Penny debate in the United States

A debate has existed within the United States government and American society at large over whether the one-cent coin, the penny, should be eliminated as a unit of currency in the United States. The penny costs more to produce than the one cent it is worth, meaning the seigniorage is negative — the government loses money on every penny that is created. Several bills introduced in the U.S. Congress would have withdrawn the penny from circulation, but none have been approved. Such bills would leave the five-cent coin, or nickel, as the lowest-value circulating coin in the United States.

Other countries have also withdrawn coins no longer worth producing, such as Canada withdrawing its penny from circulation in 2013. The most recent time that the United States withdrew its lowest-value coin from circulation was with the half-cent coin (hay-penny) in 1857, at which time the coin was worth approximately 17 cents in 2025 dollars.

In 2025, during the second presidency of Donald Trump, the U.S. Treasury halted the production of pennies for general circulation, while continuing to mint pennies for collectors and commemorative purposes. However, the coin remains legal tender and in circulation, as only an act of Congress can eliminate forms of currency.


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