US officially stops penny production

The United States stopped minting pennies Wednesday, marking the end of the coin’s 232-year run in the country.

“God bless America, and we’re going to save the taxpayers $56 million,” Treasurer Secretary Brandon Beach said as the final coins were minted in Philadelphia.

There are still billions of pennies in circulation across the country, and all of them remain legal tender, despite the end of their production.

The stoppage marks the first time since 1857 the U.S. chose to stop minting a coin, when the country decided to scrap the half-cent piece.

President Trump initially ordered mints to stop producing pennies in February, citing the fact that the coin is obsolete in modern society and costs more than its value to produce. 

“For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents,” Trump wrote in a social media post back in February. “This is so wasteful!”

Mints slowed down penny production over the summer before ultimately striking the final coins this week.

The U.S. is  following in the footsteps of other countries when its comes to the one-cent coin. Canada stopped producing pennies in 2012. Australia removed its pennies all the way back in 1992.

The nickel might be next in line to get removed from production.

The country’s five-cent piece costs a whopping 14 cents to produce. The 10-cent dime is only six cents, while the 25-cent quarter costs about 15 cents per coin.