Editing Penny (United States coin) (section)

===Proposals to eliminate===
{{Main|Penny debate in the United States}}
{{Also|Canadian penny|Australian one-cent coin}}

It has been suggested that the penny should be eliminated as a unit of currency for several reasons.  {{As of|2024}}, about a quarter trillion pennies are estimated to be in circulation, or more than 700 pennies for each person in the United States.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Weaver |first=Caity |date=1 September 2024 |title=America Must Free Itself from the Tyranny of the Penny |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/01/magazine/worthless-pennies-united-states-economy.html |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref>  Most Americans do not actually spend pennies, but rather only receive them in change and proceed to store them at home, or perhaps return them to a bank for higher denomination currencies, or cash them in at [[Coin counter|coin counting kiosks]].<ref name=":0" /> Most modern vending machines do not accept pennies, further diminishing their utility.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} In addition, the production cost now exceeds the face value of the coin, caused by increasing inflation.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hagenbaugh |first=Barbara |date=May 9, 2006 |title=Coins cost more to make than face value |url=https://www.usatoday.com/money/2006-05-09-penny-usat_x.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090307031235/http://www.usatoday.com/money/2006-05-09-penny-usat_x.htm |archive-date=March 7, 2009 |access-date=October 4, 2006 |work=[[USA Today]]}}</ref> 

In 2001 and 2006, for example, [[United States House of Representatives|United States Representative]] [[Jim Kolbe]] (R) of [[Arizona]] introduced bills which would have stopped production of pennies (in 2001, the [[Legal Tender Modernization Act]], and in 2006, the Currency Overhaul for an Industrious Nation [COIN] Act).<ref>{{Cite news |last=Zappone |first=Christian |date=July 18, 2006 |title=Kill-the-penny bill introduced |url=https://money.cnn.com/2006/07/18/news/penny/index.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190728021810/https://money.cnn.com/2006/07/18/news/penny/index.htm |archive-date=July 28, 2019 |access-date=July 28, 2019 |work=[[CNN]]}}</ref>

In anticipation of the business of melting down U.S. pennies and U.S. nickels for profit, the U.S. Mint, which is a part of the [[US Department of the Treasury]], implemented new regulations<ref>{{Cite web |title=United States Mint Moves to Limit Exportation & Melting of Coins |url=https://www.usmint.gov/news/press-releases/20061214-united-states-mint-moves-to-limit-exportation-melting-of-coins |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180708091846/https://www.usmint.gov/news/press-releases/20061214-united-states-mint-moves-to-limit-exportation-melting-of-coins |archive-date=July 8, 2018 |access-date=July 20, 2011 |publisher=Usmint.gov}}</ref> on December 14, 2006, which criminalize the melting of pennies and nickels and place limits on export of the coins. Violators can be punished with a fine of up to $10,000 [[United States dollar|USD]], imprisoned for a maximum of five years, or both.<ref>{{Cite web |title=CFR 2010 title31 vol1 part82 |url=http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2010-title31-vol1/pdf/CFR-2010-title31-vol1-part82.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150930033145/http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2010-title31-vol1/pdf/CFR-2010-title31-vol1-part82.pdf |archive-date=September 30, 2015 |access-date=January 5, 2013 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office}}</ref>

In 2017, Senators [[John McCain]] (R-AZ) and [[Mike Enzi]] (R-WY) introduced S. 759, the Currency Optimization, Innovation, and National Savings (C.O.I.N.S.) Act of 2017, that would stop minting of the penny for 10 years and would study the question of whether production could cease thereafter. The bill died at the end of the 115th Congress with no hearings held by the [[United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs|Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 29, 2017 |title=S.759 - 115th Congress (2017-2018): Currency Optimization, Innovation, and National Savings Act of 2017 |url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/759}}</ref>

On February 9, 2025, President Trump said he instructed [[Scott Bessent]], the [[United States Secretary of the Treasury|secretary of the Treasury]], to halt production of the penny, citing its high production costs. However, Congress, not the president, authorizes the Treasury on what coins to mint.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Klein |first=Betsy |date=February 9, 2025 |title=Trump says he's instructed the Treasury to halt penny production |url=https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/trump-doge-usaid-news-02-09-25#cm6yd9c61001m3b6no8ip8cc3 |access-date=February 9, 2025 |publisher=[[CNN]]}}</ref> On April 30, 2025, Representatives [[Lisa McClain]] (R-MI) and [[Robert Garcia (California congressman)|Robert Garcia]] (D-CA) introduced the Common Cents Act, a bill to eliminate the penny and round cash transactions to the nearest [[nickel]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Semyon |first=Cassie |date=April 30, 2025 |title='Common Cents Act' aims to stop U.S. from minting pennies |url=https://spectrumlocalnews.com/mo/st-louis/politics/2025/04/30/common-cents-act--aims-to-stop-u-s--from-minting-pennies |url-status=live |access-date=May 13, 2025 |website=Spectrum News}}</ref>