WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Trump administration has announced a definitive end to the production of the one-cent coin.
The U.S. Mint will cease production once its current supply of penny blanks is exhausted. This decision comes as the cost of manufacturing pennies has surged, increasing by over 20% in 2024 alone.
The Treasury Department anticipates an immediate annual savings of $56 million in reduced material costs by halting the penny’s production. President Donald Trump had previously announced his directive to cease production of the 1-cent coin in February, stating on Truth Social, “For far too long, the United States has minted pennies which cost us more than 2 cents. This is so wasteful!”
The penny, one of the first coins produced by the U.S. Mint after its establishment in 1792, currently has approximately 114 billion coins in circulation, totaling $1.14 billion. However, the Treasury notes that these coins are vastly underutilized.
