Humboldt County businesses navigate penny shortage

After the cessation of penny production at the end of last year, some local businesses are sounding the alarm that they are in need of pennies. Other retailers, though, have said that their businesses will likely not be impacted any time soon. Local financial institutions are encouraging their customers to remain calm as the era of readily available pennies comes to a close and we enter the era of “Swedish rounding,” rounding transactions to the nearest nickel.

The U.S. Mint halted production of pennies in November 2025. The penny, which has been in circulation since 1793, now takes nearly four cents to manufacture. Ceasing production of pennies is expected to save the government $56 million each year. President Donald Trump ordered an end to penny production in February 2025. The U.S. Mint will reportedly mint 2026 pennies — as an act of Congress will be required to totally decommission the penny — but no new pennies will be produced for distribution. The Federal Reserve will continue to recirculate pennies for the immediate future.

Local businesses negotiate a penniless future

This week, signage recently installed at cashiers’ stations at the Safeway at 2555 Harris St. in Eureka alerts customers to the store’s need for pennies.

“Due to the U.S. Treasury stopping the production of pennies, we are currently experiencing a shortage,” that signage reads. “We apologize for the inconvenience. In order to continue delivering the highest quality service, please consider paying with exact change or card when possible. Thank you for shopping with us. We appreciate your understanding.”

The signs also alert customers that the store will cash pennies for free at its customer service counter. A representative from the store told the Times-Standard on Tuesday morning that they were unable to comment on the store’s policy with regard to pennies. A representative from Safeway’s corporate office in Pleasanton was not immediately available for comment Tuesday morning.

Booklegger store manager Gabriella Aragon said that the most immediate impact that the cessation of penny production has had on the bookstore, thus far, has been conversational.

“We have to hear a lot about it!” Aragon said.

She said that the bookstore — located at 402 2nd St., Eureka — has yet to be otherwise impacted, and given the volume of pennies currently in circulation, “an estimated 300 billion pennies … far exceeding the amount needed for commerce,” according to the U.S. Mint, Aragon said it’s unlikely to become the imminent crisis that some are perceiving it as. Though Booklegger’s bank has implemented a limit on pennies, Aragon said, it hasn’t affected the store’s ability to procure its regular amount of change.

Aragon confirmed that the majority of Bookleggers’ sales these days are made with a card.

Jayce Walker, founder, owner and manager of Eco-Groovy Deals at 817 H St. on the Arcata Plaza, told the Times-Standard that most of her transactions these days are also card-based, and handling pennies is something of a rarity for the better brand second-hand store. She said that her bank is still able to provide her with boxes of pennies; she also carries a reserve of change beyond her regular need, just in case.

Walker said her “take a penny, leave a penny” dish had been generally helpful in assuaging any penny-related issues. She said she would like to see clear direction from the federal government and financial institutions regarding when a penny phase-out might occur and how it will proceed.

Adam Brazil, of the cannabis dispensary Mr. Humboldt, said that he didn’t foresee the business being impacted because their pricing structure incorporates tax into each item’s sticker round and easy-to-manage price point.

“The penny situation isn’t going to affect us,” Brazil said, though he noted it could have adverse effects on consumers if larger retailers take the opportunity to round up prices. Brazil also said that the cost of penny production has been something that he’s been hearing about since childhood, and so the idea that pennies might be discontinued didn’t really shock him.

A lone penny is illuminated in a bin of completed pennies at the U.S. Mint in Denver on Aug. 15, 2007. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

Local financial institutions

Coast Central Credit Union’s Kristin Kuxhausen told the Times-Standard that her team had been preparing for the cessation of penny production for the better part of the past six months, following headlines earlier this year noting that penny production would halt in 2026.

“It all started with a few of our employees just kind of noticing the headlines,” Kuxhausen said. “Because this was actually announced in the springtime, it didn’t really make that big of a splash. And then what really caught our attention was the first time that we went to do a penny order through the Federal Reserve, and they rejected the order. They said, ‘I’m sorry, I can’t fill this order.’”

Thankfully, Coast Central had ample reserves of pennies, and Kuxhausen and her team immediately began working to educate its members and business partners and prepare for a future where pennies aren’t readily available.

“Internally, we decided we need to get ahead of this, both with our members and with our employees, so that nobody was caught on their heels,” Kuxhausen said. “We reached out to our core vendor that processes our transactions, cash deposits, withdrawals, etc., for member accounts. They had not built anything into their system yet to automate the process.”

Kuxhausen then had to set about researching the transition to a penniless system, learn how to explain the change to customers and coworkers, and put in place a “Swedish rounding” policy in the absence of direction from the federal government.

“… We don’t quite yet have guidance from the government on whether we can round both up and down. That is still kind of in the works,” Kuxhausen said. “As far as I know, I don’t think anything’s been finalized yet. And, of course, because we’re in California and things are generally going to benefit the consumer, we went ahead and established procedures to round to the nearest nickel — but always in the member’s favor. So what that would look like is, if they’re cashing a check for $20.04 we’re going to round up and give them a nickel so they’re going to get $20.05 instead. So that’s going to make them whole without ever taking pennies away from them. So that’s how we are logistically handling it right now.”

Coast Central is currently limiting its business customers to one box of pennies — $25 in pennies — a week and discouraging its individual members from withdrawing pennies (with some people attempting to speculate on pennies or save them as collectibles that might appreciate).

She said that the credit union’s supply has held out longer than expected, which makes it difficult to predict when pennies might no longer be available through financial institutions like Coast Central.

“If you would ask me that when this first came up in kind of late-October, early-November, I would have said, ‘oh, my gosh, so soon, right? It’s coming,’” Kuxhausen said. “But … I checked last week, and we still had $3,000 in pennies on hand, which is quite a few pennies. So I’m not sure if folks still depositing pennies is enough to keep up with the demand for businesses, or if it’s just coming, and it’s that we’re not there yet.”

Robert Schaulis can be reached at 707-441-0585.

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