The future of the penny

1. Sentimental woes. While we're saying goodbye to a tiny copper circle, it's also one of the very first coins that was created by the U.S. Mint. The penny is 230-years-old, and this is the first time in over 160 years that a coin has been phased out. This could really bum out the people who long for the way things used to be when a movie cost a nickel and candy cost one or two cents.

2. Positive news. There's been chatter for years about how a penny costs more to make than it's worth, so striking it from our list of coins will save money at the federal level. For the coin enthusiast, the final batch of pennies will be limited and auctioned off, creating immediate collector's items and investment opportunities for someone with their sights set waaaaay down the line. My guess is that we'll also see a bump in the value of other old pennies and coins, so this move will generate money in a couple of different ways. When you look at it from all angles, the decision makes a lot of sense.

3. What about $.99 cent stores? The biggest question mark might actually be the millions of goods sold for a dollar minus one. Theoretically, everything will be one cent more expensive. Inflation already has the price of most things going up so the anti-penny price hike isn't the most terrifying thing. Taxes push most of those prices into the next dollar threshold anyway; it's hard to imagine anyone feeling the impact of losing $.99 items. I'd worry less about that and more about what will happen to sales taxes to accommodate the loss of the singular-cent piece.