Treasury Division Locations Last Order for New Pennies

After faithfully serving Individuals since 1787, the penny is on its approach to retirement. The US Treasury introduced it received’t place any extra orders for penny blanks. Meaning as soon as present provides run out, new pennies is not going to be launched into circulation.

The Washington Put up reported that the Treasury positioned its last order for blanks this month with expectations that it’s going to run out by early 2026. You may preserve spending pennies as regular after that. However in some unspecified time in the future, companies must begin rounding up or right down to the closest 5 cents for money transactions.

Why is the penny getting the axe? Properly, in line with the U.S. Mint’s 2024 annual report, pennies price practically 4 cents to supply and distribute. A part of this is because of rising materials prices. Pennies are primarily fabricated from zinc, and its value per metric ton has greater than doubled since 2000.

Over time, penny manufacturing has decreased anyway. In 2024, the Mint solely made 3.2 billion pennies, in comparison with about 11 billion each year within the Nineties. However final fiscal yr, the Mint nonetheless misplaced $85.3 million on the pennies it produced. Per the Put up, the company estimated that it’s going to save $56 million a yr from diminished materials prices.

“Given the price financial savings to the taxpayer, that is simply one other instance of our administration reducing waste for the American taxpayer and making the federal government extra environment friendly for the American folks,” a Treasury spokesperson told Axios in an announcement.

Talks about ditching the penny have been round for awhile. For instance, former Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew recommended suspending its manufacturing in 2016. Individuals have additionally grown more favorable to the idea, doubtlessly as a result of the penny’s use in our each day lives has decreased. Per YouGov, a couple of third of Individuals by no means spend pennies, with adults beneath 30 utilizing them the least.

Again in January, DOGE took aim at the penny, and, a month later, Trump followed up with a Truth Social rant about “wasteful” pennies, writing, “I’ve instructed my Secretary of the US Treasury to cease producing new pennies. Let’s rip the waste out of our nice nations funds, even when it’s a penny at a time.”

To be honest to the penny, rising manufacturing prices have hit all cash. For instance, 1 / 4 cost 25% more to make in 2024 than the yr earlier than (in comparison with the penny’s 17% enhance). And, just like the penny, nickels are additionally dearer to supply and distribute than they’re truly price.

Ditching one-cent items isn’t extraordinary. New Zealand and Australia discontinued theirs in 1989 and 1992, respectively, and Canada stopped producing pennies in 2012. The U.S. has discontinued different cash earlier than, with the newest being the $20 golden Double Eagle coin.