Hundreds Gather in Washington DC for Symbolic ‘Funeral’ of the Penny

Hundreds of people gathered at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington on Saturday, December 20, for a “funeral” for the penny, according to local news reports. Mourners were dressed as Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Mary Todd Lincoln, and even John Wilkes Booth, WTOP reported. The mock funeral, which was hosted by Ramp, a finance management company, had a casket into which attendees threw pennies, WCVB reported. It marked the US Mint’s decision to strike its last penny back in November. The one-cent coin remains legal tender, but the mint said that the more than 300 billion in existence were sufficient. Footage here was posted by TikTok user @nirvalicious.