{'byline': 'by Joe Hiti', 'hosts': '', 'byline_sources': 'Audacy', 'hide_author': True, 'audience_id': '', 'original_station': [{'station': 'krld', 'path': 'krld/news/national/trump-sends-orders-treasury-to-halt-production-of-the-penny'}], 'syndicated_items': '', 'original_item': {'_index': 'published-content_v44', '_type': '_doc', '_score': None, '_source': {'date': '2025-02-10T13:57:22.770Z', 'lead': [{'data': {'title': 'Trump begins crackdown on immigration with executive order, AP explains', 'thumbnail_url': 'https://s1.dmcdn.net/v/XjknO1dZ-1aVfxM88', 'id': 'x9crjo8', 'created_time': 1737473085, 'mode': 'vod', 'private_id': 'kRHCMJDKvmuYjdChlOg', 'owner': 'x2yit84', 'description': 'Trump begins crackdown on immigration with executive order, AP explains', 'channel': 'news', 'tags': ['KRLDAM', 'News', 'AP News', 'Donald Trump'], 'private': True, 'addPublic': False}, 'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/dailymotion/instances/cm6z46t7h00113d6woqx9aroh@published'}], 'slug': 'trump-sends-orders-treasury-to-halt-production-of-the-penny', 'tags': ['President Donald Trump', 'Audacy News', 'National News', 'KRLD-AM', 'U.S. Treasury Department'], 'feeds': {'msn': True, 'rss': True, 'postup': True, 'facebook': True, 'newsfeed': True, 'sitemaps': True, 'frequency': True, 'smartNews': True, 'apple-news': False, 'smart-news': True, 'most-popular': True, 'reversechron': True, 'google-news-feed': True}, 'hosts': [], 'adTags': {'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/ad-tags/instances/cm6z46krz000a01uoc7lnfjnc@published'}, 'byline': [{'names': [{'name': 'Joe Hiti', 'text': 'Joe Hiti', 'slug': 'joe-hiti'}], 'sources': [{'text': 'Audacy'}], 'hosts': [], 'prefix': 'by'}], 'teaser': 'Trump sends orders to Treasury to halt production of the penny', 'authors': ['Joe Hiti'], 'content': [{'data': {'text': 'Penny for your thoughts? You may have to up the ante to a nickel as the days of the penny, the smallest measurement of U.S. currency, may soon be behind us. President Donald Trump announced Sunday he instructed the Treasury to halt production of the copper coin.', '_version': 2, 'componentVariation': 'paragraph'}, 'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/paragraph/instances/cm6z46krz000e01uoggiql79w@published'}, {'data': {'text': '<iframe width="100%" height="165px" frameborder="0" src="https://player.amperwavepodcasting.com?&feed-link=https%3A%2F%2Frss.amperwave.net%2Fv2%2Fepisode%2F7231529_2025-01-31-024029&withPlaylist=false&theme=dark&playerDisplay-logoType=Audacy"></iframe>', 'isIframe': True, 'componentVariation': 'html-embed', 'fbInstantArticleHtml': '<iframe width="100%" height="165px" frameborder="0" src="https://player.amperwavepodcasting.com?&feed-link=https%3A%2F%2Frss.amperwave.net%2Fv2%2Fepisode%2F7231529_2025-01-31-024029&withPlaylist=false&theme=dark&playerDisplay-logoType=Audacy"></iframe>'}, 'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/html-embed/instances/cm6z48jao002p3d6wqqq44k8h@published'}, {'data': {'text': 'Trump shared that he had instructed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to make the move in a post to social media after returning to Washington on Sunday following his appearance at the Super Bowl in Louisiana.', '_version': 2, 'componentVariation': 'paragraph'}, 'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/paragraph/instances/cm6z482fk00273d6w3zm2b7o8@published'}, {'data': {'text': '“For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents. This is so wasteful! I have instructed my Secretary of the U.S. Treasury to stop producing new pennies. Let’s rip the waste out of our great nations budget, even if it’s a penny at a time,” Trump said <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/113977224933701762">on Truth Social.\xa0</a>', '_version': 2, 'componentVariation': 'paragraph'}, 'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/paragraph/instances/cm6z482co001u3d6wfxrvygfp@published'}, {'data': {'text': 'While the Department of Government Efficiency has recently discussed cutting the penny, citing its high production costs, the coin has been under scrutiny for years.', '_version': 2, 'componentVariation': 'paragraph'}, 'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/paragraph/instances/cm6z482fr00283d6wjbqpmckp@published'}, {'data': {'text': '<a href="https://www.usmint.gov/content/dam/usmint/reports/2023-Annual-Report.pdf?srsltid=AfmBOopnedmXimb9F8HpGq8jN9PrwZNpONecP-F9k7R9NRUdaudoQ6mO">The U.S. Mint shared in 2023</a> that it circulated around 4.1 billion pennies and in its <a href="https://www.usmint.gov/content/dam/usmint/reports/2024-annual-report.pdf">annual report for fiscal year 2024</a>, the Mint shared that the U.S. penny costs about 3.7 centers to produce and distribute. Those costs are up 20% from the previous year due to the rising cost of metals.', '_version': 2, 'componentVariation': 'paragraph'}, 'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/paragraph/instances/cm6z482f200253d6wgpau4n2z@published'}, {'data': {'text': '<a href="https://www.audacy.com/wbbm780/news/national/could-doge-eliminate-the-penny-from-us-currency">Audacy previously reported</a> on Elon Musk and DOGE’s talks about cutting the penny, noting that the U.S. wouldn’t