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While Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent holds the ultimate authority on U.S. currency decisions, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has highlighted concerns about the financial burden of penny production.
When questioned about potential penny elimination, DOGE representatives redirected inquiries to the Treasury Department, though they emphasized the significant cost inefficiencies of penny production.
DOGE recently highlighted these costs on social media, stating, “The penny costs over 3 cents to make and cost US taxpayers over $179 million in FY2023. The Mint produced over 4.5 billion pennies in FY2023, around 40% of the 11.4 billion coins for circulation produced. Penny (or 3 cents!) for your thoughts.”
DOGE said it costs 3 pennies to make 1 penny. Can’t remember the last time I used a penny. In Biden’s American you couldn’t even buy anything with a dollar. pic.twitter.com/2ufZqi71qS
— Cielo 🇺🇸🇵🇷 (@CieloBonit) January 24, 2025
Historical precedent exists for discontinuing coins, with the half-cent’s elimination in 1857 being the most recent example. Today, that half-cent would be valued at approximately 25 cents. More recently, Canada eliminated its penny in 2013.
Current economic trends suggest the possibility of phasing out smaller denominations. Cash transactions now represent only 16% of payments, with electronic payments dominating even small purchases under $25.
With Bessent’s recent appointment as Treasury Secretary, questions about the penny’s future remain unanswered, despite Treasury Department inquiries. According to The New York Times, eliminating the penny could result in annual government savings of approximately $100 million.
Why are we spending a single penny on contraception for other countries?! Dude thinks he’s dunking on DOGE, how about we just zero all this shit out regardless the number. $0 https://t.co/9pUmjTsCcI
— Javier Gonzalez (@JavGonzo) January 30, 2025
Previous legislative attempts to address coin production costs have been unsuccessful, with bills in both 2020 and 2023 failing to advance.
Meanwhile, Elon Musk’s DOGE has raised concerns about Treasury payment systems during the transition between administrations. Musk recently shared on social media, “The @DOGE team discovered, among other things, that payment approval officers at Treasury were instructed always to approve payments, even to known fraudulent or terrorist groups. They literally never denied a payment in their entire career. Not even once.”
