Trump Orders End to Penny Production: "Time to Cut the Waste"

Image Credit: Reuters

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has been directed to halt the production of the penny, President Donald Trump announced on his Truth Social account Sunday.  

"For too long, we've been minting pennies that cost more than two cents each. It's a waste of resources! I’ve instructed the Treasury Secretary to stop producing new pennies," Trump stated. "Let’s cut unnecessary spending from our nation's budget, even if it's one penny at a time," he added.  

The penny, first introduced in 1793, has featured President Abraham Lincoln’s profile since 1909. Made primarily of zinc and copper, the coin has been the subject of an ongoing debate about its relevance.  

Calls to eliminate the penny have surfaced over the years, with economist Henry Aaron arguing in a 2013 Brookings Institution article that both pennies and nickels should be retired, calling them "monetary detritus" that complicate transactions.  

Advocates for keeping the penny claim it helps maintain stable consumer prices and provides a valuable source of donations for charities. However, for many Americans, the coin is seen as inconvenient, often left forgotten in drawers, ashtrays, and piggy banks.  

If eliminated, one proposed solution is to round all prices to the nearest zero to simplify transactions.

Paraphrasing text from "Reuters" all rights reserved by the original author