A Penny Saved is a Penny Earned—But Not for Long
Citing wasteful spending, President Trump has instructed the Treasury to stop minting new pennies—an idea long debated but never implemented
On February 9, 2025, President Donald Trump announced that he had directed the U.S. Treasury Department to cease the production of new pennies, citing the high cost of minting the one-cent coin. In a post on his Truth Social platform, he stated, "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 nation's budget, even if it's a penny at a time."
This would mark the end of the one-cent coin's 233-year run. The U.S. Mint's 2024 annual report revealed that the cost to produce and distribute a single penny was approximately 3.69 cents. This marked the 19th consecutive fiscal year in which production costs exceeded the coin's face value. In the 2024 fiscal year alone, the Mint produced nearly 3.2 billion pennies, resulting in over an $85 million loss.
This move aligns with the administration's broader efforts to reduce federal expenditures. Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) highlighted in a January 2025 post that the production of pennies cost U.S. taxpayers over $179 million in the 2023 fiscal year.
The debate over eliminating the penny has been ongoing, with arguments focusing on the coin's production costs and its diminishing purchasing power because of inflation. Other countries, such as Canada, ceased production of their one-cent coin in 2012, citing similar concerns. Opponents of eliminating the penny argue that it could lead to rounding issues in cash transactions, potentially disadvantaging some consumers.
The process of discontinuing the penny is somewhat ambiguous. While it might require an act of Congress, the Secretary of the Treasury could potentially halt the minting of new pennies without legislative approval.
The Treasury Department has not yet provided specific details on how and when penny production will cease.
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