President Trump’s directive to halt the minting of new pennies marks the symbolic end of an American institution that’s quietly cost taxpayers for decades, and conservatives should applaud the gutting of another wasteful government habit. The final pressing at the Philadelphia Mint was ceremonial, but the policy is practical — stop pouring scarce taxpayer dollars into coins nobody wants.
The numbers are what sealed the deal: the U.S. Mint was spending well more than a penny to make a penny, with production costs reported at roughly 3.69 cents per coin and annual losses in the tens of millions. Those are real dollars that could be better used on border security, veterans’ care, or cutting the deficit instead of subsidizing loose change. The move is projected to save the Treasury tens of millions of dollars a year, a sensible trimming of the federal budget.
Of course, the media wants you to focus on sentimentality and the “loss of history,” but the practical questions matter: retailers now face a new cash landscape where 99-cent pricing and penny-driven promotions will be reexamined. Businesses built clever pricing psychology around pennies; without them, expect chains and mom-and-pop stores to test rounded pricing, bundles, and more digital convenience to keep margins intact. Lawmakers and state regulators will have to act fast to prevent arbitrary rounding that siphons money from honest cash customers.
Sales tax and rounding mechanics will be the new battleground for fairness. When cash transactions are rounded to the nearest five cents, card users pay the exact price while cash customers could be nudged upward if rules aren’t clear — that’s an opening for greedy retailers to raise effective prices under cover of “convenience.” Conservatives should demand transparent rules that protect consumers and small businesses from being shortchanged by sloppy or opportunistic rounding policies.
Don’t gloss over distribution headaches either: banks and armored carriers are already adjusting coin terminals and accepting fewer penny deposits, which creates local shortages that can inconvenience small businesses and people who still use cash. This is a logistics problem the free market and local banking partners can solve, but it requires common-sense coordination, not more federal interference. Citizens should hoard their sentimental pennies if they like, but policymakers must ensure the transition doesn’t become an excuse to gouge consumers.
Politically, the decision exposes a truth Democrats and bureaucrats hate: not every tradition is worth preserving when it costs taxpayers, and leadership means making the unpopular practical choice. President Trump’s push was billed as cutting “wasteful” spending, and while some legal scholars debated the unilateral power to end minting, the move reflects conservative priorities — stop waste, modernize commerce, and return common sense to government. Now Congress should codify sensible transition rules instead of letting activists or career regulators drag their feet.
This transition is an opportunity for conservatives to push a broader agenda: defend honest pricing, protect low-income cash users from stealth inflation via rounding, and accelerate private-sector payment innovations that reduce costs for everyone. We can honor our history without letting it bankrupt the present — and Americans who work for their paychecks should not be lectured by elites who think sentimental relics trump fiscal responsibility. The end of the penny can be the start of smarter money management if patriots insist on fairness and transparency every step of the way.
