Trump Says He Has Directed US Treasury To Stop Minting New Pennies, Citing Rising Cost

Trump says he has directed US Treasury to stop minting new pennies, citing rising cost
Mon Feb 10, 2025
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says he has directed the Treasury Department to stop minting new pennies, citing the rising cost of producing the one-cent coin.
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President Trump instructed the Secretary of the Treasury to stop production of the penny, which costs 3.69 cents to make.
It cost over 3 cents to make a penny and it cost American taxpayers over $179 million in fiscal year 2023 alone.

The penny has what is known as "negative seigniorage," meaning it is worth less than what it costs to produce: 3.69 cents in 2024, according to the U.S. Mint.

The U.S. Mint — a bureau of the Department of the Treasury — said in its annual report that it lost $85.3 million on the nearly 3.2 billion pennies it produced in fiscal year 2024.