Directive to Abolish the 'Penny'

It looks like the Lincoln head cent, commonly known by Americans as the "penny," really is doomed.

- BY JOSHUA McMORROW-HERNANDEZ

On February 9, 2025, U.S. President Donald J. Trump said he is directing the United States Treasury to stop ordering new one-cent coins from the United States Mint due to the high and rising cost of making the copperplated zinc coin. "For far too long the United States has minted pennies, which literally cost us more than 2 cents. This is so wasteful," he posted on Truth Social, his social media platform. He added, "I have instructed my Secretary of the US Treasury to stop producing new pennies." President Trump's post correctly states that it costs more than double the cent's face value to strike and distribute the coin. The rising cost for producing one-cent coins triggered the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to target the Lincoln cent for budget cuts.

Universal Coin & Bullion President Michael Fuljenz called for the end of the Lincoln cent in his February/March 2025 COINage column and cover feature, "Do Pennies Make Sense?" The COINage issue was in print before the presidential announcement. In the "Market Report" column, Fuljenz cited the rapidly increasing cost of the Lincoln cent and the zinc lobbyists who have long pressured lawmakers into keeping the coin around. Fuljenz wrote, "I hope that the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under President Donald Trump will be able to ignore the lobbyists and work directly with Congress to win the fight to abolish the penny."