The US Treasury has confirmed that it will begin phasing out the penny, with production of the one-cent coin officially ending next year. The announcement comes just three months after former President Donald Trump publicly criticized the coin’s continued existence, calling it “wasteful” and urging the government to “rip the waste out… even if it’s a penny at a time.”
Currently, there are an estimated 114 billion pennies in circulation, with 3.2 billion minted just last year. But the rising cost of production has triggered a reassessment. According to the US Mint’s 2024 annual report, each penny now costs 3.69 cents to make and distribute—more than triple its face value.
By discontinuing the coin, the Treasury expects to save approximately $56 million annually in material and production costs. The move follows in the footsteps of Canada, which eliminated its own penny in 2012 for similar economic reasons.
This marks the latest step in a broader push by Trump to modernize the federal payments infrastructure. In March, he ordered government agencies to begin phasing out the use of paper cheques, describing them as another outdated and inefficient financial tool.