In an effort to save money for the government, President Donald Trump declared that he had instructed the Treasury to cease producing gold coins.
The federal government began producing the penny which is worth one cent in 1793.
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Among his campaign pledges was to get rid of the penny.
“For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents. This is so wasteful!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform as he returned to Washington from the Super Bowl.
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“I have instructed my Secretary of the US Treasury to stop producing new pennies.
“Let’s rip the waste out of our great nation’s budget, even if it’s a penny at a time,” he added.
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Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, also known as DOGE, brought up the idea last month on the platform X, pointing out the high costs involved in making these coins.
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According to reports, the United States Mint lost $85.3 million in the 2024 fiscal year, ending in September, due to producing nearly 3.2 billion pennies.
