How Would Getting Rid Of The Penny Affect The Economy?

person holding a shiny penny
Via Flickr
Adé Hennis
April 4, 2025

This past Sunday, President Donald Trump ordered the U.S. Treasury to halt the production of new pennies. He explained that it was “wasteful” to spend more than one cent to make a one-cent coin.

A penny costs about 3.7 cents to make. However, eliminating the penny would increase the production of nickels, each costing 13.8 cents.

The U.S. government has attempted unsuccessfully to eliminate the penny from circulation for decades. When Canada stopped minting its penny in 2012, businesses were encouraged to round cash transactions to the nearest nickel, while electronic transactions were still calculated to the penny.

From 1900 to 2022, the purchasing power of the penny decreased 30-fold. In 2015, U.S. Mint Director Philip N. Diehl stated, “Today, the value of a penny has shrunk to the point that, if you earn more than the minimum wage, you’re losing money stopping and picking up a penny on the sidewalk.”

Although President Trump might have the authority to order the U.S. Treasury to stop minting pennies, removing pennies from circulation would take an act of Congress.

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