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Los Angeles Times
08-07-2025
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
Opinion: The end of the penny, a costly coin in a cashless world
The penny has a long history, dating back to 1793 when the U.S. Mint produced the first official one-cent coin. As stated on , early pennies, like the Large cent , were made of pure copper and much larger than today's version. In 1857, the Flying Eagle cent introduced a smaller size, followed by the Indian Head cent in 1859. The most famous penny design, the Lincoln cent , debuted in 1909 to honor Abraham Lincoln's 100th birthday. Originally, it featured wheat stalks on the back, which were replaced by the Lincoln Memorial in 1959. Since 2010, the reverse has shown a shield. According to , over time, the penny's composition changed from copper to a zinc core with a thin copper coating. Today the penny is 0.75 inches in diameter, 0.0598 inches thick, and made up of 97.5 percent zinc, plated with copper. In a New York Times article, it was reported that since President Trump took office in January, he has looked for ways to cut down the US debt and made dramatic changes to the economy, jobs, and tariff laws to cut back on spending and increase revenues. On Sunday, January 9th, President Trump directed the U.S. Treasury to stop minting the penny. This left the world wondering why. and, furthermore, does he have authorization to make a call like this? As quoted in ABC News , Donald Trump believes pennies are a 'waste of our great nation's budget', as he stated on Super Bowl Sunday when he announced that he's ordered his administration to cease production of the 1-cent coin. The issue of pennies has been ongoing for over a decade, with multiple bills being brought to the Senate and Barack Obama expressing his support for eliminating the penny back in his 2013 election speeches. As inflation has taken effect on most costs of products, coins, especially pennies, have not been exempt from the increase in production costs. T he U.S. Mint reported losing $85.3 million in the 2024 fiscal year that ended in September on the nearly 3.2 billion pennies it produced. As the cost of producing pennies increased from 3.1 cents last year to 3.7 cents this year, it looks like a good time to consider if pennies are even worth producing anymore. Even with the sentimental value of being the first coin produced that once held lots of buying power, it is now mostly used for collecting or getting lost in the couch cushions. The production of pennies is not just to produce currency into the hands of the Americans, but it actually provides jobs. According to the NPR article , stopping penny production will increase the unemployment rates of zinc manufacturers and mine workers. Manufacturers and miners will be surprised to quickly find themselves on the unemployment line with the millions of other jobs that Trump is cutting to make budget cuts within the economy. The question is, are we late to the party? According to , ' In the 1980s, U.S. Military bases overseas abolished the penny and began rounding all transactions up or down to the nearest 5 cents.' As the military bases have run on their own environment and economy, they were foreshadowing change that needed to happen. As well in 2012, Canada discontinued its penny production due to the loss of revenue. Currently, an estimated 86.9% of all transactions in the U.S. were cashless in 2024, according to CapitalOne Shopping Research . With the elimination of the penny, it must be considered how such a change would affect the economy. Ultimately, the elimination of penny minting could save the U.S. government money, as the production of pennies currently leads to the loss of millions of dollars annually. For example, in 2023, penny production cost taxpayers over $179 million. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond , recent studies argue that the impact would likely be neutral when taking sales tax and pricing patterns into account. With concerns of 'rounding tax', where cash transactions will be rounded to the nearest 5 cents, people will be spending a few more cents per transaction. This also opens another problem of the increased reliance on nickels, which are also costly to produce, costing over 7 cents per coin. Overall, pennies are costing the government and taxpayers more money than they is worth in production. It would benefit the US to look into making cuts to the spending crisis and become a profiting economy again. Related
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump's order to ‘rip the waste' from budget finally kills US penny production — will its value now skyrocket?
