I hadn’t thought much about pennies in recent years — or used them much at all — since I’ve mostly switched to cashless spending. But when President Donald Trump issued an order to stop minting the penny entirely, I couldn’t help but wonder what role that humble copper-colored coin still plays in the US economy and what might actually change.
Amid the recent flurry of Trump’s often contentious executive orders, he announced Sunday night that he’d ordered Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to halt the production of the 1-cent coins, calling it an example of wasteful government spending.
“For far too long the United States has minted pennies, which literally cost us more than 2 cents,” Trump wrote in a post to his Truth Social platform. “Let’s rip the waste out of our great nation’s budget, even if it’s a penny at a time.”
Ending the production of pennies is far from a new idea. Economists have proposed eliminating pennies for years, citing both their production costs and declining usefulness. What do people today spend pennies on? It’s even been endorsed by past presidents from across the political divide, including Republican Gerald Ford and Democrat Barack Obama.
I’m not alone in having moved on from coins and greenbacks. Last year, Capital One Shopping Research released a study that found 11% of Americans don’t use cash at all, with 73% using it for less than half of their purchases. The study predicted that by the end of 2025, over 51% “of American consumers will use no cash in a typical week.”
So what would an end to the penny mean for you and the wider economy? Read on for all the answers we have at this point. For more finance coverage, find out if you’re eligible for the child tax credit this year and why Elon Musk didn’t necessarily kill Direct File.
Can Trump actually put an end to the penny?
In strict legal terms, no, the president doesn’t have the authority to start or stop the production of any form of money. That power lies with Congress, and this plan of Trump’s requires an act of Congress to actually materialize.
That said, many of the president’s recent orders have involved matters that his office doesn’t have power over, like his efforts to halt congressionally approved spending. He will likely continue pushing to halt penny production, sparking resistance from the US Mint or prompting Republicans in Congress to craft a plan that aligns with his goal.
How much does it cost to produce a penny?
A major argument against pennies — one cited by Trump this week and economists throughout the years — is that pennies literally cost more to produce than they’re worth. Factoring in the costs for the raw materials (zinc and copper) and the molding process, a penny worth 1 cent costs over 3 cents to produce.
What would eliminating pennies do to prices?
In the modern economy, a coin worth one cent isn’t much use for making purchases, unless you need to come up with exact change for something. At this point, they’re only really good for helping vendors give you change.
Other countries which have gotten rid of 1- or 2-cent pieces — like Australia and New Zealand — tackled this problem by either requiring or encouraging vendors to round their prices to their nearest five-cent increment. If a similar situation came to the US, even assuming vendors rounded all their prices up, this would surely be very minor compared to recent inflation rates.
How many pennies are currently in circulation?
A 2024 New York Times report estimated that nearly 250 billion pennies were in circulation as of last year. The number of pennies in active circulation — actually used for purchases rather than lost under couch cushions or down sewer drains — is difficult to determine. That’s because the US Mint produces billions of new pennies each year to replace the countless lost ones.
What do I do with my pennies?
If Trump’s order were to go into effect, it wouldn’t necessarily mean that pennies aren’t legal tender anymore. You could still use the ones you have to make purchases if you wanted to or receive them from stores as change, as it would take a few years for the remaining circulation of pennies to dry up.
Some of the remaining pennies with unique designs might become collector’s items, so consider holding onto a few, just in case.
Will nickels also be eliminated?
Ceasing the production of pennies, many economists argue, would kick the issue up to nickels as well. According to a 2024 US Mint report, the 5-cent coin also costs more to produce than its face value, with each nickel costing nearly 15 cents to make. Dimes, quarters, half-dollars and paper bills all cost less to produce than they are worth, for now.
Speaking with ABC News, Mark Weller, an executive director at the Americans for Common Cents organization, strongly opposed Trump’s plan to end penny production, arguing that this would accelerate the financial losses created by producing nickels, which would in turn wipe out any money saved by axing pennies.
“It would be bad for consumers and it would be bad for the economy,” Weller said. “It really would, in fact, not save money, but it would increase government losses and have some unintended economic consequences.”
For more, find out why ditching Amazon Prime might save you more money than you’d expect.
