• The Mint estimates that it will issue 11.4 billion pennies in fiscal year 2007 .
• The U.S. one-cent coin is 19 millimeters in diameter and weighs 2.5 grams.  (See also coin specifications via the U.S. Mint.)

• The composition of the penny is 97.5% zinc and 2.5 % copper.

• There have been 11 different designs featured on the penny.

• Since its beginning, the U.S. Mint has produced over 288.7 billion pennies.  Lined up edge to edge, these pennies would circle the earth 137 times.  (Figures are est.)

• According to the U.S. Treasury, a circulating coin (e.g., penny, nickel, dime) lasts nearly 30 years. (See also coin production and circulation data via the Treasury)

• The most "expensive" penny is a rare one minted in 1793.  Only four are known to exist today and their worth is estimated at more than $275,000.

• An average of 1,040 pennies are produced every second, adding up to 30 million a day. (Figures are est.)

• During its early penny-making years, the U.S. Mint was so short on copper that it accepted copper utensils, nails and scrap from the public to melt down for the coins.

• The Lincoln penny was the first U.S. coin to feature a historic figure. President Abraham Lincoln has been on the penny since 1909, the 100th anniversary of his birth.

• The Lincoln penny was the first cent on which appeared the words "In God We Trust."

• About half of all coins produced by the U.S. Mint are pennies.  (See also coin production figures via the U.S. Mint.