From The Hill: The U.S. Mint in Philadelphia is set to press its final penny on Wednesday in accordance with the Trump administration’s February directive ending production for the 1-cent coin.
As the penny slowly runs out of circulation, businesses will have to round up or down prices to the nearest five cents to provide customers change.
However, the Treasury Department expects to save $56 million per year on materials by ceasing to produce pennies, according to The Associated Press.
“For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents. This is so wasteful! I have instructed my Secretary of the US Treasury to stop producing new pennies. Let’s rip the waste out of our great nations budget, even if it’s a penny at a time,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post earlier this year.
The report explains that it costs roughly 3.69 cents to make one penny. Costs of other coin productions (per coin) are:
- Nickels – 14 cents
- Dimes – 6 cents
- Quarters – 15 cents
A quarter’s production cost is nearly 15 cents.
Earlier this year, Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) had introduced a bipartisan bill to end production of the penny.
Lee said cutting out penny production will save taxpayers over $85 million per year.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Treasurer Brandon Beach are expected to be present in Philadelphia on Wednesday for the final production of the penny, the report states.
In a Truth Social post in February, President Donald Trump wrote, “For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents. This is so wasteful! I have instructed my Secretary of the US Treasury to stop producing new pennies. Let’s rip the waste out of our great nations budget, even if it’s a penny at a time.”
🚨BREAKING: IT'S OFFICIAL: The US Mint will officially STOP minting pennies. Today, the LAST Penny will be minted!
One Penny Costs the U.S Taxpayer $0.37 cents to Mint.
U.S. Mint lost $85,300,000,000 BILLION minting pennies in FY2024 alone. pic.twitter.com/dUDB1pm9b8
— The Patriot Oasis™ (@ThePatriotOasis) November 12, 2025
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