PHILADELPHIA — The U.S. ended production of the penny Wednesday, abandoning the 1-cent coins that were embedded in American culture for more than 230 years as symbols of frugality and the price of a person’s thoughts but had become nearly worthless.

When it was introduced in 1793 , a penny could buy a biscuit, a candle or a piece of candy. Now most of them are cast aside to sit in jars or junk drawers, and each one costs nearly 4 cents to make.

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