WASHINGTON (TNND) — The United States Treasury minted
its final production of pennies on Wednesday at the U.S. Mint
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (above).

"The penny was first authorized by the Coinage Act of 1792;
however, ongoing increases in production costs and the
evolution in consumer habits and technology have made its
production financially untenable," according to a statement
from the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

The last two pennies minted were stamped with a special
omega and will not be circulated. Instead, the government
intends to auction the pennies off.

In February, President Donald Trump publicly called to halt
penny production, citing the fact that pennies cost more
money than they are worth.

The half-cent coin was the last coin to be discontinued in
1857. 

On July 30, 1956, two years after pushing to have the phrase
“under God” inserted into the Pledge of Allegiance, President
Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a law officially declaring “In God
We Trust” to be the nation’s official motto. The law, P.L. 84-140,
also mandated that the phrase be printed on all American
paper currency.

The phrase had been placed on U.S. coins since the Civil War
when, according to the historical association of the United
States Treasury, religious sentiment reached a peak.

Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower
(October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969)

Ulysses S. Grant (April 27, 1822 – July 23, 1885)

Ulysses S. Grant, Civil War leader and 18th president of the
United States, was born on April 27, 1822, in Point Pleasant,
Ohio.

The son of a tanner, Grant showed little enthusiasm for joining
his father’s business, so the elder Grant enrolled his son at
West Point in 1839.

Though Grant later admitted he had no interest in the military
apart from honing his equestrian skills, he graduated in 1843
and went on to serve in the Mexican-American War, though
he opposed it on moral grounds. He then left his beloved wife
and children again to fulfill a tour of duty in California and
Oregon.

On December 10, 1690, a failed attack on Quebec and subsequent
near-mutiny force the Massachusetts Bay Colony to issue the
first paper currency in the history of the Western Hemisphere.

According to History. com, on this day in history, July 30,
1956, the 84th Congress passed a joint resolution declaring
"IN GOD WE TRUST" to be the national motto of the United
States.

The same source noted. passing in both the House and the
Senate unanimously and without debate, the resolution
replaced "E pluribus Unum," which had existed before as
a de facto official motto.