On Feb. 9, President Donald Trump announced that he requested a halt in the production of pennies. This seemingly sudden desire to eliminate the penny by Trump’s administration was first brought to the forefront when the newly created Department of Government Efficiency made a post on X regarding the penny’s cost last month.

Additionally, in their 2024 annual report, the US Mint stated that it lost $85.3 million over the minting of nearly 3.2 billion pennies.

The idea of eliminating the penny has been passed around Congress for decades. However, with Trump’s recent slew of executive orders, it is not clear whether he has the clearance to follow through with his plans for the coin.