Trump says he has directed Treasury to stop minting new pennies, citing cost

[dalton99a]

https://apnews.com/article/trump-penny-treasury-mint-192e3b9ad9891d50e7014997653051ba

Trump says he has directed Treasury to stop minting new pennies, citing cost
By JILL COLVIN
Updated 8:46 PM CST, February 9, 2025

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says he has directed the Treasury Department to stop minting new pennies, citing the cost of producing the one-cent coin.

“For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents. This is so wasteful!” Trump wrote in a post Sunday night on his Truth Social site. “I have instructed my Secretary of the US Treasury to stop producing new pennies.”

Trump’s new administration has been sharply focused on cutting costs, targeting entire agencies and large swaths of the federal workforce for dismissal.

“Let’s rip the waste out of our great nations budget, even if it’s a penny at a time,” he wrote.

Trump sent the message after attending the first half of the Super Bowl in New Orleans.

[newdeal2]

1. Guess he must be steaming mad after his team lost

Taking it out on poor Abe

[GreenWave]

59. I thought an Eagle once tried to kill him in a photo-op.

[Takket]

2. hey! i agree with him on something!

i feel dirty

[Freddie]

6. Me too (shockingly)!

They haven’t had pennies in Canada 🇨🇦 for years. I believe they still use .01 in banking, checks etc but not cash.

[Jit423]

10. Me too. He could also stop giving his billionaire buddies tax reductions and close some loopholes. nt

[pnwest]

29. omigosh I just had the same thought, and then

Last edited Mon Feb 10, 2025, 01:38 PM - Edit history (1)

shuddered with "ew" from head to toe. At least I can say I've thought pennies were pointless since the 80's. As a waitress back then I rounded up my customer's change to nickels.

[ProfessorGAC]

68. I Don't

Lost in the 2 cent/1 cent comparison is that the minted coin is going to be around for 30 years.
That's a negligible loss.
As someone who worked for nearly 20 years strictly on operational efficiency, I would never have pursued a project where the return takes over 30 years to realize.
It's around an $85 million per year, out of about $1.75 trillion in discretionary spending. This is around 0.005%. Not worth pursuing.

[Happy Hoosier]

73. IKR!!!!! NT

[AkFemDem]

3. wow, if they're costing more than a cent to mint

It actually makes sense to do this.

There needs to be a party credit option- like the energy credit you can buy to appease your guilt whenever you fly....

[ProfessorGAC]

66. One Thing Forgotten

That penny that costs 2 cents is going to be in circulation 25 or 30 years.
So, the actual loss is negligible.
Besides, what would this guy know about operating efficiency. He bankrupted casinos, which practically print their own money.

[stopdiggin]

4. much as I hate to say it ....

Now, whether doing this by executive fiat .... Belongs to a separate argument. But it is way past time ...

[iemanja]

5. This is fine with me.

[Aristus]

7. Broken clock and all that.

But the nation’s zinc producers are going to land on him like a runaway planet.

Lobbyists for the zinc industry are the ones who have kept the Mint coining pennies decades after they lost all value as currency.

[Lovie777]

8. I don't think shitehole can do that..................

[sakabatou]

9. Isn't that the Treasuries Dept. to make that call?

[Deuxcents]

11. He directed "his" Secretary of the US Treasury. Not "the" or "our" but "his" and that bothers me.

This government is of, by and for The People. Everything he does bothers me ☹️

[Irish_Dem]

51. Everything in the world belongs to Trump.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

12. I'm under the impression that pennies have cost more than

a penny to mint for some decades now.

[doc03]

13. That will automatically cause all prices to be rounded up to 5 cents If the price on an item

is $11.99 retailers won't cut them to $11.95 they will increase to $12.95 IMO.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

14. Yep. You know some jagoff CFO will be bragging about this in an earnings call 6 months from now.

[doc03]

15. How will they do sales tax we have a 7% sales tax if you pay a dollar for something

they couldn't give you 93 cents change. What will the states do? Charge you 5 cents tax or 10 cents tax.

[Oopsie Daisy]

47. Legal rounding-off... but it would need to always be in the customer's favor.

[canetoad]

17. Only if you pay cash

Honestly, I'm pretty glad to be rid of the weight of small value coins.

[doc03]

18. I don't carry them around every few months a take my jar of coins to the

bank and get about $200.

[Captain Stern]

50. You're probably right

However, wouldn't rounding up like that from $11.99 be $12.00.....not $12.95?

