On Nov. 12, 2025, the United States Secretary of the Treasury stopped the production of all pennies nationwide. Pennies were produced for 223 years, and suddenly they were paused to a halt.
The reason for stopping the production was mainly due to the cost of the penny.
Each penny in our economy holds the value of one cent. According to the United States Mint, to produce a penny in 2024, it costs nearly 3 times the amount to manufacture (3.69 cents for a penny).
Pennies are still being accepted all around the United States; a sentimental value is held in the thin piece of metal.
Pennies are an essential foundation of our monetary system: learning about them in kindergarten and eventually at first jobs, counting them to give change to customers, and using them in consumers’ daily lives.
Pennies should continue to be made by the U.S. government.
Now, when paying with cash, businesses must make the decision whether to round down or up to the nearest five cents on purchases.
Ensuring accurate pricing for customers is fundamental in the economy, and this blurs the lines of the exact price for products.
However, the federal government will be saving money. According to the United States Department of the Treasury, immediate annual savings of $56 million in less material cost by ending penny production.
Some argue that this is effective since many other countries have eliminated their lowest coins, such as Canada, Ireland, and Australia.
Even so, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, in an economic report using data from the 2023 Diary of Consumer Payment Choice, when businesses use the rounding tax, it could affect United States customers by around $6 million yearly.
With this, stopping the manufacturing causes an increased nickel demand to fill the gaps where the penny is no longer being served.
This is where a similar problem is seen.
According to the United States Mint, to produce a nickel in 2024, it costs 13.78 cents
for a nickel. This disparity between producing a nickel is much more significant. This same issue is seen in the next unit of money within the system.
By this process, this would mean that the next step would also be to get rid of the nickel, which could cause more disparities within the economy.
Pennies have historically been seen as a sign of good luck throughout history.
Throwing a penny into a fountain and making a wish, or finding a “heads up” penny for fortune, are common expressions.
As they hold sentimental value and an essential role in the U.S. monetary system, pennies should be reinstated in production.
