The President of the United States, Donald Trump, has demanded the treasury stop minting the penny, according to AP News.
¨For far too long, the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than two cents. This is so wasteful! I have instructed my Secretary of the US Treasury to stop producing new pennies,¨ Trump said in a post on Sunday night on his Truth Social Site.
There are 114 billion pennies in circulation that cost $192 million a year to produce, which makes each penny worth more than its face value of one cent.
With Donald Trump in office, the penny will be discontinued. However, this doesn’t mean it will disappear immediately; it will phase out over the next few decades.
A sophomore at Stroudsburg High School, Carter Englert, states, ¨The penny does what it needs to but I don’t think it’ll affect me that drastically when it’s gone.¨
Elon Musk and DOGE made the penny a focus. They argue that pennies are more often lost than used, ending up in your couch cushions, purses, on the sidewalks, etc.
Businesses will need to decide whether to round up or down with the absence of the penny, they would most likely choose to round up.
A teacher at Stroudsburg High School, Melissa Haubrich, states, ¨I do think that the penny is an iconic currency that does not deserve to be taken away. With its stop of production, it will cause the rise of consumer products because there will be a need to round up without the penny as an option for a form of payment.¨
Other countries have already eliminated their smallest coins. For example, Canada got rid of the penny in 2013.
Pennies may become valuable in the near future as collectibles, with people seeking hidden or rare pennies.
One benefit of the penny’s end is that it could save the environment. Pennies are made of copper and zinc, which are important minerals.
With the penny discontinued, the nickel could be next, as it currently costs 11 cents to produce.
