The United States government has announced it is winding down production of the penny over what it described as cost concerns.
The US Treasury estimates that the cost of producing the penny has risen from 1.3 cents per coin to 3.69 cents over the past 10 years. It said stopping production will lead to immediate annual savings of $56 million.
Penny is the US lowest denomination.
According to a plan outlined by the Treasury Department in a statement on Thursday, the final order was placed in May, adding that It expects to stop putting new pennies into circulation by early 2026.
The penny was first issued by the government in 1793. Since 1909, the profile of President Abraham Lincoln has adorned the obverse side of the coin that is made of zinc and copper.
There are around 114 billion pennies currently in circulation in the U.S., according to the Treasury.
President Donald Trump in February directed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to cease production of the coin. Trump has described spending on penny minting as “wasteful.”
In recent weeks, Republican and Democratic lawmakers introduced separate bills in the House of Representatives and the Senate calling for an end to penny production.
The change means that businesses will have to start rounding the prices of cash transactions up or down to the nearest five-cent nickel as the number of pennies in circulation dwindles.
Americans have debated for years whether the penny should be dropped from the line-up of American currency.
Supporters of the penny argue it helps keep consumer prices down and is a source of income to charities. For its critics, the coin is a nuisance that ends up being discarded in drawers, ash trays and piggy banks.