After 233 years in circulation, the U.S. government is finally phasing out the penny. According to a Treasury Department spokesperson, the U.S. Mint has made its last purchase of penny blanks and will halt production of the coin once that supply is exhausted, likely by early next year. The move is part of the Trump administration's efforts to cut operational costs. Thanks to Jeff Bezos, you can now become a landlord for as little as $100 — and no, you don't have to deal with tenants or fix freezers. Here's how I'm 49 years old and have nothing saved for retirement — what should I do? Don't panic. Here are 6 of the easiest ways you can catch up (and fast) Nervous about the stock market in 2025? Find out how you can access this $1B private real estate fund (with as little as $10) 'Let's rip the waste out of our great nation's budget, even if it's a penny at a time,' President Donald Trump said in February. The cost of producing a single penny has surged over the past decade — climbing from 1.3 cents to 3.69 cents — with a sharp 20% increase in fiscal year 2024 alone, according to the Mint. Still, penny production accounts for just 0.00003% of the U.S. federal budget, according to CNBC — a tiny drop in a multi-trillion-dollar ocean. While the move won't make much of a dent in the federal deficit, it could change the way Americans save and spend. Here's how. Saving cash and pinching pennies isn't as common as it used to be, but many Americans — especially seniors and low-income consumers — still like to keep some coins around. The Federal Reserve estimates that a typical household could have $60 to $90 in coins at home. If you or your grandparents have a stash of pennies, this could be a good time to convert them into digital savings that can earn interest or capital appreciation instead of steadily losing value to inflation. Since the Mint plans to stop producing pennies, the number in circulation will gradually decline. But experts say most pennies aren't likely to become rare collectibles. One exception is the 1943 copper Lincoln wheat cent — a famous minting mistake that slipped through during World War II, when copper was supposed to be conserved for the war effort and pennies were made from zinc. According to John Feigenbaum, publisher of the Greysheet Rare Coin Price Guide, these elusive coins have occasionally sold for as much as $1 million at auction. Still, the odds of finding one in your spare change are incredibly slim. Feigenbaum told USA TODAY it's about as likely as finding a forgotten winning lottery ticket in your junk drawer. Read more: Want an extra $1,300,000 when you retire? Dave Ramsey says — and that 'anyone' can do it Despite the rise of digital payments, cash and coins remain popular. A recent YouGov poll found that 67% of U.S. adults used cash for at least one transaction in the previous 30 days. Consumers will still be able to use pennies after production stops. But as they gradually disappear from circulation, the Treasury Department told the Wall Street Journal that businesses will need to adjust. Prices may be rounded up or down to the nearest 5 cents. That means the days of 99-cent pricing may be numbered. And don't be surprised if businesses more often round up than down. Rich, young Americans are ditching the stormy stock market — here are the alternative assets they're banking on instead How much cash do you plan to keep on hand after you retire? Here are 3 of the biggest reasons you'll need a substantial stash of savings in retirement Robert Kiyosaki warns of a 'Greater Depression' coming to the US — with millions of Americans going poor. But he says these 2 'easy-money' assets will bring in 'great wealth'. How to get in now Here are 5 'must have' items that Americans (almost) always overpay for — and very quickly regret. How many are hurting you? Like what you read? Join 200,000+ readers and get the best of Moneywise straight to your inbox every week. This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Axios
09-06-2025
- Business
- Axios
The penny's days are numbered
The federal government is phasing out the penny to save money — and while change is hard, an Ohio business leader tells us losing the cents makes sense. Why it matters: The coin's demise means prices for cash transactions will need to be rounded, impacting business' pricing strategies and consumers who rely on cash (typically older and lower-income Americans). Catch up quick: The U.S. Mint will stop making the coins early next year. The Treasury Department placed its final order for blank templates last month. Stopping production will save the government $56 million a year in reduced material costs, a Treasury spokesperson said. Production costs have risen from 1.3 cents to 3.69 cents for every penny over the past decade. The big picture: For similar reasons, Canada discontinued its penny in 2012 and Australia and New Zealand stopped producing their lowest-denomination coins decades ago. How it works: The Treasury told the Wall Street Journal businesses will need to round up or down to the nearest 5 cents once there aren't enough pennies to use in everyday cash transactions. Cashless transactions will still be priced at exact change. Zoom in: "I haven't heard a thing from our members about it," Ohio Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Steve Stivers tells Axios. Typically, mandates concerning whether businesses can or can't take cash — like a state bill introduced in January — are more controversial, he says. Local businesses are increasingly going cashless, including major institutions like sports arenas, the zoo and amusement parks. Stivers said he will be paying attention to the rounding logistics as they play out. Flashback: A former U.S. representative, Stivers sponsored legislation for pennies to be made of steel, rather than copper, zinc and nickel, to cut costs. The intrigue: A 2022 Federal Reserve report found $14 billion — about 60% of actively circulating coins — is sitting in jars and not flowing in the economy. The bottom line: "As we move to a more digital world, it's less and less important whether there is a coin to back something up," Stivers says.
