Will the American penny become history? Donald Trump instructs the Treasury Department to stop producing it, says, 'This is so wasteful!'

US president Donald Trump said that he has instructed the US Department of the Treasury to stop minting new pennies, as per a report.

He claimed that now it costs more than three cents to produce every 1-cent coin. According to Trump, it is a wasteful practice that should end.

“Let’s rip the waste out of our great nation’s budget, even if it’s a penny at a time,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social after attending Super Bowl LIX.


The move comes as the new administration, with the help of tech billionaire Elon Musk, aims to reduce wasteful spending in the federal government.

“The penny costs over 3 cents to make and cost U.S. taxpayers over $179 million in FY2023. The Mint produced over 4.5 billion pennies in FY2023, around 40% of the 11.4 billion coins for circulation produced,” DOGE claimed in a post on social media platform X.

In a 2022 poll, 58% of Americans favoured ending penny production, and there have been attempts in the past to cease making pennies. One notable example is from 1990 when former Arizona Rep. Jim Kolbe drafted a bill proposing the end of circulation for the penny. He did not, however, succeed with his legislation. Senator John McCain had called for a study into eliminating the penny a decade prior in 2017.

FAQs

Why did President Trump decide to stop minting pennies?
Trump announced the decision because it costs more than three cents to produce a single penny. He believes this is a wasteful practice and aims to reduce unnecessary government spending.

How much does it cost to make a penny?
In 2024, it costs approximately 3.07 cents to produce one penny. This cost has been steadily rising, which prompted the decision to halt penny production.