President Donald Trump says he has directed the Treasury Department to stop minting new pennies, citing the rising cost of producing the one-cent coin. He is right, it’s been known for quite some time that it costs almost 4 cents to print one penny. That difference was one reason the U. S. mint reported losing $85.5 million last year, producing 3.22 billion pennies. That’s not the only coin the mint loses money on. Did you know a nickel costs 14 cents to make. Last year, they made 70 million of them, costing $9.8 million for coins that were worth $3.5 million. Hmm…seems a little wasteful.
Now, it’s not clear if President Trump has the power to just eliminate the penny. Congress dictates the coins produced by the mint. It would take an Act of Congress to stop the production entirely. It wouldn’t be the first time the U. S. eliminated its least valuable coin, but it has been a long time. The half-cent coin was discontinued by Congress in 1857.
