President Trump has ordered the U.S. Treasury to stop minting new pennies due to the cost of production. To produce the one cent coin, it costs nearly 3.7 cents to make.
On Truth Social, Donald Trump made a statement saying “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.”
It was reported that the Mint lost $85.3 million in the 2024 fiscal year due to the production of pennies. This order could stem from the many changes Trump and his administration are making to cut government spending.
President Trump can not single-handedly get rid of the penny, as that is up to Congress. Members of Congress have tried their hand at stopping the production of the penny temporarily, eliminate it from circulation, and also requiring that prices be rounded up to the next five cents. The Secretary of Treasury was able to put a stop to the production temporarily, but Congress will have to give the final say for the permanent discontinuation of the penny.
Other countries such as Canada have stopped producing pennies and have reported instances of faster checkouts and monetary savings. This will not be the first time the United States has discontinued a coin either, as the half-cent coin was taken out of circulation in 1857.
Time will tell if discontinuing the production of pennies will be beneficial for the United States, or negatively impact due to the possible increase in demand for other coins.
