US President Donald Trump has announced plans to halt the production of pennies due to their high cost of production. The move is part of a broader effort to reduce waste in the country’s budget.
The US Mint reported that it circulated over 4.1 billion pennies last year, but producing and distributing one cent now costs around 3.7 cents. Rising metal prices are driving up the cost, with zinc and copper being major contributors.
Trump made the announcement on social media as he returned from the Super Bowl, citing the high cost of producing a penny as “wasteful”. He said that his Treasury Secretary will stop producing new pennies in order to reduce waste in the nation’s budget.
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/09/business/trump-treasury-penny-production-halt/index.html