The U.S. Treasury Department has announced that it will cease the production of new pennies by early 2026, marking the end of a coin that has been in circulation since 1793.

This decision comes after President Donald Trump directed the Treasury to halt penny production, citing the high cost of minting the coin, which exceeds its face value. The Mint produced over 4.5 billion pennies in FY2023, around 40% of the 11.4 billion coins for circulation produced.

The move is expected to save the government approximately $56 million annually, as each penny costs nearly 4 cents to produce.

While existing pennies will remain legal tender, businesses will need to adjust by rounding cash transactions to the nearest five cents.

 This change aligns the U.S. with countries like Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, which have already phased out their lowest-denomination coins.