MILWAUKEE – As President Donald Trump continues to unveil new executive actions within his first month in office, the commander in chief is now targeting the penny.
President Trump said Sunday he would instruct the US Treasury to stop minting the one cent piece, which has long been a target for elimination among those aiming to lessen the amount of money spent on the circulation and development of currency.
“For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents. This is so wasteful!” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social site. “I have instructed my Secretary of the US Treasury to stop producing new pennies.”
The U.S. Mint reported losing $85.3 million in the 2024 fiscal year that ended in September on the nearly 3.2 billion pennies it produced. Every penny cost nearly $0.037 — up from $0.031 the year before.
“Even when they strike the coins, we are decidedly behind the eight ball because we’re already losing money thanks to the production costs,” says President and CEO of Paragon Numismatics Andrew Kimmel. Numismatics is the study or collection of coins, paper currency, and medals; Kimmel began collecting coins left by his granfather in his piggy bank in the 1970s, and he’s maintained the same location inside Harris Bank in Mequon since 2001.
Kimmel notes that for those hoping their thousands of pennies stored in a glass jar or hiding between couch cushions would gain value on the trading market should the penny be discontinued, they might not find the high bidders they’re looking for.
“Not many people are willing to pay more than one cent for them because there are [billions] of them, they’re not rare” says Kimmel.
Kimmel notes the future of physical coins seems particularly unclear, given the continued growth of cryptocurrency towards the expected long-term preferred method for many consumers.
As for Kimmel’s favorite coin? That would be the Flying Eagle one cent piece, developed between 1856 and 1858. While it’s been sold at auction for as much as $172,500 in 2004, you can find an uncirculated one on Etsy today for about 14 dollars.
TOP STORIES FROM THE WTMJ NEWSROOM:
- Cuts to federal funding impacts University of Wisconsin-Madison
- West Allis woman outraged after racial slur included on Oak Creek dealership service sticker
- New scam warning involving Amazon packages and QR codes
- Brewers jersey patch honors Bob Uecker
- Giannis Antetokounmpo out of All-Star Game with injury
