.S. Mint director shares the fiscal math that doomed the penny, and an artist pay tribute to this American icon.

View more of Robert Wechsler’s artwork here .

Related episodes:

What’s the deal with the platinum coin?

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org . Fact-checking by Corey Bridges. Music by Drop Electric . Find us: TikTok , Instagram , Facebook , Newsletter .

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