You’ve probably seen the headlines or heard a rumor at the checkout counter. The news sounds like something out of a weird fever dream: the United States is officially stopping the production of the penny. If you’re wondering if Donald Trump is getting rid of pennies, the short answer is a loud, resounding yes.
It actually happened.
In February 2025, just after catching the first half of the Super Bowl in New Orleans, President Trump hopped on Truth Social to drop a massive bombshell on the Treasury Department. He called the penny "wasteful" and basically told the Secretary of the Treasury to stop making them. No more copper-colored discs. By May 2025, the U.S. Mint had placed its final order for penny blanks, and on November 12, 2025, the last circulating pennies rolled off the presses.
Why the White House pulled the plug
Honestly, the math behind the penny has been a disaster for years. It’s not just a Trump thing; the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, had been pointing out the absurdity of the "one-cent" coin for a while.
In the 2024 fiscal year, the U.S. Mint reported that it cost about 3.7 cents to make a single penny. Think about that for a second. The government was spending nearly four cents to give you one cent.
When you look at the total numbers, it gets even crazier. The Mint produced 3.2 billion pennies in 2024, resulting in a net loss of over $85 million. Trump’s logic was pretty straightforward: if you want to "rip the waste" out of the budget, you start with the things that literally lose money the second they’re born. The administration expects this move to save taxpayers roughly $56 million every single year.
Is your change jar suddenly worthless?
Relax. Your pennies are still legal tender. You don't need to go on a frantic hunt to spend them all by midnight.
Because there are roughly 114 billion pennies currently floating around in the American economy, they aren't going to vanish overnight. That’s about 700 pennies for every person in the country. Banks are still taking them, and stores are technically allowed to accept them.
However, things are changing at the register. Since the Mint stopped making new ones, the supply is slowly drying up. You’ll start noticing "rounding" more often. If your total is $10.02 and you’re paying cash, the shop might just call it $10.00. If it’s $10.03, they might round it up to $10.05. It’s the "nickel standard" now.
What about digital payments?
This is a huge point of confusion. Rounding only applies to cash.
- Credit Cards: If your bill is $19.99, your card gets charged $19.99.
- Apple Pay/Venmo: Still $19.99.
- Old-school Cash: That’s where the rounding happens.
Basically, if you hate the idea of losing two cents to rounding, just tap your phone.
The weird problem with nickels
Here is the kicker that most people get wrong. While getting rid of the penny saves money, it might actually create a new hole in the budget.
Nickels are even more expensive to make than pennies.
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In 2024, it cost nearly 14 cents to manufacture a 5-cent nickel. Economics experts, like those at the Baker Institute, have pointed out that if we stop using pennies, people will naturally start using more nickels. If nickel production has to double to keep up with the new "rounded" economy, the U.S. Mint might end up losing more money than they saved by killing the penny.
It's a bit of a "robbing Peter to pay Paul" situation. There’s already talk in Congress—specifically in the "Make Sense Not Cents Act"—about looking at the nickel next, but for now, the 5-cent piece is safe.
Following the lead of our neighbors
America is actually pretty late to this party. Canada ditched their penny back in 2012. Australia got rid of their 1-cent and 2-cent coins way back in 1992.
In those countries, the transition was surprisingly smooth. People complained for a few months, and then everyone just forgot the coins ever existed. We’re currently in that "complaining phase" right now.
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A quick tip for collectors
If you have pennies made before 1982, don't just dump them in a Coinstar. Those older coins are 95% copper. Because the price of raw copper has gone up, the metal in those old pennies is actually worth more than one cent. It’s still illegal to melt them down for the metal (31 C.F.R. § 82.2 says no), but they are definitely worth holding onto as the "penny era" officially ends.
What you should do next
The era of the cent is over, but you can still make it work for you. First, if you have a massive jug of change, take it to the bank now. Some banks, like Commerce Bank, are being proactive and offering coin machines to help clear out the surplus.
Second, pay attention to the signs at your local convenience stores. Retailers are currently updating their Point of Sale (POS) systems to handle automatic rounding. If a cashier rounds your change in a way that feels off, just ask to see their rounding policy—it’s usually based on the nearest five cents.
Finally, keep an eye on the "Common Cents Act" in Congress. While Trump stopped the production via Treasury directive, Congress still has to pass a law to officially "de-monetize" the penny and make rounding the national legal standard. Until then, we’re in a bit of a transition period where the penny exists, but no new ones are coming to save the day.
Actionable Insight: Clear out your penny jars now while banks are still set up to handle high volumes. If you’re a business owner, update your checkout signs to explain your rounding policy for cash transactions to avoid awkward conversations with customers.