US Treasury confirms the end of the penny

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Link: US Treasury confirms the end of the penny - BBC News

 

Quote

One cent coins will stop being produced in the US next year, the Treasury Department has confirmed.

 

It marks the phasing out of the coins, commonly known as pennies, which have been in circulation for more than two centuries.

 

President Donald Trump told Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in February to stop minting the coins, calling them "wasteful".

 

There has been a long debate over the cost and usefulness of pennies in the US.

 

In January, Elon Musk's unofficial Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) drew attention to the cost of minting pennies in a post on X, external.

 

Final order

 

The penny was one of the first coins made by the US Mint, external, entering circulation in 1793.

 

But over the past 10 years, the cost of producing it has risen from 1.3 cents to 3.69 cents per coin, according to the Treasury.

 

The Mint estimates that stopping production will result in an immediate annual saving of $56m (£42m) in reduced material costs.

 

Critics of the zinc and copper coin say producing it is a waste of money and resources, while those who want to keep it argue it keeps prices lower and boosts fund-raising for charities.

 

The phasing out of the coins will mean businesses will need to round prices up or down, according to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), external, who first reported the story.

 

"Confirming the WSJ story, the Treasury has made its final order of penny blanks this month and the United States Mint will continue to manufacture pennies while an inventory of penny blanks exists," a Treasury spokesperson said.

 

Other countries have discontinued similar coins. Canada ditched its one cent coin in 2012, citing the cost of minting it and its falling purchasing power due to higher prices.

 

The declining use of cash meant the UK did not mint any new coins in 2024, after officials decided there were already enough coins in circulation.

 

The UK Treasury has said that 1p or 2p coins are not being scrapped, but with more people living cashless lives, there have been several years when no 2p coins were produced.

 

[mikes]

Still need 2P coins for the arcades, if they all get scrapped and only the 10p ones are left, that just shows devastating inflation to me 🙂

[akidosaint]

Unsure if it's still the case but didn't the u k penny used to have 2p worth of materials in them 

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Link: US retailers are running out of pennies - BBC News

 

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US businesses are literally going penniless.

 

Since the Trump administration ended minting the one-cent coins earlier this year, those still in circulation are becoming harder to find. Many stores are now rounding their cash sales down to the nearest five cents, saying there are no federal guidelines on how to proceed.

 

"That adds up really quickly," said Dylan Jeon, senior director of government relations with the National Retail Federation

 

In February, President Donald Trump said producing the coin was wasteful and too expensive and called on social media to "rip the waste out of our great nation's budget, even if it's a penny at a time".

 

The US Mint officially stopped making pennies in May. The Treasury Department estimated shortages would start in early 2026, but they actually came much sooner. Banks can't get pennies from the federal government, so businesses can't get them from the banks.

 

"We first heard about the issue in late August, early September," Mr Jeon said. "It's really impacting any business that deals with cash payments."

 

Now store clerks don't know what to do when their tills are bare and someone needs change in pennies from a cash purchase.

 

The temporary solution for many, Mr Jeon said, is rounding the price of the sale up or down to the nearest five cents so the customer can use a nickel, the next lowest tender in the US...

 

[Bromcom_John]

Won't that cause an issue with the sales tax that US retailers don't list?
Like a 7% sales tax is nigh on guaranteed to get a sales value that is going to need a penny?

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[Andrew_C]

On 03/11/2025 at 11:42, Bromcom_John said:

Won't that cause an issue with the sales tax that US retailers don't list?
Like a 7% sales tax is nigh on guaranteed to get a sales value that is going to need a penny?

Everything will get rounded -  UP. Just like decimalization here.

[Bromcom_John]

Yep, it is always "up"