President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social after leaving the Super Bowl early that he has directed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to halt the minting of new pennies, citing cost concerns.
Trump reaffirmed his commitment to cutting waste from the nation’s budget, stating, “even if it’s a penny at a time.”
For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents. This is so wasteful! I have instructed my Secretary of the US Treasury to stop producing new pennies. Let's rip the waste out of our great nations budget, even if it's a penny at a…
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) February 10, 2025
The U.S. Mint reported a loss of $85.3 million in the 2024 fiscal year on penny production, with each coin costing approximately 3.7 cents to manufacture. Nearly 3.2 billion pennies were produced last year, adding to a long-running debate over the coin’s practicality.
However, it remains unclear whether Trump has the unilateral authority to cease penny production. The U.S. Mint’s official website states that it “derives its authority from the United States Congress.”
“Congress authorizes every coin and most medals that the U.S. Mint manufactures and oversees the Mint’s operations under its Public Enterprise Fund (PEF),” it proclaims.
CNBC has additional information:
But at least one analyst on Wall Street expects that the penny’s days are numbered. TD Cowen’s Jaret Seiberg said the halt will likely pass judicial review, leading to a shortage of the coin.
“We believe this order would survive judicial review, which is why this is likely to occur,” Seiberg wrote Monday. “We worry about this leading to a shortage of pennies, which could force merchants to pay banks more for coins. It also adds legal risk for merchants and banks. That could create the crisis needed to force Congress to act.”
Seiberg said he expects this could support the move toward electronic payments, bolstering companies such as Visa, Mastercard and other real-time payment networks.
What is clear is that pennies cost more to make than they are worth. In 2024, the U.S. Mint spent 3.69 cents to manufacture each penny, according to an annual report. That meant the cost of each penny has run above its face value for a 19th straight fiscal year.
A 230-Year-Old Tradition
The penny has been in circulation since 1793, making it one of the longest-standing forms of currency in the nation, second only to the dollar. Originally designed with a Flowing Hair Liberty on the front and a chain on the back, the penny has undergone several design changes throughout its history.
The most notable transformation came in 1909 when the Lincoln cent was introduced to mark the 100th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln’s birth. Since 1982, the coin’s composition has shifted from primarily copper to a zinc core with a thin copper coating.
Potential Replacements for the Penny
With the potential discontinuation of the penny, several alternatives could be considered to ease the transition:
Rounding Prices: Similar to Canada’s 2012 phase-out of the penny, cash transactions could be rounded to the nearest 5 or 10 cents, while electronic payments remain exact. For example, a purchase totaling $10.08 would round to $10.10 for cash payments but remain unchanged for card or digital transactions.
Greater Use of Larger Denominations: Consumers and businesses may increase reliance on nickels, dimes and quarters, reducing the need for one cent increments in daily transactions.
Emphasis on Digital Payments: As electronic payments become more prevalent, reliance on physical currency—including pennies—could diminish naturally.
Charitable Contributions: Businesses could opt to donate the value of pennies that would have been used in cash transactions to charities or local community initiatives, turning small change into a social good.
While the future of the penny is uncertain, President Trump’s directive indicates a shift towards greater cost-cutting measures within the Treasury Department.
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I agree that the penny should be done away with, Round prices up or down so pennies are not needed … nickel should be our smallest coin.
Simply logical …Any legalities can be easily reconciled, and the necessary digital software adjustments made (round up/round down).
Perhaps offer 2 cents/penny “recycled” back to the government, which could possibly still make a profit recycling the metals.
Yes & save B$$$$
Why can’t we just mint pennies out of a cheaper material (steel, aluminum, brass, etc), they don’t have to be minted from copper!
The problem isn’t that a penny costs too much to produce. The problem is that our currency has been devalued past all reason. We need at least a 10:1 revaluation NOW. Of course this would wreak havoc on progressive tax rates. Currency devaluation us a sneaky way of raising tax rates on everyone and has been going on since we had first had an income tax. It works because most voters are too ignorant of tax to understand how they’re being robbed.