The U.S. government is phasing out production of the penny, which has been in circulation for centuries, in a cost-cutting move that is projected to save $56 million each year.
The Treasury made its final order of blank pennies this month and will stop putting one-cent coins into circulation by early 2026. As pennies fade from use, businesses will need to round up or down to the nearest 5 cents, The Wall Street Journal reported.
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By halting production of the penny, the U.S. Mint — the coin-producing bureau of the Treasury — projects an immediate annual savings of $56 million in reduced material costs. In the last 10 years, the cost of making the coins has risen from a little over 1 cent to nearly 4 cents per penny, a spokesperson for the Treasury Department told FOX Business.
The move is part of an ongoing bipartisan effort to discontinue production of the coin. In February, President Donald Trump announced plans to halt production of pennies, which cost more than their value to mint.
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“For far too long, the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “This is so wasteful! I have instructed my Secretary of the U.S. Treasury to stop producing new pennies.”
This year, two bipartisan bills to get rid of the penny were introduced.
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In May, Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., proposed the Make Sense Not Cents Act, which argues that producing pennies leads to taxpayer waste. In April, Reps. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., and Robert Garcia, D-Calif., alongside Sens. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., introduced the Common Cents Act.
While Congress decides currency specifications like the size and metal content of coins, the Treasury has the power to halt the production of new coins.
There are around 114 billion pennies currently in circulation in the U.S., but they are underutilized. The penny was one of the first coins created by the U.S. Mint after it was established in 1792.
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