The United States officially minted its final circulating penny on March 12, ending its 232-year production history. This move aims to save government spending, as the cost of manufacturing the penny has far exceeded its face value.
The final circulating penny was hand-pressed at the Philadelphia Mint by Treasury Secretary Brandon Beach. Acting Master of the Mint, Kristie McNally, stated in a press release, "While mass production of the penny ends today, the penny's legend lives on."
The main driving force behind this production halt was current President Trump. He publicly called for the Treasury to stop production in February, criticizing the move on his "Real Social Media" platform: "For too long, the cost of minting a penny in the United States has actually exceeded 2 cents. This is incredibly wasteful!" According to the latest data from the Mint, the production cost of each penny has soared to 3.69 cents.
The U.S. cent coin originated from the Coinage Act of 1792. Early versions were made of pure copper, but now they are made of smaller copper-zinc plated coins, giving them the nickname and color of "red cent." The Mint emphasizes that the approximately 300 billion coins currently in circulation will remain legal tender and can continue to be used.
The report points out that the cost-effectiveness debate regarding discontinuing cent coin production in the United States has a long history. Previous attempts by Congress to legislate on this matter have all failed, making this executive-led decision to discontinue production all the more historically significant.
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