be the first country to do so if the decision was made.', '_version': 2, 'componentVariation': 'paragraph'}, 'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/paragraph/instances/cm6z482dl001y3d6wittzo7gq@published'}, {'data': {'text': 'Canada stopped creating its pennies in the early 2010s for the same reasons why the U.S. could now part ways with it.', '_version': 2, 'componentVariation': 'paragraph'}, 'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/paragraph/instances/cm6z482dc001x3d6wcpd6vxjl@published'}, {'data': {'text': 'As a result of no longer having pennies, purchases in Canada are rounded to the nearest nickel. For example, if something was $20.02, it would cost $20. Similarly, if something costs $20.03, it would cost $20.05.', '_version': 2, 'componentVariation': 'paragraph'}, 'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/paragraph/instances/cm6z482dz00203d6wzvny6z7d@published'}, {'data': {'text': 'The Federal Reserve has also touched on this in recent years, <a href="https://www.frbservices.org/binaries/content/assets/crsocms/financial-services/cash/101322-us-coin-supply-chain-final-report.pdf">sharing in a 2022 report</a> that “drastically reducing or ending the production of the penny” could result in a “significant flow back of coin from consumers and businesses seeking to turn in their pennies.”', '_version': 2, 'componentVariation': 'paragraph'}, 'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/paragraph/instances/cm6z482e700213d6w9rwux9qz@published'}, {'data': {'text': 'The same report also suggested that reducing the production of the penny could result in $100 million worth of savings for the Mint every year.', '_version': 2, 'componentVariation': 'paragraph'}, 'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/paragraph/instances/cm6z482eo00233d6whmu20lig@published'}, {'data': {'text': '<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/01/magazine/worthless-pennies-united-states-economy.html">The New York Times Magazine</a> published an article about getting rid of the penny last year, noting, “The necessity of abolishing the penny has been obvious to those in power for so long that the inability to accomplish it has transformed the coin into a symbol of deeper rot.”', '_version': 2, 'componentVariation': 'paragraph'}, 'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/paragraph/instances/cm6z482ds001z3d6wqxotv5oo@published'}, {'data': {'text': 'Talks of abolishing the penny go back to at least the Obama administration, as it was around the time Canada made the move.', '_version': 2, 'componentVariation': 'paragraph'}, 'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/paragraph/instances/cm6z482ev00243d6wcszx9ui8@published'}, {'data': {'text': '<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/lets-drop-pennies-and-nickels-too-while-were-at-it/">In 2013, an opinion piece on the Brooking Institution’s website argued</a> that the U.S. should not only remove the penny from circulation but also the nickel.', '_version': 2, 'componentVariation': 'paragraph'}, 'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/paragraph/instances/cm6z482d5001w3d6wcantx4ey@published'}, {'data': {'text': '“Perhaps, the problem is not that advocates have been too bold, but rather that they have been too timid — let’s drop not just pennies, but nickels too and stop using the rightmost decimal place at all,” the piece argued.', '_version': 2, 'componentVariation': 'paragraph'}, 'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/paragraph/instances/cm6z482cx001v3d6wqyw7kiry@published'}, {'data': {'text': 'Still, getting rid of both coins doesn’t seem to be on the table.', '_version': 2, 'componentVariation': 'paragraph'}, 'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/paragraph/instances/cm6z482eg00223d6w8etfcc45@published'}, {'data': {'text': '<iframe width="100%" height="165px" frameborder="0" src="https://player.amperwavepodcasting.com?&feed-link=https%3A%2F%2Frss.amperwave.net%2Fv2%2Fepisode%2F7265643_2025-02-07-025343&withPlaylist=false&theme=dark&playerDisplay-logoType=Audacy"></iframe>', 'isIframe': True, 'componentVariation': 'html-embed', 'fbInstantArticleHtml': '<iframe width="100%" height="165px" frameborder="0" src="https://player.amperwavepodcasting.com?&feed-link=https%3A%2F%2Frss.amperwave.net%2Fv2%2Fepisode%2F7265643_2025-02-07-025343&withPlaylist=false&theme=dark&playerDisplay-logoType=Audacy"></iframe>'}, 'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/html-embed/instances/cm6z487qw002g3d6wuedtehc4@published'}, {'data': {'text': 'However, even though many may agree, Trump may not be able to eliminate the penny on his own, as the <a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/supervisionreg/regabout.htm#:~:text=Congress%20has%20assigned%20to%20the,make%20them%20easier%20to%20research.">Constitution gives powers to regulate the Federal Reserve to Congress</a>.', '_version': 2, 'componentVariation': 'paragraph'}, 'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/paragraph/instances/cm6z482fa00263d6wws56xir4@published'}], 'feedImg': {'data': {'alt': 'US pennies. 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Trump sends orders to Treasury to halt production of the penny

