It costs 3.69 cents to make a single penny. The US government has been losing money on money itself, and the Trump administration finally decided to stop the bleeding.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the cessation of penny production effective November 12, 2025, after legal analysis confirmed that existing federal statutes give the Treasury Secretary authority to set penny production to zero if deemed unnecessary. The last circulating penny was struck by US Treasurer Brandon Beach at the Philadelphia Mint, closing a chapter in American coinage history that dates back to 1793.
The economics of a coin that costs more than it’s worth
Here’s the thing about the penny: its production costs have nearly tripled over the last decade. What once cost 1.3 cents per coin ballooned to 3.69 cents, meaning the government was spending roughly 2.7 cents more than face value on every single penny it produced.
The US Mint estimates the halt will save approximately $56 million annually.
