- Producing pennies cost taxpayers more than it’s worth, with each penny costing 3.7 cents to make in 2024.
- The rising cost of metals like zinc and copper contributed to the increased production cost.
- Other countries, such as Canada and Australia, have successfully eliminated their lowest denomination coins.
The newly established Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) may have a new penny-pinching tactic.
The U.S. penny, which has been in circulation since the late 18th century, is in the crosshairs of the department run by Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. In a post on X on Tuesday, DOGE said producing 4.5 billion pennies in Fiscal Year 2023 cost taxpayers more than $179 million.
That equates to paying over 3 cents for one penny, the post pointed out, quipping: “Penny (or 3 cents!) for your thoughts.”
President Donald Trump formally established the Department of Government Efficiency this week after signing an executive order. But DOGE’s initial proposed co-chair with Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy, is leaving to launch a campaign for Ohio governor. He said in a post on X: “I’m confident that Elon & team will succeed in streamlining government.”
Billions of pennies were made in 2023
The U.S. Mint says it circulated around 4.1 billion pennies in 2023. For the 2024 fiscal year, the annual U.S. Mint report said that it takes about 3.7 cents to produce and distribute one penny, a 20% increase from the previous year.
The increase has been partly driven by the rising costs of metals like zinc and copper, the report says.
Pennies have been devalued for a long time
The idea of getting rid of the penny was not conjured by Musk. In a 2013 article by the St. Cloud Times, part of the USA TODAY Network, Cy Schaefer the then-president of the Great River Regional Coin Club predicted the penny would be gone as soon as the next year.
“I don’t think people care about pennies at all,” Schaefer said. “It’s excess change. They drop them on the ground.”
Even in American pop culture, the penny has become a sort of punch line. Although it played an important part in the 1990 movie “Ghost,” serving as proof to Molly (Demi Moore) that her dead husband Sam (Patrick Swayze) was communicating with her, a 2001 episode of “The West Wing” took a jab at the coin.
“Majority of pennies don’t circulate. They go in jars, sock drawers,” character Sam Seaborn says.
How long has the penny been used in the United States?
The penny has been used for almost as long as the United States has been a country. According to the U.S. Mint, pennies were first introduced in 1793 and were made out of copper back then.
The penny was actually the first circulating coin in the United States. But even back then, the coins were already causing a stir because of their large size.
“These new cents caused a bit of a public outcry. They were larger than a modern quarter, a bulky size for small change,” the U.S. Mint said.
In 1857, the penny got reduced to its current size. In 1909, Abraham Lincoln became the first president featured on an coin.
Other countries have gotten rid of small coins
The idea of getting rid of a small denomination coin like the penny has seen success in other countries around the world.
For example, Canada stopped making one-cent coins in 2012, while Australia stopped making them back in 1992.
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@gannett.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.
