How Trump might get rid of the penny — and what could come next for your pocket change

President Donald Trump unveiled plans Sunday to halt accumulation of the penny — but getting that inaugural underway requires a fewer further steps and perchance legislature approval. 

Additionally, portion Trump said helium instructed the Treasury Department to halt minting them owed to their precocious costs, supporters of the penny assertion it’s wiser to measure changes to the nickel instead. 

"For acold excessively long, the United States has minted pennies which virtually outgo america much than 2 cents," Trump wrote connected Truth Social connected Sunday. "This is truthful wasteful! I person instructed my Secretary of the US Treasury to halt producing caller pennies."

MUSK'S NEXT TARGET? TRUMP SAYS DOGE WILL LOOK AT DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, PENTAGON FUNDING 

In fact, producing pennies is adjacent much costly than Trump’s numbers. According to a 2024 U.S. Mint report, it costs astir 3.69 cents to mint a azygous penny. The coins are chiefly made of zinc and past covered successful copper. 

Trump’s connection comes aft Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who is heading up the caller Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), posted connected X successful January however costly minting pennies is. 

DOGE is tasked with identifying ways to destruct waste, and has truthful prompted changes, including gutting the $40 cardinal U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which provides assistance to impoverished countries and improvement assistance.

Still, proponents of the penny exist. Americans for Common Cents, an enactment that provides Congress and the White House with probe connected the worth of the penny, claimed that efforts are amended targeted astatine reducing the outgo of the accumulation for the nickel. 

Nickels, worthy 5 cents, outgo astir 13.8 cents to mint, according to the 2024 U.S. Mint report. 

"The logical and fiscally liable solution is not to destruct the penny but to absorption connected producing a cheaper nickel," Americans for Common Cents Executive Director Mark Weller said successful a Jan. 23 statement. "This attack would code the existent operator of losses portion preserving the functionality of tiny denominations successful mundane transactions." 

While the waters are a small murky connected the adjacent steps, experts accidental Congress apt would request to go progressive and walk authorities to fulfill Trump’s wishes. And, historically, erstwhile attempts successful Congress to destruct the coin person failed. 

USAID STAFFERS STUNNED, ANGERED BY TRUMP ADMIN'S DOGE SHUTDOWN OF $40B AGENCY

"The process of discontinuing the penny successful the U.S. is simply a small unclear. It would apt necessitate an enactment of Congress, but the Secretary of the Treasury mightiness beryllium capable to simply halt the minting of caller pennies," Robert Triest, an economics prof astatine Northeastern University, told the Northeastern Global News.

Even so, determination is bipartisan involvement connected Capitol Hill to modify minting pennies. In 2023, Sens. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, and Maggie Hasson, D-N.H., reintroduced authorities to change the creation of the penny to chopped down connected costs. 

"It’s implicit non-cents that American taxpayers walk 10 cents to marque conscionable 1 nickel. Only Washington could suffer wealth making money," Ernst said successful a connection successful April 2023. "This commonsense, bipartisan effort volition modify the creation of definite coins to trim costs portion allowing for a seamless modulation into circulation. A penny saved is simply a penny not borrowed."

Even so, a creation alteration volition improbable output cheaper results. The 2024 Mint Report said that options for antithetic metallic compositions aren’t disposable to trim accumulation costs down to look value. 

There’s inactive immoderate precedent for alteration though, and Congress has acted antecedently to discontinue minting caller coins. The legislative subdivision authorized discontinuing caller half-cent coins successful 1857. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.