Indianapolis Star
08-06-2025
- Business
- Indianapolis Star
What does the end of the penny mean? Here's what experts are saying
Penny for your thoughts? Or maybe they are worth a nickel now that the Treasury Department is following President Donald Trump's suggestion to stop making pennies. Last month, the Treasury Department placed its last order of blanks – flat metal discs to make pennies – in a move set into motion by President Donald Trump in February. He argues that the coin costs more than 3 cents to produce (actually 3.69 cents, according to the U.S. Mint). Now that we know it's curtains for the coin, many questions arise. What does the demise of the penny mean for consumers and collectors? Could the last pennies be valuable? Here's what we know. MIA Money: $1.7 trillion sits in lost and forgotten 401(k) accounts. Is one of them yours? Doubtful. The U.S. Mint made about 3.2 billion pennies in 2024, according to its annual report, so there will be billions of 2025 pennies available. "There's nothing, statistically, that says they should become valuable," John Feigenbaum, publisher of rare coin price guide Greysheet and executive director of the Professional Numismatists Guild (PNG), a nonprofit organization composed of many of the nation's rare coin experts, told USA TODAY. The coin's legacy could be akin to the 1976 bicentennial quarter, Feigenbaum said. "Everybody, at the time, was hoarding them (and) you couldn't find bicentennial quarters in change. Now people have plastic bags full of them and they're still worth 25 cents," he added. However, the 2025 pennies could have an alternative value as an entry point to collectors. "This would surely spike demand … in other Lincoln pennies, like the ones that go all the way back to 1909," Feigenbaum said, adding that the Lincoln penny, which first featured the 16th president in that year, has had "quite a run." Parents could get a Lincoln penny coin collecting book – options include those from Whitman Publishing, which also publishes Greysheet – and talk to their children about "American history, and who this Lincoln guy is and what would the different designs be all about," Feigenbaum said. Not if you are hoping for them to be valuable. Just as there has been misleading hype about the value of some Lincoln wheat pennies, there may be misinformation about the increased value of 2025 pennies. That's nonsense, Feigenbaum said. They are "not going to be" more valuable, according to Feigenbaum, who said he favored getting rid of the penny. Maybe it's a good time to take all those coins gathering dust in a cup or piggy bank to the bank or a Coinstar machine. The average home has $60-$90 in coins at home, according to the Federal Reserve. Are your old pennies worth millions?: Experts say you shouldn't bank on it Maybe. Not making pennies will nix out the more than $179 million it costs taxpayers to make them, based on figures from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the department formerly connected to Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. The U.S. Mint estimates that not making pennies will save $56 million in material costs, with additional savings from better and more efficient production, CNBC reported. 'For every penny that the United States government prints, we're actually losing money. So, it's a net cost to the federal government,' said Raymond Robertson, director of the Mosbacher Institute for Trade, Economics and Public Policy at the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University, in a news release. But the lack of pennies likely means more reliance on nickels, which cost even more to produce – 13.78 cents, the U.S. Mint says. If the U.S. Mint makes more nickels, "It actually is going to increase costs for the government,' Robertson said. 'So, it's really not clear how much cost savings the government will realize by eliminating the penny," he added. One of the bills (H.R. 1270) introduced in the House of Representatives (technically, Congress holds the power to eliminate a currency) also proposes getting rid of the nickel, too. There is no time frame for prices to be set in five-cent increments – a move to change all those prices ending in 49 or 99 cents to the nearest five cents due to lack of pennies – but they will likely eventually, said Bill Maurer, dean of the School of Social Sciences at the University of California, Irvine, and director of UCI's Institute for Money, Technology and Financial Inclusion. When there are not enough pennies for stores and other retailers to make change, businesses will need to round up or down, the Treasury Department said, according to The Wall Street Journal. For the time being, merchants can keep prices as they are, but the 18% to 20% of Americans who rely on cash could eventually pay a rounded-up price, based on 5-cent increments. "If someone comes to you with cash, you round up, right? So if you're kind of doubly screwed if you're poorer," Maurer told USA TODAY. Other countries that have eliminated low-denomination coins – Australia, Canada and New Zealand, among them – have resulted in differing outcomes, with some prices rounding up and some down, according to As the move to eliminate coin and paper currency continues, a publicly-accessible digital payment system will be needed so that consumers of all income levels can participate, Maurer said. But the loss of physical currency removes a redundancy in the monetary system that's invaluable during disasters and emergencies, according to Maurer. "The more dependent on cashless methods of payment we become, the more risk we place ourselves when there are emergencies or disasters, because you need a well-functioning cash system," he continued. Contributing: Fernando Cervantes, Daniel de Visé and Melina Khan. Mike Snider is a reporter on USA TODAY's Trending team. You can follow him on Threads, Bluesky, X and email him at mikegsnider & @ & @mikesnider & msnider@
USA Today
08-06-2025
- Business
- USA Today
What does the end of the penny mean? Here's what experts are saying