[canetoad]

16. Australian currency

Did away with 1 & 2c coins around 30 years ago. At a similar time the $1 and $2 notes were replaced by coins. Sometime in the 80s the first 'plastic' notes were introduced. Right now there is talk of taking 5c coins out of circulation. Can't buy anything for 5c these days.

[doc03]

20. Canada has $1 and $2 coins, and the smallest plastic note is $5 nt

[roamer65]

21. Very easy for Australia to do since you have a 10c and 20c coin.

U can go to tens easy.

Our quarter makes it a bit more difficult.

[roamer65]

19. 1793-2025.

Last edited Mon Feb 10, 2025, 04:06 AM - Edit history (1)

It was a good run but it’s time to say goodbye.

Last estimate I heard was there are about 250 BILLION of them in circulation. It will be interesting to see if this sets off a “Penny Panic”, as in mass redemptions of them. It would utterly inundate our banking system.



There are still plenty of them to use for circulation if people raid their change hoards and they still remain legal tender. It takes an act of Congress to change their legal tender status.

A side note, if you folks want to start saving a few of the old 95 percent coppers, the latest date to collect that is definitely copper is 1981. 1982’s are a mix of real copper and “Zincolns”. You have to weigh them to confirm the difference.

[Morbius]

27. I bet if all the MAGA folks turned in their water cooler bottles

...each half full of pennies, the nation would have enough pennies to last us years. It doesn't have to be everybody who has a hoard of pennies; if just a couple million turned theirs in, we'd have literally billions of pennies.

[Abolishinist]

22. I have to say,

when I 'jokingly' announced to friends that I was running for President,

eliminating pennies was on my platform.

[Kaleva]

23. That actually makes sense

[Mountainguy]

24. Pennies have been dumb for a long time

And yeah, they cost more to mint than they are worth. But, there's a big difference in stopping the mint from producing them and stopping them from being used in circulation.

Every price in the country would need to be adjusted to ensure they ended in a 0 or 5. Sales taxes would need to adapted as well to make sure priced ended in a 0 or 5. Perhaps they could just round up or down to the nearest and figure that it will wash out in the end, or just round them all up and literally steal from everyone.

Now, it's not an issue for paying on a card, but anyone trying to use cash would have the problem.

Better solution is probably to keep using pennies and reduce their mint runs to only once every so many years, or change their composition to actually be cost effective to mint.

[Jack Valentino]

25. Oddly enough, this may make cents.

[applegrove]

26. We got rid of pennies in Canada and it was easy and all good.

[LudwigPastorius]

28. This is Trump's retaliation against Lincoln for freeing the slaves.

We'll see what he does with the $5 bill.

[LonePirate]

30. He doesn't have the legal authority to do this as pennies are mandated by law.

Of course Congress may offer no pushback to this.

[roamer65]

33. The Secretary of the Treasury does have the power to tell the US Mint which coins to strike or none at all.

A Secretary of the Treasury does NOT have the power to demonetize specific coins or notes. That power resides in Congress.

The remaining cents in circulation are still fully legal tender. We just won’t be minting new ones and the Secretary can reverse this decision at any time.

[Hekate]

31. Mango Mussolini is such an ass

[Melon]

32. Good. What a waste of money anymore.

[Bluetus]

34. Collect your pennies. They will soon be worth 15 cents each.

But seriously, I don't know that the President has the authority to do this. If not, then we should say "Great idea, sent a proposed bill over to Congress"

It seems to me that this legislation would need to define the phase-out plan for pennies, making it legal for merchants dealing in cash transaction to round to the nearest nickel. For that matter, let's kill the nickels too. Round to the nearest dime.

And copper is useful. There should be an end date for using pennies as currency, and provide a mechanism for pennies to be turned in for recycling.

It is currently illegal to melt pennies for copper value. That law needs to be changed. The President can't do that.

[Morbius]

35. There's almost no copper in a penny.

copper 2.5%
zinc 97.5 %

Since 1982.

[roamer65]

40. There are a few transitional error 1983 cents minted in 95 percent copper.

Worth $15-$25k if you find one.

It weighs 3.1g, instead of 2.5g.

I pick out the old copper ones and weigh 1982s and 1983s looking for the 3.1g ones.

[JoseBalow]

41. How many have you found?

And where do you sell them?

[roamer65]

42. The 1983 errors are ultra rare.

So far…none.

They usually get auctioned when found.

[DJ Synikus Makisimus]

36. Actually the "loss" on pennies is more than made up for

by the seigniorage on other coins. The sheer numbers of pennies minted over the past 50 years should last a very long time, however. Check the numbers online. I would expect temporary shortages due to hoarding by folks who think their value will increase, and I do remember merchants and banks paying a premium (five cents per fifty cent roll) when hoarding happened in the past. So hoard your way to riches now - they may pay ten cents on fifty this time around.

