Scale Explorer

Everyday objects

How big is a US penny?

US penny · Lincoln one-cent coin, copper-plated zinc

Diameter
19.05 mm 0.75 in
Thickness
1.52 mm 0.0598 in
Weight
2.5 g 0.00551 lb
Show
Ant (black garden ant), Grain of rice, US penny, Human drawn to the same scaleAnt (black garden ant): length (worker) 3.4–5 mm (too small to see at this scale). Grain of rice: kernel length (long-grain class) 6.6–7.5 mm (too small to see at this scale). US penny: diameter 19.05 mm. Human: height 1.61–1.75 m.Ant (black garden ant): 3.4–5 mm (too small to see at this scale)Grain of rice: 6.6–7.5 mm (too small to see at this scale)US penny: 19.05 mmHuman: 1.61–1.75 mHuman1.61–1.75 mAnt (black garden ant)3.4–5 mm · too small to seeGrain of rice6.6–7.5 mm · too small to seeUS penny19.05 mm

Ant (black garden ant) and Grain of rice are too small to see at this scale and are marked with ▲.

Everything is drawn to the same scale, standing on the same ground line. Silhouettes are simplified outlines scaled to the measured dimension. A faded outline shows the top of a size range.

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Dimensions

MeasurementMetricImperialNotesSource
Diameter 19.05 mm 0.75 in Official specification (0.750 in) [1]
Thickness 1.52 mm 0.0598 in Official specification (0.06 in) [1]
Weight 2.5 g 0.00551 lb Official specification, stated as 2.50 g (0.088 oz) [1]

About the US penny

The one-cent coin, or penny, was one of the first coins made by the U.S. Mint after 1792 and shows President Lincoln on the front. Today's penny is copper-plated zinc, 19.05 mm across and 1.52 mm thick, and weighs 2.50 g. The Mint struck its final circulating penny on November 12, 2025, but the coin remains legal tender.

  • The penny is 97.5% zinc and 2.5% copper, with a plain edge. [1]
  • The final circulating penny was struck in Philadelphia on November 12, 2025, ending a 232-year production run. [2]
  • The cost of making each penny rose from 1.42 cents to 3.69 cents over the preceding decade, and an estimated 300 billion pennies remain in circulation. [2]

How many fit?

  • ≈ 88 × US penny · diameter lined up end to end match the Human · height
  • ≈ 34,000 × US penny · weight on the scales weigh as much as Human · body mass
  • ≈ 3.8–5.6 × Ant (black garden ant) · length (worker) lined up end to end match the US penny · diameter

Counts divide one sourced figure by another. "End to end" uses each object's main measurement; weight and volume rows appear only when both figures are sourced.

How it compares

  • 3.8–5.6× A US penny is about 3.8–5.6 times as wide as a black garden ant is long. See side by side
  • 2.7× A US penny is about 2.7 times as wide as a grain of rice is long. See side by side
  • 1.3–1.9× A US penny is about 1.3–1.9 times as wide as a honeybee is long. See side by side
  • 1/2.2 A golf ball is about 2.2 times as wide as a US penny. See side by side
  • 1/3.5 A tennis ball is about 3.5 times as wide as a US penny. See side by side
  • 1/88 An average adult is about 88 times as tall as a US penny is wide. See side by side

Factors compare the diameter of a US penny with each object’s own main measurement (height for a human). Where a size varies, the factor is given as a range.

Notes on these figures

  • Specifications are those the Mint lists for the current copper-plated zinc penny; older pennies made of other metals are not covered.

Sources

  1. United States Mint, Coin Specifications. Accessed 25 September 2026.
  2. United States Mint, United States Mint Hosts Historic Ceremonial Strike for Final Production of the Circulating One-Cent Coin (press release, November 12, 2025). Accessed 25 September 2026.

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