President Trump, in an attempt to reduce unnecessary spending, ordered Scott Bessent, the Treasury Secretary, to stop producing pennies. This was announced on Sunday, February 9. Last year, it cost 3.69 cents to produce a penny, losing 85.3 million dollars to produce 3 billion pennies.

Trump is now ordering the Treasury Secretary to stop minting pennies. In 2024, the cost to make them went up 20% from 2023. There were 4.1 billion pennies circulating the US in 2023. CNN article by Betsy Klein states, “CNN has reported the US Mint in 2023 reported it circulated around 4.1 billion pennies” (Klein, February 10, 2025).

The US is not the only country to get rid of its lowest currency coin. Matter of fact, many countries have already done it. In 2012, Canada quit producing them, Australia stopped in 1992, and other countries have made the move even earlier. A New York Times article by Yan Zhuang and Erica L. Green says, “Australia withdrew its one- and two-cent coins from circulation in 1992, citing inflation and production costs. Even earlier, countries like Sweden and New Zealand stopped minting their one-cent coins” (Zhuang-Green, February 9, 2025).

There has been some opposition to Trump’s idea, and some people are saying that it will increase the demand for nickels. This can be a problem because nickels are even more expensive to produce than pennies. The New York Times states, “In addition, the elimination of the penny will increase the demand for nickels, which are even more expensive to produce and distribute at 13.78 cents per coin, the organization said” (Zhuang-Green, February 9, 2025).

As of right now, there are about 700 pennies per person in the United States. Will Trump’s statement take effect normally or lead to further conflict?