The U.S. is not instantly “getting rid of” the penny, but new pennies are being phased out: the Treasury has stopped (or is in the process of stopping) production, and pennies will gradually disappear from everyday cash use while remaining legal to spend and collect.

What’s actually happening

  • President Donald Trump directed the Treasury to stop producing new pennies starting in early 2026, mainly because each penny costs more than one cent to make.
  • The Treasury placed its last orders for penny blanks and is winding down minting, so no fresh pennies will enter circulation once current stock is used up.
  • Existing pennies stay legal tender; they just won’t be replaced as they get lost, hoarded, or worn out.

Why the penny is being dropped

  • The penny costs around 3–4 cents per coin to produce, leading to tens of millions of dollars in annual losses for the U.S. Mint.
  • Government estimates suggest taxpayers could save roughly tens of millions of dollars per year by ending penny production.
  • Critics argue most pennies sit in jars or drawers and rarely circulate, so the coin adds friction at checkout without much real economic value.

What changes for everyday payments

  • For cash transactions, totals are expected to be rounded to the nearest 5 cents when pennies are not available, similar to what Canada and some other countries already do.
  • Card, app, and online payments are unaffected; those can still charge amounts down to the cent even without physical one‑cent coins.
  • Stores and banks can keep accepting pennies as long as people bring them in, but over time they will show up less and less in change.

Different viewpoints in the debate

  • Supporters of killing the penny focus on cost savings, faster checkout lines, and the fact that many countries have already removed low‑value coins.
  • Opponents bring up nostalgia, charity collections (like “penny drives”), and worries that rounding might nudge prices up over time, even if rules are supposed to keep it neutral.
  • Some policy analysts also warn that if penny use shifts to nickels, and nickels are even more expensive to make, overall coin‑production costs might not fall as much as hoped.

Big picture and “latest news”

  • Two bipartisan bills in Congress aim to formalize eliminating the penny; Treasury can stop minting, but fully retiring a denomination touches on laws Congress controls.
  • Media and forums have treated this as a notable 2025–2026 transition, with coverage focusing on how rounding will work and whether this nudges the U.S. further toward a mostly cashless economy.
  • Unless Congress reverses course, the trend is clear: the penny’s future in everyday wallets is shrinking fast, even though the coin will live on for collectors and as leftover change for years.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.