Overview
- The Treasury ended penny production in November at President Donald Trump’s direction, leaving billions of existing pennies legal tender but no new supply.
- The one-cent coin costs nearly four cents to make, and the Mint projects roughly $56 million in annual savings from halting production, after striking about 3.2 billion pennies in FY2024.
- Retailers are posting notices as pennies run short, with some locations rounding cash change and others requesting exact amounts or rationing remaining coins.
- Whole Foods says rounding applies only where banks cannot supply pennies and that customers receive equal or greater change, while the chain continues to accept pennies when offered.
- With no national rule, practices vary as the NRF pushes Congress to pass the Common Cents Act establishing nearest‑nickel rounding, even as Federal Reserve coin terminals report increased suspensions of penny services.