DOGE Post Suggests US Mint Stop Making Pennies

Nexstar reports:

From daylight saving time to diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, there are various aspects of the federal government that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and its head, Elon Musk, have targeted in order to cut spending. Now, it seems to have a new prey: the penny.

The latest report from the U.S. Mint shows that pennies accounted for more than half of the 5.9 billion circulating coin shipments from the Federal Reserve Bank in 2024. The cost of the penny also increased to 3.69 cents, marking the 19th consecutive year the coin has “remained above face value.”

Roughly 3.23 billion pennies were minted in 2024, data from the U.S. Mint shows. That’s down slightly from the 4.52 billion pennies minted in 2023. In both years, pennies were the most produced coins followed by the dime in 2023 and quarters in 2024.

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