According to the U.S. Mint’s 2011 annual report, the current cost of a penny is 2.4 cents per coin. With nearly 5 billion pennies minted in 2011, the U.S. spent almost $120 million to produce less than $50 million of circulating currency.
The U.S. has already phased out a coin with no ill effects. The Mint stopped producing the half cent in 1857, when it was worth what a dime is worth today, and there was no public outrage or damaging economic effects.
The Department of Defense abolished the use of pennies at overseas military bases more than 30 years ago. According to the Army and Air Force Exchange Service, the coins are “too heavy and not cost-effective to ship.” The same logic could be used in the States, as five pennies weigh 12.5 grams compared to a 5-gram nickel.