This presenter had a penny as her thoughts at the Dartmouth Library

Since the last penny was printed after 232 years, Nancy Franks has been visiting towns around Massachusetts to explain the coin’s history. 

She stopped by the Dartmouth Library on Saturday, April 18 to share her two cents with listeners, an event hosted by the Friends of the Dartmouth Library.  

“I’ve always loved the penny, and I know that people were sad to see it go,” Franks said. ”It’s something that everyone can relate to.” 

After a library board member saw her give a presentation at the Freetown Library, they invited her to Dartmouth.

“I thought [the presentation] was excellent and a part of history most people don’t get to know about,” said Theresa Bryn, of New Bedford. “I have a lot of pennies.”

The first penny was printed in 1787, and went through eight redesigns before bearing President Abraham Lincoln’s face. Previous designs mostly featured Lady Liberty, with one featuring a flying eagle. 

Reasons for the redesign included the coin’s weight and Lady Liberty looking too “middle aged” and “serious,” Franks told her audience.

The Lincoln coin was first minted in 1909, and was the longest running design. It was the first coin to feature an American historical figure, and the first to have a person featured twice on a coin.

After U.S. treasurer Brand Beach pressed the button to print the last penny Nov. 12, 2025,  he said  “God bless America, and we’re going to save the taxpayers $56 million.”

The last pennies have an omega printed on them, which is the last letter in the Roman alphabet, which means an end. 

The mint printed an omega — the last letter in the Roman alphabet and a symbol of the end — on the last 696 pennies printed, and auctioned them off in sets of three. This raised $16,764,500 for the U.S. Mint. 

“Sometimes, because it's only one cent, people dismiss it,” Franks said. “We need to look back and see … all the changes it went through before we were around.”