US Senate passes bill to end penny production after 234 years

The US Senate has passed legislation that would formally end penny production after 234 years, sending the measure to President Donald Trump’s desk. The bill passed by voice vote late Monday. It directs the government not to produce the one-cent coin, giving legal backing to the US Mint’s decision to stop making pennies in 2025.

Trump is expected to sign the measure. He previously wrote that the United States had produced the coin for too long. The Mint says producing a penny now costs almost four cents.

Ending production would generate immediate annual savings of $56 million, according to the source material. The bipartisan legislation, known as the Common Cents Act, was sponsored by Representatives Lisa McClain, a Republican from Michigan, and Robert Garcia, a Democrat from California. Garcia said stopping production would reduce waste and spending on a coin that costs more to make than its face value.

The measure would not remove pennies already in circulation. Consumers and stores could continue using them, while new procedures would allow cash transactions to be rounded up or down to the nearest five cents as pennies become less available. Retail groups had supported the bill, saying businesses faced uncertainty when exact change was unavailable.

The Mint produced 3.2 billion pennies in 2024. The legislation would also permit the government to use an inner zinc layer in nickels. The five-cent coin is currently made from nickel and copper, materials the source says are more expensive than zinc.