Penny debate in the United States

A debate has existed within the United States government and American society at large over whether the one-cent coin, the penny, should be eliminated as a unit of currency in the United States. The penny costs more to produce than the one cent it is worth, meaning the seigniorage is negative – the government loses money on every penny that is created. Several bills introduced in the U.S. Congress would have ceased production of and/or eliminated the penny, but none have been approved. Such bills would leave the five-cent coin, or nickel, as the lowest-value coin minted in the United States.

Other countries have also withdrawn coins no longer worth producing, such as Canada withdrawing the Canadian penny from circulation in 2013. The most recent time that the United States withdrew the lowest-value coin from circulation was with the half-cent coin (hay-penny), which was withdrawn in 1857, at which time the coin was worth approximately 17 cents in 2024 dollars.

In 2025, the U.S. Treasury announced a plan to halt penny production starting the following year. However, the coin will remain legal tender and in circulation, as only Congress has the power to eliminate forms of currency.