Treasury Makes Common 'Cents' Move to Save Taxpayers Money

Leah Barkoukis | May 23, 2025 11:00 AM

It no longer makes ‘cents’ to manufacture the penny, and by early next year, the Treasury Department will phase out production of the coin, which has been used in the U.S. for more than 200 years.

President Trump called for the coin's elimination in February and a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced legislation last month to end its production.

“I agree with President Trump that the time has come to fully end production of the penny and save American taxpayers money,” Republican Sen. Cynthia Lummis said at the time. “The fiscal reality is undeniable: the U.S. Mint spends three cents to produce each one-cent coin. With a $36 trillion national debt, we have to implement meaningful opportunities to reduce costs, update our currency system, and codify the elimination of government inefficiencies. It just makes cents!”

US MINT: In 2024, each penny cost 3.69 cents to make — the 19th straight year its production cost more than its value. pic.twitter.com/NL3Qt3teqk
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 10, 2025

The U.S. Mint, which is the Treasury’s in-house coin producer, projects an annual savings of $56 million in reduced material costs. The penny, though worth only a cent, costs nearly 4 cents to make. The Treasury said it expects savings to grow once it stops using some of the production facilities.
The Mint will stop making pennies after it runs out of the blank templates used to make them. The final order of blanks was placed this month, according to the statement.
Americans will still be able to use pennies in cash transactions after production stops. As pennies fade from circulation, businesses will have to adjust pricing. Noncash transactions will continue to be priced at exact change. The Treasury said state and local governments should provide guidance to retailers so that sales taxes are properly collected.
Congress sets the rules for currency production, including the size and composition of coins, and can discontinue or eliminate coins. But the Treasury said it has the power to halt the production of new coins.
With production costs rising, the U.S. government lost more than $85 million last year on the roughly three billion pennies it produced.
Meanwhile, Americans throw away up to $68 million in coins a year. They are left in plastic bins at airport security checkpoints and even used in art and home decor.
Some 60% of actively circulating coins, or as much as $14 billion, sit in coin jars, according to the Federal Reserve. (WSJ)