The U.S. Mint has made its last order of penny blanks and plans to cease producing the coin when these run out, a Treasury Division official confirmed Thursday.
An instantaneous annual financial savings of $56 million in diminished materials prices is predicted by stopping penny manufacturing, based on the official, who was not approved to debate the matter publicly and spoke on situation of anonymity to preview the information.
In February, President Donald Trump introduced that he had ordered his administration to stop manufacturing of the 1-cent coin.
Advocates for ditching the penny cite its excessive manufacturing price — nearly 4 cents per penny now, based on the U.S. Mint — and restricted utility. Followers of the penny cite its usefulness in charity drives and relative cut price in manufacturing prices in contrast with the nickel, which prices nearly 14 cents to mint.
The Wall Road Journal first reported the information.
This story was initially featured on Fortune.com