Now me, I can't remember the last time I paid cash for anything except at my favorite coffee shop, where prices are discounted for cash. I do find pennies all over the ground when out walking, and toss them in the tip jar at the coffee shop in addition to my regular percentage. Keeps the things in circulation.

[Dulcinea]

74. I find pennies on the ground too.

I put them in my piggy bank. When I have enough, I wrap them & deposit them.

[Historic NY]

37. Maybe we should use more 2.00 bills..

its cheaper than making 2 ones.

[DFW]

38. I always do when I'm in the States

I know some currency dealers in Belgium who always get them when ordering US currency from the Fed. So every time I go back for a visit, if it’s for a few weeks, I bring a freshly printed bundle of $200, i.e. a hundred $2 bills. Often, people think I’m giving away some precious collector’s item.

[Historic NY]

67. I have a couple of those uncut full sheets

of 2.00s

[DFW]

71. The BEP used to sell those on a regular basis.

Maybe they still do, I haven’t checked recently.

[DFW]

39. If you want to get literal, funnily enough, he can save his breath.

The USA never did mint pennies. Great Britain did, so the USA made it a point to mint cents, instead. Originally, there was a big argument between Hamilton and Jefferson over whether or not to adopt a British style of currency or a new decimal based currency. It went on for years, but Jefferson won out, and a decimal currency was adopted. So, Britain kept their pennies, and we got cents. The fact that we still say “pennies” at all is proof that “old habits die hard.” It’s a holdover from the colonial era, even though the very first cents said it right in the middle of the reverse side: “one cent.” That wasn’t even our smallest denomination, either. From 1793 to 1857, we minted half cents, too.

[Morbius]

43. Well, thank Jefferson for that!

12 pennies to a shilling (a bob), and 20 shillings to a pound. Two shillings sixpence, or 2s 6d, is a half crown. Two shillings to a florin. Two crowns to a pound. One pound (or one quid) plus one shilling is a guinea. They even had 1/4 pennies (farthings) and ha'pennies (1/2 pennies).

Even the British dropped this nonsense in 1971. They have a decimal system now as well; 100 pennies makes a pound sterling.

[LeftInTX]

44. You inspired me to create my own original post! I just realized the "dollar" is Spanish.

Last edited Mon Feb 10, 2025, 05:46 AM - Edit history (1)

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100220012239

[yaesu]

45. Canada did it years ago, I could never understand why we kept minting them

Always figured it was a jobs thing. president Musk must have strained his one braincell figuring that out.

[DFW]

46. This is a cost-cutting measure? OK, how much would we save?

The USA minted about 3.22 billion cents last year. So, $32.2 million at face value. They cost us twice that to produce, so we lose $32 million, but the government recoups part of that in employee taxes and other hidden discounts. What did the government lose in Trump property overcharges when overseas delegations stayed at his properties during his first term? What will the government lose in Trump's treasury-looting scams during his second term? I'm betting WAY more than $32 million.

[eppur_se_muova]

48. So mint 2-cent coins ? Is that so hard ?

In 1857, Congress discontinued the unpopular half cent and made the cent smaller to cut back on the amount of copper needed.

(So that's how it's done ! )

Cash register drawers will just keep 1 and 2 cent coins together.

Make 2-cent very slightly smaller than 1 cent, and most coin sorters will keep them together.

Never put them in the safe, leave them in the drawer, make sure you return at least as many as you receive (this may mean refusing coins from customers occasionally), and there will be no need to sort them from each other.

Eventually, 1-cent coins will drop out of circulation, except for the occasional find for collectors. Done and done. Gone the way of the Ceylon quarter-farthing, the half-farthing, the farthing, and the half-penny.

If Turnip wants to do something useful, he can pressure Congress into finally coming up with a workable plan for dollar coins. The Mint has been pushing for this for years; it's not worth the cost printing 1-dollar bills, and that's losing more money than pennies. (I no longer put dollar bills in my wallet. Not worth the constant effort to retrieve and return my wallet for trivial purchases. I keep them in my pocket, loose, literally "pocket change". I wish Susan B. Anthony dollars had been made slightly larger than quarters; they were almost ideal, IMHO. Stamp machines in the Post Office used to return SBA coins; I wish I had kept them all.)

(In the very long run, accumulated inflation will force legislators to strike the 'cent' as a monetary unit in favor of the dime, just as the 'half-penny' and 'farthing' were discarded in earlier history. )

Or go for superficial outward, dramatic change, a la Turnip.

