Everything is making less cents. The US Mint has placed its final order of penny blanks and will stop producing the coin when those run out by early next year — marking the beginning of the end for one of the oldest continually printed money pieces in America,

The federal government made its final order of penny blanks this month — the first step to end the production of the 1-cent coin, a spokesperson for the Treasury Department confirmed to USA TODAY.

After more than two hundred years, the humble one-cent piece is on its way out due to production costs that significantly exceed its face value.

Per the latest U.S. Mint report, it costs less than six cents to make a dime ($0.0576). To make a quarter, it costs about 15 cents ($0.1468), and nearly 34 cents for a half-dollar ($0.3397).

The federal agency placed its final order for penny blanks this month, with the United States Mint slated to end manufacturing of the penny when that runs out, a Treasury official told CBS MoneyWatch.

Treasury Department will take pennies out of circulation next year. Costly nickels, however, could cancel out savings.

"The United States Mint will continue to manufacture pennies while an inventory of penny blanks exists," the spokesperson said. The agency did not specify how long the inventory was expected to ...

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