 Brenner objected to the removal of his initials , but his protests were to no avail . The cents without Brenner 's initials were in production by August 12 , 1909 . During the halt , owners of vending and slot machines complained that the new pennies were too thick to fit in their machines . Barber was recalled from his vacation in Cape May , New Jersey , to deal with the complaints . Leach ordered changes in the new cent , but Barber resisted Leach 's orders , and was in the end successful — vending and slot machine manufacturers modified their machines to suit the new cent , rather than the other way around . By the end of 1909 , supply of the new cents was finally up to demand . 
