It looks like the penny may have finally met its match. President Donald Trump took to Truth Social last month to announce his plan to halt the production of pennies, calling the coin a waste of taxpayer money.
"For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents," Trump wrote. "This is so wasteful! I have instructed my Secretary of the US Treasury to stop producing new pennies. Let's rip the waste out of our great nation's budget, even if it's a penny at a time."
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His move sparked an immediate reaction, with "Shark Tank" investor Kevin O'Leary jumping in to support the decision. O'Leary told Fox Business, "[Trump] is right — it's stupid. Why would you pay two cents for a commodity that's worth one? Who uses a penny anyways? Unless you're putting them in your loafers, and nobody does that anymore, get rid of it. It's useless."
The High Cost of the Penny
The math backs up their argument. According to the U.S. Mint, the agency responsible for producing American coinage, each penny cost 3.69 cents to produce in fiscal 2024—more than three times its face value. The Mint ended up losing $85.3 million just on penny production that year.
But the penny isn't the only coin losing money. The Mint also revealed that it cost 13.78 cents to make a nickel, and quarters cost 14.68 cents each to produce. With numbers like these, O'Leary's take on the situation seems to align with pure business logic.
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Pennies, Loafers, and the Fall of Small Change
O'Leary added some humor to the debate, referencing the once-popular tradition of tucking pennies into penny loafers—a fashion statement that has long since faded. And it's not just style that has moved on; the purchasing power of the penny has drastically declined.
Once upon a time, you could buy gum or a piece of penny candy with a single cent. Today? A penny barely buys anything, and many vending machines, parking meters, and businesses no longer accept them. Even cash transactions have become less frequent as digital payments dominate everyday purchases.
The argument for eliminating the penny has been around for decades, but past efforts have stalled due to public sentiment and pushback from groups like Americans for Common Cents. Critics argue that scrapping the penny could lead to price rounding that hurts consumers or that eliminating the coin wouldn't actually save much money, since the Mint's operational costs would remain.
However, other countries have already ditched their lowest-value coins with minimal issues. Canada eliminated the penny in 2012, and the U.S. military stopped using pennies at overseas bases years ago.
Enter Elon Musk and the "Department of Government Efficiency"
The Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk, posted on X that the penny is a prime example of wasteful spending. The agency suggested that eliminating it could be one of the first steps in cutting unnecessary government costs.
Despite the growing support for killing the penny, not everyone is on board. According to WiseVoter, a 2024 YouGov poll found that 51% of Americans still want to keep it, showing that nostalgia and resistance to change still play a role in the debate.
The Final Cent?
With Trump's directive now in motion and public figures like Kevin O'Leary and Elon Musk backing the idea, it looks like the penny could be on its way out. But whether it actually disappears depends on Congress, the Treasury Department, and how much pushback the decision receives.
For now, the debate rages on. But if Trump and O'Leary have their way, the penny's days are numbered—unless, of course, you're still keeping one in your loafers.
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