What does the end of the penny mean? Here's what experts are saying Show Caption Hide Caption Penny production in US to end, Treasury Department says After 233 years, the U.S. this month will officially end penny production, according to statements from the Treasury Department. Penny for your thoughts? Or maybe they are worth a nickel now that the Treasury Department is following President Donald Trump's suggestion to stop making pennies. Last month, the Treasury Department placed its last order of blanks – flat metal discs to make pennies – in a move set into motion by President Donald Trump in February. He argues that the coin costs more than 3 cents to produce (actually 3.69 cents, according to the U.S. Mint). Now that we know it's curtains for the coin, many questions arise. What does the demise of the penny mean for consumers and collectors? Could the last pennies be valuable? Here's what we know. MIA Money: $1.7 trillion sits in lost and forgotten 401(k) accounts. Is one of them yours? Will pennies be more valuable if the US stops making them? Doubtful. The U.S. Mint made about 3.2 billion pennies in 2024, according to its annual report, so there will be billions of 2025 pennies available. "There's nothing, statistically, that says they should become valuable," John Feigenbaum, publisher of rare coin price guide Greysheet and executive director of the Professional Numismatists Guild (PNG), a nonprofit organization composed of many of the nation's rare coin experts, told USA TODAY. The coin's legacy could be akin to the 1976 bicentennial quarter, Feigenbaum said. "Everybody, at the time, was hoarding them (and) you couldn't find bicentennial quarters in change. Now people have plastic bags full of them and they're still worth 25 cents," he added. However, the 2025 pennies could have an alternative value as an entry point to collectors. "This would surely spike demand … in other Lincoln pennies, like the ones that go all the way back to 1909," Feigenbaum said, adding that the Lincoln penny, which first featured the 16th president in that year, has had "quite a run." Parents could get a Lincoln penny coin collecting book – options include those from Whitman Publishing, which also publishes Greysheet – and talk to their children about "American history, and who this Lincoln guy is and what would the different designs be all about," Feigenbaum said. Should I horde 2025 pennies? Not if you are hoping for them to be valuable. Just as there has been misleading hype about the value of some Lincoln wheat pennies, there may be misinformation about the increased value of 2025 pennies. That's nonsense, Feigenbaum said. They are "not going to be" more valuable, according to Feigenbaum, who said he favored getting rid of the penny. Maybe it's a good time to take all those coins gathering dust in a cup or piggy bank to the bank or a Coinstar machine. The average home has $60-$90 in coins at home, according to the Federal Reserve. Are your old pennies worth millions?: Experts say you shouldn't bank on it Getting rid of pennies. Will it save the US money? Maybe. Not making pennies will nix out the more than $179 million it costs taxpayers to make them, based on figures from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the department formerly connected to Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. The U.S. Mint estimates that not making pennies will save $56 million in material costs, with additional savings from better and more efficient production, CNBC reported. 'For every penny that the United States government prints, we're actually losing money. So, it's a net cost to the federal government,' said Raymond Robertson, director of the Mosbacher Institute for Trade, Economics and Public Policy at the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University, in a news release. But the lack of pennies likely means more reliance on nickels, which cost even more to produce – 13.78 cents, the U.S. Mint says. If the U.S. Mint makes more nickels, "It actually is going to increase costs for the government,' Robertson said. 'So, it's really not clear how much cost savings the government will realize by eliminating the penny," he added. One of the bills (H.R. 1270) introduced in the House of Representatives (technically, Congress holds the power to eliminate a currency) also proposes getting rid of the nickel, too. What will the demise of the penny mean to prices? There is no time frame for prices to be set in five-cent increments – a move to change all those prices ending in 49 or 99 cents to the nearest five cents due to lack of pennies – but they will likely eventually, said Bill Maurer, dean of the School of Social Sciences at the University of California, Irvine, and director of UCI's Institute for Money, Technology and Financial Inclusion. When there are not enough pennies for stores and other retailers to make change, businesses will need to round up or down, the Treasury Department said, according to The Wall Street Journal. For the time being, merchants can keep prices as they are, but the 18% to 20% of Americans who rely on cash could eventually pay a rounded-up price, based on 5-cent increments. "If someone comes to you with cash, you round up, right? So if you're kind of doubly screwed if you're poorer," Maurer told USA TODAY. Other countries that have eliminated low-denomination coins – Australia, Canada and New Zealand, among them – have resulted in differing outcomes, with some prices rounding up and some down, according to As the move to eliminate coin and paper currency continues, a publicly-accessible digital payment system will be needed so that consumers of all income levels can participate, Maurer said. But the loss of physical currency removes a redundancy in the monetary system that's invaluable during disasters and emergencies, according to Maurer. "The more dependent on cashless methods of payment we become, the more risk we place ourselves when there are emergencies or disasters, because you need a well-functioning cash system," he continued. Contributing: Fernando Cervantes, Daniel de Visé and Melina Khan. Mike Snider is a reporter on USA TODAY's Trending team. You can follow him on Threads, Bluesky, X and email him at mikegsnider & @ & @mikesnider & msnider@ What's everyone talking about? 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