President Trump is about to finally abolish America’s most useless coin, proving fiscal conservatism can start with the smallest denominations while the left continues to burn through trillions.
At a Glance
- The U.S. Treasury will cease penny production by early 2026, with each penny currently costing 3.7 cents to produce
- The U.S. Mint projects annual savings of $56 million by eliminating this wasteful government spending
- Americans lost $85.3 million in 2024 minting 3.2 billion pennies that mostly sit idle
- President Trump called the penny production “so wasteful” as part of his effort to “rip the waste out of our great nation’s budget”
- Critics fear businesses will round up prices, while supporters point to successful penny elimination in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand
A Conservative Victory Against Government Waste
For decades, fiscal conservatives have pointed to the penny as the perfect symbol of government inefficiency. While Democrats focus on trillion-dollar spending packages that burden future generations with debt, the Treasury Department has been quietly hemorrhaging money by producing coins that cost more to make than they’re worth. It’s taken President Trump to finally acknowledge this absurdity and take action. The U.S. Mint lost a staggering $85.3 million manufacturing 3.2 billion pennies in fiscal year 2024 alone, with each penny costing 3.7 cents to produce – the very definition of government waste that would bankrupt any private business attempting such economic insanity.
“For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents,” said President Trump, demonstrating the common-sense approach to government that made him popular with fiscal conservatives. “This is so wasteful!”
The Penny’s Pointless Existence
What makes this situation even more ridiculous is that most Americans don’t even use the pennies being minted. There are an estimated 240 billion pennies theoretically in circulation across America – that’s $7.24 worth per person – yet most sit idle in jars, couch cushions, or lost in the abyss of our cars’ center consoles. This creates an endless cycle where the government keeps producing new pennies to replace ones that are minted but never spent. The U.S. Mint produced 3.2 billion pennies last year alone, more than half of all new coins made. It’s a perfect example of how our bloated federal government perpetuates wasteful systems long after they’ve stopped serving any practical purpose.
“Let’s rip the waste out of our great nations budget, even if it’s a penny at a time,” said Trump, highlighting his commitment to fiscal responsibility at every level of government.
The penny has been in circulation for over two centuries, first introduced in 1793. But unlike the Founding Fathers who created sound monetary policy, today’s government has allowed the penny to become a worthless token that costs more to produce than its face value. This isn’t just fiscal insanity – it’s a metaphor for how government programs outlive their usefulness but continue draining taxpayer resources indefinitely. Only in Washington could a money-losing operation like this continue for decades without anyone pulling the plug.
The Left’s Predictable Opposition
Of course, whenever common sense tries to prevail in Washington, special interests emerge to protect their slice of the government pie. The zinc industry and pro-penny lobbyists are fighting to keep this wasteful spending going, claiming that eliminating pennies would somehow increase costs elsewhere. It’s the same tired argument used to defend every obsolete government program – “But what about the jobs?” Meanwhile, countries like Canada, Australia, and New Zealand have already eliminated their low-denomination coins without economic collapse. The free market has already rendered its verdict on the penny – most Americans don’t use them, businesses find them inefficient, and the cost-benefit analysis is crystal clear.
“There has been an evolution over the past six months that inevitably the production of the penny will be halted,” said Mark Weller, who represents Americans for Common Cents, a pro-penny organization. “It’s incumbent on Treasury to come up with a cheaper way to make the nickel. Let’s make sure we’re making our coins as least expensively as possible and maintaining the option to use cash in transactions.”
A Path Forward
The Treasury Department’s decision to stop minting pennies by early 2026 represents a rare victory for fiscal sanity in Washington. When the change takes effect, businesses will round prices to the nearest 5 cents, and existing pennies will gradually disappear from circulation. The legality of Trump’s unilateral decision may face challenges, likely requiring Congressional approval for permanent implementation. Two bipartisan bills – the Make Sense Not Cents Act and the Common Cents Act – have already been introduced to codify the penny’s elimination, showing that even in today’s divided Congress, some issues of basic economic logic can still find common ground.
Americans should celebrate this small victory against government waste while recognizing it’s just a tiny step toward fiscal responsibility. If Washington can’t even manage to stop losing money on literal money production, how can we trust them with trillion-dollar spending packages? Perhaps this penny-wise decision will be the start of a larger movement to scrutinize and eliminate other wasteful government expenditures that have long outlived their usefulness. After all, sound money and fiscal responsibility used to be conservative principles that defined our nation – maybe it’s time to return to those roots, one cent at a time.