By Joe HitiFeb 10, 2025

Penny for your thoughts? You may have to up the ante to a nickel as the days of the penny, the smallest measurement of U.S. currency, may soon be behind us. President Donald Trump announced Sunday he instructed the Treasury to halt production of the copper coin.

Trump shared that he had instructed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to make the move in a post to social media after returning to Washington on Sunday following his appearance at the Super Bowl in Louisiana.

"For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents. This is so wasteful! I have instructed my Secretary of the U.S. Treasury to stop producing new pennies. Let's rip the waste out of our great nations budget, even if it's a penny at a time," Trump said on Truth Social.

While the Department of Government Efficiency has recently discussed cutting the penny, citing its high production costs, the coin has been under scrutiny for years.

The U.S. Mint shared in 2023 that it circulated around 4.1 billion pennies and in its annual report for fiscal year 2024, the Mint shared that the U.S. penny costs about 3.7 centers to produce and distribute. Those costs are up 20% from the previous year due to the rising cost of metals.

Audacy previously reported on Elon Musk and DOGE's talks about cutting the penny, noting that the U.S. wouldn't be the first country to do so if the decision was made.

Canada stopped creating its pennies in the early 2010s for the same reasons why the U.S. could now part ways with it.

As a result of no longer having pennies, purchases in Canada are rounded to the nearest nickel. For example, if something was $20.02, it would cost $20. Similarly, if something costs $20.03, it would cost $20.05.

The Federal Reserve has also touched on this in recent years, sharing in a 2022 report that "drastically reducing or ending the production of the penny" could result in a "significant flow back of coin from consumers and businesses seeking to turn in their pennies."

The same report also suggested that reducing the production of the penny could result in $100 million worth of savings for the Mint every year.

The New York Times Magazine published an article about getting rid of the penny last year, noting, "The necessity of abolishing the penny has been obvious to those in power for so long that the inability to accomplish it has transformed the coin into a symbol of deeper rot."

Talks of abolishing the penny go back to at least the Obama administration, as it was around the time Canada made the move.

In 2013, an opinion piece on the Brooking Institution's website argued that the U.S. should not only remove the penny from circulation but also the nickel.

"Perhaps, the problem is not that advocates have been too bold, but rather that they have been too timid — let's drop not just pennies, but nickels too and stop using the rightmost decimal place at all," the piece argued.

Still, getting rid of both coins doesn't seem to be on the table.

However, even though many may agree, Trump may not be able to eliminate the penny on his own, as the Constitution gives powers to regulate the Federal Reserve to Congress.

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