U.S. Treasury To End Penny Production

India -West News Desk

WASHINGTON, D.C– The U.S. Treasury Department announced  May 22 its decision to phase out the production of the one-cent coin, with no new pennies expected to enter circulation once the current inventory of blanks is depleted. This move, initially reported by the Wall Street Journal, aims to curb financial losses incurred from minting a coin that costs more than its face value.

President Donald Trump had previously indicated this shift in February, citing the excessive production cost of pennies, which he noted cost more than two cents each. The Treasury confirmed this, revealing the actual cost to be over three cents per penny. The department projects an immediate taxpayer saving of $56 million from halting penny production.

While the penny’s demise is driven by its high production cost, the financial implications for the nickel are a significant part of the conversation. Each nickel currently costs 13.8 cents to produce (11 cents in production and 2.8 cents in administrative/distribution costs). This far exceeds the penny’s production expense and represents an even greater loss for the Mint, CNN said.

In the most recent fiscal year, the Mint drastically cut nickel production by 86%, minting only 202 million compared to 1.4 billion in each of the two preceding years. This is also significantly fewer than the 3.2 billion pennies made in 2024, 4.1 billion in 2023, and 5.4 billion in 2022. The Treasury’s statement did not address its future plans for nickel production.