Donald Trump has announced that he has directed the Treasury Department to halt the production of new pennies, citing the rising costs of minting the one-cent coin. This move is part of his administration’s broader push to implement sweeping changes on various fronts, including immigration, gender policies, and diversity.
In a Truth Social post, the U.S. president stated, “For far too long, the United States has minted pennies that cost us more than 2 cents each. This is incredibly wasteful! I have instructed my Secretary of the Treasury to stop producing new pennies. Let’s cut unnecessary spending from our great nation’s budget, even if it’s just a penny at a time.”
Trump had not previously indicated any plans to eliminate the penny during his campaign. However, last month, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency hinted at the idea in a post on X, stating, “The penny costs over 3 cents to produce, costing U.S. taxpayers more than $179 million in FY2023. The Mint produced over 4.5 billion pennies last year—around 40% of the 11.4 billion coins minted for circulation. Penny (or 3 cents!) for your thoughts.”
It remains uncertain whether Trump has the authority to discontinue the penny unilaterally, as currency specifications—including coin size and metal composition—are determined by Congress. Last month, Northeastern University economics professor Robert K. Triest told Yahoo that “the process of discontinuing the penny in the U.S. is somewhat unclear. It would likely require an act of Congress, though the Secretary of the Treasury might have the power to stop minting new pennies.”
Congress has repeatedly introduced legislation targeting the zinc-based coin with copper plating, with past proposals suggesting either a temporary halt in production or its complete removal from circulation. According to the Congressional Research Service, some lawmakers have also proposed rounding prices to the nearest five cents.
Supporters of eliminating the penny argue that doing so would save money and speed up transactions at cash registers. They also point to the fact that several other countries, including Canada, discontinued their one-cent coins—Canada having stopped penny production in 2012.
