1857 at some point, there used to be a large cent prior to 1866 a replaced by a lighter and smaller cent for the same reason. metal costs would outweigh the nominal value of a coin. reporter: for every dollar issued, it costs 146.46. and taxpayers lost $60 million producing pennies and $56.5 million producing nickels. getting rid of small change would cause rounding issues and smat is some point, computers may take the place of physical coins and bills. there will come a time when the coins will be something just for a museum, probably not in my lifetime, perhaps in into my 16-year-old son s lifetime where the electronics will get so easy