Earlier this month, President Trump announced that he has ordered the secretary of the U.S. Treasury to stop producing new pennies. The U.S. Congress authorizes the manufacturing of coins and oversees the operations of the U.S. Mint (which is the section of the Treasury Department that produces currency). So, it might require an act of Congress to officially stop penny production.  

Nevertheless, discussions over whether or not to get rid of the penny have been going on for decades. Some Americans are attached to the penny, but others say it simply isn’t useful anymore.  

So, You Decide: Should the U.S. Treasury discontinue the penny? 

YES 

• Pennies cost more to make than they are worth. According to the U.S. Mint, it cost 3.69 cents to produce each penny made in 2024. Last year, the U.S. Mint lost $485 million making nearly 3.2 billion pennies. 
• Pennies are composed mainly of zinc and copper. Mining these elements creates carbon dioxide pollution. Reducing the penny demand could have a positive environmental impact. 
• The U.S. Treasury has stopped making unnecessary coins before. In 1857, it discontinued the half-cent coin. 
• Other countries have already started phasing out one- and two-cent coins by rounding to the nearest five cents. 

NO 

• Without pennies, Americans could wind up paying a “rounding tax,” as prices are rounded up to the nearest five cents. This would matter most to consumers on some products such as gasoline, where a few cents per gallon has a bigger impact.  
• “Penny drives” are a good way for children to raise funds for charities. 
• Eliminating the penny will not save the U.S. Treasury any money, because the Treasury would have to increase nickel production. 
• The penny has historical value. It was the first circulating coin produced by the U.S. Mint in 1793.