Trump orders Treasury to stop minting new pennies, citing cost.
President Trump has directed the U.S. Treasury Department to stop minting new pennies, citing the rising costs of producing the one-cent coin.
In a post on his Truth Social site Sunday night, Trump voiced frustration over the ongoing expense of minting pennies. "For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents. This is so wasteful!" Trump wrote, adding that he had instructed the Secretary of the Treasury to halt new penny production.
This decision is part of a broader push by the Trump administration to enact sweeping changes across various sectors, including immigration, gender issues, and even the naming of geographical locations. While Trump didn’t bring up eliminating the penny during his campaign, recent discussions on social media, particularly a post by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, have reignited the conversation.
According to the U.S. Mint, the production of nearly 3.2 billion pennies in fiscal year 2024 cost the government $85.3 million. Each penny cost approximately $0.037 to produce, a slight increase from $0.031 the previous year. The mint also faces similar losses with the nickel, which costs roughly $0.14 to make.
It remains unclear whether Trump has the legal authority to halt penny production unilaterally. The specifications for U.S. currency, including coin production, are typically determined by Congress. However, Robert K. Triest, an economics professor at Northeastern University, suggested there could be some leeway. “The process of discontinuing the penny in the U.S. is a little unclear. It would likely require an act of Congress, but the Secretary of the Treasury might be able to simply stop the minting of new pennies,” he explained.
Over the years, lawmakers have introduced several proposals to either suspend or eliminate the penny, citing cost-saving benefits and faster transactions at cash registers. Many other countries, including Canada, have already stopped minting their one-cent coins. Canada made the decision in 2012.
This isn’t the first time the U.S. has eliminated a low-value coin; the half-cent coin was discontinued by Congress in 1857.
Trump’s administration has been focused on cutting costs, with Musk at the helm of the government’s efficiency efforts. Musk is targeting wasteful spending across federal agencies, with a goal of saving $2 trillion. "Let’s rip the waste out of our great nation’s budget, even if it’s a penny at a time," Trump concluded in his post.
Trump’s announcement came as he was departing New Orleans after attending the first half of the Super Bowl.
