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Former U.S. President Donald Trump recently announced that he has instructed the U.S. Treasury to cease the production of new pennies, citing the need to reduce government spending.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump emphasized the inefficiency of minting pennies. “For far too long, the United States has minted pennies that cost more than two cents each to produce. This is incredibly wasteful!” Trump said, following his return to Washington after attending the Super Bowl.
Trump further explained, “I have directed my Secretary of the Treasury to stop producing new pennies.” The one-cent coin, first introduced by the federal government in 1793, has long been a subject of debate due to its cost of production.
The push to eliminate pennies isn’t new for Trump. During his presidential campaign, he raised concerns about their production. Additionally, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) brought attention to the issue in a recent post on X, highlighting the high cost of producing the coins.
Reports indicate that the U.S. Mint lost $85.3 million in the 2024 fiscal year, which ended in September, due to the nearly 3.2 billion pennies produced.
