If You Still Have Pennies Left, Here Are Smart Ways to Use the 1-Cent Coin

That grimy, circular piece of copper and zinc known as the penny is no longer being produced, but the tiny coin is still getting the last laugh. Less than a month after the last one was minted on Nov. 12, there are growing penny shortages all over the US, and stores are actually paying people to bring them in as businesses fear they could lose millions of dollars.

What’s that old saying? You don’t miss something until it’s gone? Maybe the penny was more important than we thought. But the old one-cent…