Trump Order Production Of 'Wasteful' Penny To Cease

President Donald Trump announced late Sunday that he has ordered the Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to cease the production of new pennies due to the increasing cost of minting the one-cent coin.

"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," Trump said, sharing the message on his Truth Social account while heading back to Washington from the Super Bowl.

"Let's rip the waste out of our great nations budget, even if it's a penny at a time," he added.

Although Trump did not mention the penny during his presidential campaign but Elon Musk's "Department of Government Efficiency" suggested the idea last month.

According to the U.S. Mint, the production of nearly 3.2 billion pennies in the 2024 fiscal year resulted in a loss of $85.3 million. Each penny cost approximately $0.037 to produce—up from $0.031 the year before. The nickel is also a money-losing coin, with production costs nearly double its value, with each coin costing nearly $0.14 to make.

The increasing prices of materials, including zinc and copper, have contributed to the rising expenses, CNN reported.

Debate Over The Penny

The debate over the future of the penny is not new. Numerous proposals from members of Congress have suggested either halting penny production, removing it from circulation or requiring rounding of prices to the nearest five cents, according to the Congressional Research Service.

Advocates for scrapping the penny cite cost savings, faster checkout times, and the fact that other nations, such as Canada, have already removed their one-cent coin. Canada ceased minting its penny in 2012, the Associated Press reported.

The penny was first issued in 1793, with President Abraham Lincoln appearing on the coin in 1909.