[Emile]

49. Still looking for a 1909 S VDB

[no_hypocrisy]

52. Which means state and/or city sale tax will rise.

If less than 5%, then across the board, it will be now 5 cents.

If more than 5%, then it will be a dime.

That is inflation.

If TSF weren't putting tariffs on steel, I'd say return to making pennies out of them.

[bucolic_frolic]

53. So, make 2 cent pennies. Problem solved.

Would maximize use of existing one cent pennies. A penny plus two 2 centers makes a nickel.

Oh, wait. Soon the Trump nickel will only be worth a penny.

[Blue Full Moon]

54. There is a problem though

The pennies add up if done across the board. Theft of a lot of money. One person a few cents not a big amount. Across millions that's a different story.
Him and president musk want crypto currency and not our government's currency.

[Liberal In Texas]

55. Another EO from the Emperor. This has been discussed for a long time, but it should be done through the

legislature. Apparently he's never heard of proposing a bill to the Congress.

[Groundhawg]

56. I'm good with this.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

57. It takes an act of Congress to stop production of the penny

Last edited Mon Feb 10, 2025, 11:42 AM - Edit history (1)

Link to tweet

[dalton99a]

61. +1

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/09/us/politics/trump-stop-minting-pennies.html

[Tommy Carcetti]

58. There are still a lot of cash transactions that go on.

Contrary to popular belief.

So wouldn’t this cause a mini-inflation of sorts for those type of transactions?

[Wounded Bear]

60. Hardly a new idea. It's been in discussions for decades...

trump wants us to think he dreamed this up, but as usual, he's just stealing the idea and claiming credit.

[Anno 2525]

62. Did he say actually that

or are you claiming he did? What does that tell you that it's been talked about for DECADES and he actually did it?

[KS Toronado]

63. hello

[William769]

65. ROFLMAO!

[GP6971]

72. It doesn't bother you that he abused his power?

[Jersey Devil]

64. So we'll need a lot more nickels, which, btw are more expensive to make than pennies

Here's the hangup: Making a nickel costs more than double what it’s worth. As of last year, every nickel cost 10.4 cents to make, up 40.2% from 7.4 cents in 2020, according to a biennial mint report published last week.

https://money.com/coin-costs-us-mint-solutions/

[LetMyPeopleVote]

69. MaddowBlog-Trump's pennies order adds to list of legally dubious power grabs

Even if Trump's position on pennies has merit, what matters most is his willingness to make unilateral policy declarations outside of his authority.

2/ “Trump’s pennies order adds to list of legally dubious power grabs

Even if Trump's position on pennies has merit, what matters most is his willingness to make unilateral policy declarations outside of his authority.”

www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

— @GottaLaff (@gottalaff.bsky.social) 2025-02-10T14:54:15.919Z

Link to tweet

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trumps-pennies-order-adds-list-legally-dubious-power-grabs-rcna191445

When Donald Trump swore an oath to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States,” perhaps he brushed past this detail. The Associated Press reported:

President Donald Trump says he has directed the Treasury Department to stop minting new pennies, citing the rising cost of producing the one-cent coin. ... Trump had not discussed his desire to eliminate the penny during his campaign. But Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency raised the prospect in a post on X last month highlighting the penny’s cost.

As the Republican left New Orleans after watching the first half of the Super Bowl, he wrote to his social media platform, “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 [sic] budget, even if it’s a penny at a time.”......

But whether one supports or opposes sticking with the penny is separate from the question of governmental power. Penny critics have spent recent years pressing lawmakers on this for the most obvious of reasons: It’s up to Congress to make decisions about U.S. currencies.

Even if Trump’s underlying position has merit — and it very well might — what arguably matters most in a situation like this isn’t about pennies, as much as it’s about the president unilaterally making a policy declaration outside of his authority.

In other words, presidential power-grabs matter, even if they’re in pursuit of worthwhile policy goals.

A New York magazine report added, “Like so many other things Trump has said or tried to do since retaking office, it’s not clear if he can legally [order the Treasury to stop making pennies]. It would probably require an act of Congress to fully discontinue the coin, since Congress dictates America’s currency specifications. But as with so many other things, Trump may just try to do it anyway.”

[LetMyPeopleVote]

70. West Wing Flashback-Elimination of the penny

trump's plan for the penny triggered a West Wing flashback for me

Link to tweet

[LetMyPeopleVote]

75. U.S. Mint: "We have not made a batch of pennies since April of 2023."

This is another bogus issue that trump is using to distract people

Link to tweet