MESA, AZ (AZFamily) — The United States ended production of the penny on Wednesday after more than 230 years, and for longtime coin collector Jeffrey Danford, the news brought a surprising reaction.

“It’s about damn time. Seriously,” Danford said when asked about the government’s decision to stop minting the iconic cent.

Despite spending five decades of his life collecting pennies, Danford acknowledged the decision “holds weight” and expressed relief rather than sadness about the end of an era.

With an estimated 250 billion pennies in circulation, the coin is cemented into American culture and even into his floor.

“So she started covering the floor, and I just kept going to the bank,” Danford said. “It was about 30,000 pennies just on the upper floor alone.”

Danford has always had

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