As of June 8th 2017, pennies cost the US government 2.41 cents to mint, and they are worth so little that many businesses and most vending machines no longer accept them. It's estimated that getting rid of them would improve the economy because more money is spent paying people to collect and transport the things to banks than they are worth, but the government won't even consider it because there is a ridiculous amount of popular nostalgia for them and because the zinc industry lobbies hard against any attempt to end their minting and circulation.