By A world without pennies is one we might be facing in the future as President Donald Trump has re-sparked the conversation revolving around the cent. Following the Super Bowl on Sunday night, President Trump shared a message explaining his stance on the penny, which he says costs more than one cent to make.
“For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents,” Trump wrote in a social media post. “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 nation’s budget, even if it’s a penny at a time.”
The discussion around the penny has been ongoing for many years, with many saying its use is not worth the cost it takes for production. Even President Barack Obama was teetering over the decision during his presidency over 10 years ago.
“Anytime we’re spending more money on something that people don’t actually use, that’s an example of something we should probably change,” Obama said in 2013.
But this point has made headlines once more after Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) called attention to the expense of producing pennies.
“The penny costs over 3 cents to make and cost US taxpayers over $179 million in FY2023,” the DOGE wrote on X. “The Mint produced over 4.5 billion pennies in FY2023, around 40% of the 11.4 billion coins for circulation produced. Penny (or 3 cents!) for your thoughts.
Does President Trump have the power to eliminate the penny?
While Trump has re-sparked this debate, it’s unclear whether the President truly has the ability to act. Robert K. Triest, an economics professor at Northeastern University, offered some insight on whether President Trump has the power to eliminate the penny.
“The process of discontinuing the penny in the U.S. is a little unclear. It would likely require an act of Congress, but the Secretary of the Treasury might be able to simply stop the minting of new pennies,” Triest explained.
How stopping minting pennies could affect your wallet
Amid the years-long penny debate, the possibility of a rounding tax has circulated, where consumers would need to round up to the nickel to cover the loss of pennies. The public opinion on this has been split, with many preferring the rounding tax to carrying around pennies. However, there is no certainty that a rounding tax will occur, nor the elimination of the penny.
And although losing the penny is not enough to significantly impact your daily life, there might be the potential for pennies to gain value. Should the Treasury Secretary discontinue the minting of pennies, certain versions of the cent could become more valuable. Depending on its historical significance, unique minting marks, print errors, etc., you might one day have a penny worth more than just one cent.
