- Trump plans to stop penny-minting, citing high production costs
- The U.S. lost $179 million in 2023 due to penny production
- Penny production costs more than three times its face value
Trump is out there and he is out for pennies. Last Sunday, the President announced a new plan to stop penny-minting in a quick interview after the SuperBowl.
Later on his social media platform Truth.Social, the President weighed in more on his take to stop pennies, arguing that the production of new 1-cent coins was not worth the process:
“For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents,” he said. “I have instructed my Secretary of the US Treasury to stop producing new pennies.”
Despite seeming like a random decision, the logic behind Trump’s intent of stopping the U.S. from minting new pennies actually makes sense. According to a post on X by the Department of Government Efficiency, the cost of creating new cents far outweighs the benefits of having it in circulation.
To be precise, a report by an online retailer specializing in the sale of precious metals—JM Bullion—sheds light on the issue. The U.S. lost around $179 million in 2023 due to penny protection. As of 2023, the cost for each penny production was around 3.07 cents, making it over three times more costly than its actual worth.
The production of pennies has decreased heavily since 2010, as inflation makes a single cent more and more impractical to Americans. However, these 1-cent coins still represent nearly 40% of the overall coin production in the U.S.
Over the years, inflationary pressures have decreased the value of one single dollar, or cent. While this process has been conceived as normal in 21st-century economies, it holds a significant debate when it comes to penny production.
As inflation continues to diminish the practical value of the penny, the cost-benefit analysis increasingly tilts against its continued production.
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