President Trump Orders Treasury Department to Stop Producing Pennies

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 time.

President Trump on social media on Sunday announcing his plan to halt the production of U.S. pennies.

Why It Matters: According to the U.S. Mint, it cost 3.7 cents to make and distribute each of the 3 billion pennies made in 2024 — a 20% increase in cost from the year prior. This equated to an $85.3 million loss.

• While the move to stop penny production would save money, it remains uncertain whether President Trump has the authority to issue an order like this — the power to authorize the production of the nation’s currency rests on Congress.
• Other countries have started to eliminate their smaller coin denominations in recent years. In fact, Canada removed their penny over a decade ago to save money.
• The debate over eliminating the penny is not new. Last year, The New York Times Magazine wrote an article titled “America Must Free Itself from the Tyranny of the Penny” and said that, “The necessity of abolishing the penny has been obvious to those in power for so long that the inability to accomplish it has transformed the coin into a symbol of deeper rot.”

Read More: Trump Orders Treasury Secretary to Stop Minting Pennies (The New York Times)

What the end of the penny means for the economy, your piggy bank, and the way America prices items (CNBC)

Trump instructs Treasury to halt penny production (CNN)

Image Credit: Kenny Eliason on Unsplash