WASHINGTON — The U.S. Treasury has made its final order for penny blanks, adding the final nail in the coffin of the copper colored coin.
The U.S. Mint will make pennies as long as the blanks exist, but once they run out, there will be no more pennies produced, CNN reported.
The Wall Street Journal, which broke the story, said that no new pennies will be added to circulation by early next year.
Pennies will still be allowed to be used for purchases, but when they start to have a short supply, stores will have to round up or down to the nearest nickel.
The phasing out of the penny has been a long time coming, with a bipartisan effort to stop the coin’s production.
Former President Barack Obama had considered getting rid of the penny back in 2013, NBC News reported at the time.
He spoke with YouTube creator John Green who asked, “Australia, Canada, New Zealand, many other countries have gotten rid of their pennies. Why haven’t we done it?”
Obama answered, “I gotta tell you, John, I don’t know. Anytime we’re spending money on something people don’t actually use, that’s an example of things we should probably change.”
President Donald Trump put a plan into motion, with a post on Truth Social on Feb. 10, telling the Treasury Department to stop making pennies.
In 2012, it cost 2.41 cents to make each penny, NBC News reported. Earlier this year, The Associated Press said it cost almost 4 cents.
By doing away with the penny, the Treasury Department said it will have an immediate $56 million savings due to reduced material costs, the AP reported.
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