U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach loads a penny into machinery to stamp the coin at the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia in 2025.

For more than two centuries, the American people have trusted the penny as a part of their everyday currency. But when President Donald Trump came into office, he noticed a problem: Demand for the penny was falling while production costs were rising. That imposed an increasingly needless financial cost on American families.

To save American taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, President Trump, along with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, made the decision to end penny production.

A historic decision for American consumers

Now the historic American penny will no longer be produced.

Let me be clear: The penny remains legal tender. If you have pennies in your pocket, I encourage you to use them.

So why make this decision now?

Over the past decade, the production cost of a single penny has risen from 1.3 cents to 3.69 cents. That rising cost, coupled with a modernizing market and decreasing demand for that unit of currency, made the problem clear.

The American people simply weren't getting their money’s worth.

By halting production of the American penny, we are going to save taxpayers approximately $56 million a year in material costs alone, not to mention the savings in facility usage and energy consumption.

As stewards of the American people’s money, the federal government has a duty to manage resources responsibly. Here at the Treasury Department, we are taking that responsibility seriously.

Continuing to mint the penny no longer made economic sense, and ending its production reflects the sound, commonsense, fiscal management that remains a hallmark of President Trump’s administration.

Ending penny production puts taxpayers first

As a public servant, it’s my responsibility to steward public resources with prudence and transparency. Every dollar we save on production means fewer dollars drawn from the budget – ultimately benefiting the taxpayer.

Ending penny production comes down to making the tough decisions to avoid increasingly needless expenses and modernizing our currency system to reflect current economic realities.

At the Treasury Department, we respect tradition. However, tradition in and of itself is not sufficient to justify ongoing losses.

Government must evolve when cost and technology demand it. President Trump and his administration are working day and night to put American taxpayers first and ensure America remains the world’s reigning superpower.

This requires putting our fiscal house in order, including with currency production.

How will everyday financial transactions be affected?

Some business owners have noted emerging issues with fewer circulating pennies. For example, several fast-food chains have already begun rounding cash payments to the nearest five-cent increments. These developments reflect healthy market adaptation and evolving payment habits.

Our approach anticipates that as fewer pennies are minted, the coin will gradually recede from circulation. Meanwhile, we remain in close contact with the Federal Reserve, commercial banks, retailers and the public to ease the transition.

We expect businesses to apply rounding practices in a fair, consistent and transparent manner. To support the transition, Treasury is working closely with point-of-sale system providers to ensure their systems are equipped to handle rounding accurately and to compute sales taxes correctly.

In the meantime, consult your individual state’s tax authority for specific guidelines and updates, and contact your state and local representatives for further action.

Canada, Australia and New Zealand have already phased out one-cent coins successfully, demonstrating that businesses and consumers will respect fair and transparent rounding practices.

These international examples provide confidence that our country will also succeed.

A final two-cents' worth

To the American public: Your pennies remain valid, your change remains secure and your Treasury is acting in the country’s best interest. The penny, once indispensable, has become a cost liability rather than a cost-effective tool.

By taking this step, we protect taxpayer dollars, streamline operations and align our currency with the ways Americans use currency today. The Treasury remains committed to preserving trust in our currency and building a financial system that puts the American public first.

Brandon Beach is the treasurer of the United States.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: US Treasurer: My two cents? By getting rid of pennies, America is putting taxpayers first.

Reporting by Brandon Beach / USA TODAY

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