The federal government is set to phase out the penny following a bipartisan push to eliminate the lowest-value U.S. coin due to rising production costs, according to a plan announced by the Treasury Department on Thursday.
The Treasury placed its final order for penny blanks in May and expects to stop issuing new pennies by early 2026.
President Donald Trump directed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in February to halt penny production, calling the expense “wasteful.”
Recently, both Republican and Democratic lawmakers introduced bills in Congress aiming to end penny minting. As pennies gradually disappear, businesses will need to round cash transactions to the nearest five-cent nickel.
The Treasury said the cost to produce a penny has increased from 1.3 cents to 3.69 cents over the past decade, and stopping production will save about $56 million annually.
The penny, first minted in 1793 and featuring President Abraham Lincoln since 1909, has long been debated in the U.S., with supporters citing its role in keeping prices low and supporting charities, while critics see it as inconvenient and often discarded.
Currently, approximately 114 billion pennies remain in circulation nationwide.
