As I sat at my desk, finishing up my latest piece for Numismatic News, I received a text from my cousin and several friends informing me that our President, Donald Trump, wants to eliminate the U.S. one-cent piece. Trump announced this shortly after he departed the Super Bowl in New Orleans. He instructed the Secretary of the U.S. Treasury to stop producing new pennies, a practice he said was “wasteful.” Of course, the standing president cannot do it alone, as Congress must also okay it.
The penny, or more accurately, the one-cent piece, was first minted in 1792 and has had a run for 233 years. It is an incredibly long time for one denomination to be continually minted, especially with the higher cost of materials and manufacturing. The rising…
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Numismatic News (Digital) - 1 Issue, March 11, 2025