Make no cents! Trump orders end to production of new pennies
It could be called “cents insensibility.”
President Donald Trump said Sunday night he’s taking action to end production of pennies in America.
“For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
“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.”
According to the U.S. Mint, the cost of producing a single penny was nearly 3.7 cents in Fiscal Year 2024, and the coin has cost above face value for 19 consecutive years.
Before 1962, pennies were composed of copper, and are now made mostly of zinc, with some copper plating.
The Treasury Department says President Abraham Lincoln has been featured on the penny since 1909, and the penny was the first coin ever made by the U.S. Mint.
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